We were going to take a big bite out of a huge piece of real estate. We knew that we were going to need some parameters to guide us in our selection of places to see and visit. Although we both liked hiking and some of the most beautiful forests and vistas are found in this part of the country, we knew that we just did not have the time to do a lot of exploring on foot. If we could not drive to the vista we were just not going to see it. We knew we both enjoyed exploring gardens and arboretums. We had heard that some of the most beautiful gardens in the world were located on the west coast. So, I added all the major gardens to our itinerary. We also realized that we could not expect perfect weather every day. We needed to add something that we could enjoy on rainy days. We have a keen appreciation of art and since we were visiting every major city in the Northwest we added their fine art museums to our itinerary.
By the time we left home I had built a 32 page itinerary on my Yahoo Travel web page. It contained points of interest, mainly gardens and museums from Vancouver and Victoria in the north, to Monterey and Carmel in the south; then from San Francisco in the west to home in Raleigh , by way of Chicago and Pittsburg
Yahoo Itinerary: http://travel.yahoo.com/trip-view-2212768-pacific_northwest_sabbatical;_ylt=AvkBoHVSpozUVHldPPF8i5KbItAF?page=1
Washington Park Arboretum and Japanese Garden, Seattle
This 200-acre park, with its lush green spaces, its breathtaking Japanese Garden and its abundance of rare trees, plants and flowers (more than 40,000 species), is one of the brightest jewels in the Emerald City.
This 200-acre park, with its lush green spaces, its breathtaking Japanese Garden and its abundance of rare trees, plants and flowers (more than 40,000 species), is one of the brightest jewels in the Emerald City.
Dear Santa: I know these are expensive,
but I haven't asked for much in the past decade, have I?
And you know I have been a good girl,
so I would like one in each size, please.
They say you need good tools to do good work, and
Santa, I really do need these ladders.
I want to make my trees as perfect as these in the Japanese Garden.
The gardeners here could not do this quality work without great ladders.
I want to create a lacy pattern of shadows in my garden too.
Won't you please make me a very happy girl?
