Island Hopping

Bald Head Island is a somewhat small, remote village located on the east side of Cape Fear in Brunswick County, North Carolina on an island of the same name. Only accessible by ferry from the town of Southport - cars are not allowed, instead residents drive modified golf carts - max. speed limit 18 mph - how refreshing. There are 14 miles of pristine ocean beaches, 10,000 acres of protected salt marsh and tidal creeks, and a vast maritime forest preserve.
Generous friends who own a beautiful condo on the island surprised us with the offer of spending next week there! Come Sat. morning DH and I will be heading to the coast - laden with books & mags. to read on the screened porch. Flip flops, shorts and sun hats packed - some food and our favorite wines ready to go. North Carolina seashore, we'll soon be on our way.

This is Old Baldy lighthouse on the island. Built in 1817 it's the oldest lighthouse still standing in North Carolina but is non-working now. We have visited before and climbed to the top for the great island and ocean views. A small museum at the base supplies an audio tour of the island - that will be something DH will enjoy................he loves history. However.........he dislikes being in one place for long and I will be holding him captive on a tiny island for an entire week - will let you know how that goes!!

The more modern development on the island consists of mostly very expensive retirement and vacation homes - a recent sale recorded a selling price of just under $4M - wow, will have to check out that one! As the village has a total area of just 5.8 square miles you can imagine the price of a lot.

One grocery store, two restaurants - that's about all folks...........................so it will be a week of relaxation, listening to music, reading, some art projects and letter writing, walking the beaches and soaking my feet in the surf, taking photographs, and of course drinking good that wine while viewing the ocean sunsets. I think I can manage all that.

Hope each of you get to paddle in the ocean, Atlantic or Pacific, this Summer!

Cornish Cottages

My new blog friend, Anne (do visit her at Not Entirely British )
grew up, like me, loving the Southwest of England, especially Devon and Cornwall. This post is for you Anne, and anyone who knows Cornwall perhaps from Daphne du Maurier's wonderful and famous novels, Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek and My Cousin Rachel.

Typical Cornish villages and fishing scenes.

Although there are many lovely fishing villages along the Cornish coast, Polperro is one of my favorites and I last visited there in 2005. This is everyone's idea of a picturesque Cornish fishing village - narrow winding streets and alleys, a jumble of charming white cottages perched on steep slopes overlooking the tiny harbour. Polperro was once a thriving center for smuggling. Generations of seafarers brought contraband goods ashore from France via the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey. High taxes on a wide range of luxury goods, basic commodities and even salt, imposed to finance the wars with America and France between 1775 and 1815, encouraged the fishermen to supplement their meagre livelihood by engaging in the "trade" as smuggling brandy, gin, tea and tobacco was known.

Exquisite seashell decorative work on a fisherman's cottage.

The traffic-free village requires a winding downhill walk to the harbour............or taking the "Horse Bus" from the main car park.

With its protected inner harbour full of colorful boats, Polperro is still a working fishing village.Away from Polperro and other nearby villages are scenic walks along the cliff tops. Although Cornwall is known as one of the less wealthy areas in the UK with the lowest per capita contribution to the national economy, it certainly is one of the most beautiful and has a thriving tourist industry. Be sure to visit this lovely part of Britain if you have the chance.........and of course you have to pass through Devon (my home county) to reach it so you get to see two great counties on the same trip!

Sleepless in Seattle

Before heading back to Seattle, I spent two wonderful days in Bellingham, Washington visiting my dear "art pen pal" Patti - our first meeting!!! We were introduced by a mutual friend over a year ago and have corresponded via snail mail and e-mail, sharing our love of art, music, needlework, the written word, and many other creative interests.

Patti had this fantastic gift awaiting in her studio - a magnificent kimono style jacket she had made for me. The fabric is an elegant paisley lined with black raw silk (both recycled vintage), with decorative tassels and beaded cords at the closure. One of her great tags was hanging from the jacket - wow, I was so thrilled with such a beautiful gift and couldn't resist wearing it out to dinner immediately.

Seattle was the last leg of this great Northwest trip.

Known as one of the most walkable cities in the country (warning - lots of steep hills, but you'll find many wonderful restaurants to enjoy after working off all those calories!) Seattle is a fun place.
It would be easy to go without sleep as there's so much to see and do. Guess this would be the best hotel buy - wish we'd seen it prior to checking in at the waterfront Marriott which cost a few dollars more!!!!!!

Just a stone's throw from what was actually our great hotel, was the famous Pike Place Market, the jewel in the city. Anyone who's visited here will be familiar with slightly fishy "theatre" performed each day at the largest fish market - throwing the huge fish, with accompanying hollers and yells, to fill customers' orders. Tourists line up ten deep to view this ongoing entertainment - kids, young and old, stifle silly giggles while watching huge salmon and grouper being tossed about in the air.
Constructed for Seattle's 1962 World's Fair, the Space Needle has become the city's international icon. A 41-second elevator ride takes you 520 feet to the observation deck. The SkyCity restaurant at the top revolves 360 degrees while you dine. The day we ascended the Space Needle the weather was perfect for viewing Mt. Ranier to the South (my photo) and to the North, Mt. Baker was also clearly visible to the eye - this only occurs about 50 days of the year according to the guide. She told us we had picked a perfect day for these amazing views.

..............................goodbye fabulous Northwest USA and British Columbia, you certainly make one's heart sing with your wonderful scenery and nice people. I hope to return very soon.

Inspiration Friday ~ Eat Your Veggies!

Back at the fabulous Granville Market in Vancouver, the healthy foods were so beautiful one could almost bypass the sugar and fat loaded baked goodies.........almost but not quite!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With no means to cook up a truly gorgeous "vegetable plate" in a hotel room, I, your true vegetarian friend, had to be satisfied just to......................................................................................pause over the perfect peppers,

...........................not squeeze the squash,

..........................................long for the lettuce

.........................control myself from commandeering the corn,
..........................actually forego aspirations to snap the asparagus,

.................cry misery over lack of morels in my neck of the woods

.............................whine for white eggplants

............................but of course I could caress an apple, mango, pear,

.......................flip over the fine figs,

................................chuckle over cherries, beam over blueberries, and die for my favorites, the luscious raspberries.

Fresh veggies and fruits, such bounty from the earth. Thank you to all the farmers across America and Canada who toil so hard, 365 days a year, to supply us with such healthy, beautiful food.
So remember what Mother always told you ~ "eat your vegetables."

Vancouver, British Columbia

This is a postcard view looking over the center city toward West Vancouver, the snow capped peaks of the Coast Range to the West and the Cascades to the East. It's quite true what they say about this beautiful area, you can enjoy water sports in the morning and be skiing in the afternoon!

My photos taken from the summit of Grouse Mountain (4100') overlooking the city - a majestic sight and probably one of the most spectacular city views anywhere..............without having to take a helicopter ride. The cable car ride to the mountain top is well worth the time and cost - awesome views across the river and forests as well as the city - and, as stated in the literature " you stand on the edge between city and wilderness".

Yes, even in mid-June there was still snow and it was cool at the summit - Jasmin did her best to pelt us with a couple of snowballs.

Another not to be missed adventure while in this area is the Capilano Suspension Bridge . The Treetops Adventure is beyond the swinging bridge crossing - you are actually walking in the huge Douglas firs and other gigantic tree tops, looking down at creeks and fern gardens so green and lush.




Nothing more fun than playing in the trees!







Vancouver's outdoor adventures are many and water plays a big part - don't miss the Sea Bus rides from downtown across to Lonsdale Quay with sea planes zooming back and forth overhead. From the Quay the view back to the city center is great. And.................following all that hunger induced sightseeing, head over to what I think is the best market ever on Granville Island under the bridge. On all my trips I've still only had time for the Public Market section...........where the foods are of course! The entire market is huge and includes hundreds of shops, restaurants, galleries, maritime stores, theatre companies, and even a kids' market area.Such yummy baked goods. Top right - the feta cheese and spinach scones, just baked, were my lunch choice, best scone ever. Artisan breads were breathtaking - don't you just love really good bread?
......................coming soon, more healthy food photos!!

Canada's Gulf Islands and Point Roberts WA

The ferry terminal's best kept secret - a cheese shop. Only a world class cheese lover (and that's me) would shop for beautiful goat cheese prior to boarding the boat from Vancouver Island to the British Columbia mainland.......... headed for a city and a hotel room without a 'frig. The goat cheese lady said it would be OK not refrigerated for 2 days - and I know they don't chill their gorgeous cheeses in France - so, after sampling all of them, I took a chance and grabbed the mushroom and truffle oil on the far left, heavenly! These stunning cheeses were handmade on Whidbey Island, WA

The B.C. ferries are spacious, comfortable and serve a great breakfast on board. The early morning sail through the Strait of Georgia and the Gulf Islands was spectacular. My dream is to return soon, tour the West coast of Vancouver Island, visit the Pacific Rim National Park, then have several days in these smaller islands, staying in B&B's, enjoying walking, whale watching, and sunsets while sipping a great glass of wine.

It doesn't get more perfect than this!

Trivia question...............what's odd about the town of Point Roberts Washington? If you have time, go here and read the interesting story about this tiny piece of America that you can only access by crossing the border from Canada. Beautiful views across the water to Vancouver Island. Except for the gentle lapping of the tide and an occasional bird call, almost complete silence here on the driftwood covered beach. Worth the short detour (and having to pull out the passports yet again) after we left the ferry and headed to the great city of Vancouver.

We loved taking a break on this quiet beach - all seemed good in the world!

.........................tomorrow, Vancouver, Canada's great Western city.