The Senior Scene

It always amazes me how quickly a year goes by. Here we are in November already and the weather is turning cold and I don’t always like it. Yes, a crisp, clear, sunny day is beautiful, but if we have the cold, wet and gray, I’m not so great.
Now, great was our little getaway in September out of Vancouver to San Francisco. That is something else that amazes me – how just a short getaway can change your mood and make things right in the world again. We cruised on the Island Princess, a medium-size ship and easy to get around. She had two beautiful show rooms with nice performances to entertain us after dinner. The shops were well-stocked, so we didn’t miss much with only one stop in Victoria. There was plenty of shopping to be done on board, especially with the sales of leftovers from the Alaska season. The food was wonderful and, as with all cruises, plentiful. The weather was perfect with a sunny day and relatively calm seas. What more could you ask for?
October brought those beautiful fall colors. A trip across Stevens Pass to Leavenworth is always a joy. The color is so vibrant on that route. It seems we just have to do it every year. Oktoberfest was going on and the town was festive. We did see some of the devastation left behind from the summer fires and certainly look forward to the regrowth that we know will come.
November has us going to Ocean Shores with an overnight at the Quinault Casino. This is perhaps the only time that I hope for stormy weather. It is always exciting to see the waves crashing onto the shore. And then we can enjoy the view from oceanfront rooms. There might still be room to join us on Nov. 15.
Next on the agenda is a cruise Feb. 7 out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. for seven days to the Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We will be with Royal Caribbean again, this time on Oasis. This is the sister ship to Allure that we fell in love with. It is big but never crowded. It has Central Park and the Boardwalk, an Aqua Theater, ice show, Broadway plays, parades down 5th Avenue, and something to do every minute of the day.
Also in February is a Collette adventure to tropical Costa Rica. This is a nine-day trip visiting San Jose, the Cloud Forest, Arenal Volcano, the Cano Negro Refuge and so much more.
April is the Panama Canal. This has materialized to be a very nice group and we are quite excited. It is 19 days out of Tampa, Fla. to Vancouver.
For further information and reservations, call me at 253-927-8207 or e-mail me at linda.finch@gmail.com

This seems to be the summer of islands.
We had a nice two-day adventure to Whidbey Island. I think someone told me that Whidbey is larger than Manhattan. I just can’t imagine all those tall buildings and thousands of people crammed into the space of Whidbey. I rather like the wide open spaces and 196 miles of shoreline.
We had a beautiful drive over the Narrows Bridge, past Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, over the Hoods Canal Bridge and up State Route 101 to Port Townsend. A nice lunch at the Bayview let us watch the ferries come and go and then we were the ones in the line. I am always amazed at how they can pack so many cars, truck and trailers onto one of those and send it out across the waters. It was only a 40-minute trip and then we were on the island.
We headed out to the Inn at Fort Casey, which is now owned by Seattle Pacific University. This area was first established in 1897 as part of the “Triangle of Death” along with Fort Warden and Fort Flagler. These three were built to protect the entrance to Puget Sound. It was said that if the lights were shone from Fort Casey, they could make the town of Port Townsend think it was the middle of the afternoon when it was really the middle of the night. The Admiralty Head Lighthouse was originally built in 1861 and then rebuilt in 1903. Tours are given for those who want to climb the stairs.
Coupeville is the first town settled on the island and the second-oldest town in the state. We visited the Compass Rose bed and breakfast, built in 1890 and now the home of Jan and Marshall Bronson. They gave us a wonderful treat of champagne and truffles at the end of our busy day of touring and invited us to view all the antiques and interesting things they picked up during their 30-plus years in the foreign service and military.
Langley offers galleries showcasing local artists, a marina, areas for watching the gray whales that pass by in March and April, and marvelous restaurants. Our lunch at the Langley Cafe included fresh mussels from Penn Cove just around the corner. You can’t get any fresher than that. We took time to wander the streets and poke about in the shops.
The weather was perfect, the group congenial, and a fun time was had by all. I wonder what island we can explore next. Well, there is always the trip to Costa Rica in February. Now that is an interesting island. Come along and see what it is like.
If you don’t want an island, go for a canal. Join us in April 2015 as we transit the Panama Canal from Tampa to Vancouver. Rates are still great for this 19-day trip. Need a roommate? We will try to match you up so that you don’t have to pay a single supplement.
For reservations and further information, call me at 253-927-8207 or ask to be put on the email list at linda.finch@gmail.com.

Summer is such a wonderful time. It lets us get out and do, even if it is just in the garden. But there is so much outside our yard that it is hard to stay home.
Several of us went to Orcas Island for a little outing. The San Juans are known the world over for the splendor, and there they are right in our back yard. We just don’t usually take advantage, and so off we went.
It was an early start from Tacoma, as we didn’t want to take a chance on missing the ferry out of Anacortes. As it was, we had great traffic conditions (now there is a rarity) and made it early and just in time for the earlier ferry. That allowed us to arrive in Orcas with time for lunch, shopping and sightseeing in East Sound. These small villages have some of the most amazing things to see and shops to visit. You can tell they rely a lot on the tourist trade, and we were happy to cooperate.
Our stay was at the Orcas Inn, built in the 1800s and now owned and operated by the niece of one of our travelers. It is very conveniently located just as you get off the ferry, which also means that it has magnificent views. The rooms were quaint and each different. Mine had a lovely balcony to sit n and enjoy a glass of wine while watching the ferries come and go between Orcas and Shaw Island. I also got to watch the birds come and go from a nest snuggled in a crook of the inn.
An early morning breakfast at Maimi’s gave us a start on the day, and from there it was off to explore the island. Crow Valley Pottery was our first stop to look at pottery, garden art, jewelry and paintings. From there it was to the top of Mount Constitution for a surround view. You could see Vancouver, Mount Baker, Anacortes and Birch Bay. The day was sunny and the views spectacular.
A side trip to Olga (were we really looking for the nudist colony?), and then we headed to Rosario for a tour of the resort, a stop at the museum and down to the Cascade Bay Cafe for lunch on the deck.
We packed a lot into the day but still made it back to the ferry landing in time to have Orcas Island ice cream before boarding and heading home. If you haven’t done it, you really should explore our own back yard and see this beautiful area.
Perhaps we will head to the ocean for an overnight next. Get on the e-mail list to find out about this possibility and more. Fancy brochures are now available for the October 2015 trip to Israel and the February 2015 trip to Costa Rica. Space is still available for the Vancouver to San Francisco cruise in September and the Panama Canal trip in April.
For reservations and information, call me at 253-927-8207 or get on the e-mail list at linda.finch@gmail.com.

Linda Finch wrote this article.

It is so nice to have beautiful weather and be able to get out and about. We had a wonderful trip to the Lilac Gardens down in Woodland and then lunch at the Oak Tree, which has been revamped and is now part casino.
The Dinner Date group drove to Olympia for dinner on the water at Tugboat Annie’s. It was another beautiful evening and we even toured the capitol grounds before returning home.
As I write this, we are getting ready for two fun trips. The first is to Harrison Hot Springs for a two-night stay, and the second is up to Orcas Island and an overnight at the Orcas Inn. You will hear about those next month.
A couple of new exotic trips have been added to the schedule for 2015. We now have Costa Rica in February for nine days and then Israel in October for 10 days. Reservations are being taken for anyone who might be interested.
In the meantime, we have a nice group developing for a quick little trip on Island Princess out of Vancouver to San Francisco departing Sept. 24, and don’t forget the Panama Canal in April 2015. It is very possible that the new canal will be open and we will be able to boast to everyone that we have been through it.
Many things come up at the last minute, so be sure to join the email list for up-to-the-minute information on what is happening. Now is not the time to be sitting home alone when you can be out doing things and making new friends. Singles are always welcome, and we do our best to try to make roommate arrangements if necessary.
A little P.S. to the Hawaii trip that you might find interesting: We always recommend trip cancellation insurance in case something happens before or during your trip that might make a change in arrangements. In our case, it did. One of our group fell and injured herself. We were pleased to learn that her cancellation policy took care of ambulance, doctors, x-ray, hospital stay and even provided an escort for her return trip home. The insurance company stayed in constant contact with me, the patient and her family. Please always ask about insurance when taking one of our longer trips. It certainly paid off here.
For further information and reservations, call me at 253-927-8207 or get on the e-mail list at linda.finch@gmail.com.