Greetings from Pacific Beach Resort and Conference Center.  This is a US Navy recreational facility on the WA coast at Pacific Beach, WA.  We moved here today after visiting our friends the Sims in Port Orchard, WA for 3 days.  What a great family!

While there, we visited Bremerton, WA where there are several WW-II aircraft carriers being dismantled.  Having been on more modern ones, we didn't bother to take the offered tours.  Instead, we visited Elandan Gardens <http://www.elandangardens.com/>, an internationally known Bonsai collection.  Even I was impressed with the 6 acres of dwarfed, contorted trees.  We were lucky as we were about to leave to encounter the owner, who's usually not on site.  He gave us a very interesting introduction to the art of bonsai (He persistently corrected HER pronunciation:  "It's 'bon sai' for 'tray plant', NOT 'bahn zai' for 'military attack'".)   Amazingly, some of the plants are over 1000 years old.  On the other hand, among the lessons we learned is that he devotes a LOT of time to making much younger plants LOOK that old -- he was using a Dremel tool to carve hollows in limbs when we met him -- he does that over decades to achieve the aged look he likes.  Here are a few photos for those few who may be interested -- don't miss it if you're nearby:

Yesterday, August 2nd, we went to Bainbridge Island, leaving Port Orange under dry but cloudy skies with comfortable temperatures.  By the time we reached our destination of Bloedel Reserve, a renowned 150 acre garden, the dry had become a steady drizzle and the temperature near 50*F.  Needless to say, I wasn't having any of that.  Maybe we'll try again as we pass the island after our loop of the Olympic Peninsula.

For now, I'm just relaxing while SHE prepares a steak dinner with corn-on-the-cob, baked potatoes, and portobello mushrooms.  Yummm!  NOW I remember why I've missed HER so much for the past few months! :-)


Later,

Ken