It's almost spring and it's time for another Northwest Adventure. We have worked hard for several months and wanted to sleep for a few days to read, talk and enjoy a quiet life without cell phones, appointments, emails, accounts receivable and sometimes stubborn computers.
We set off for the Silver Cloud Inn in Mikilteo, about 70 minutes north of Tacoma. The day was sunny and warm you, but with an icy wind, nice weather for the trip.
We had actually never been to Mukilteo, but we hadTravel all around him. I would like is to nearby Edmonds for calligraphy events such as the beginning of May, Letters of Joy, a Friday evening lecture and all-day Saturday series of classes. I would even stayed at the Silver Cloud for Lynnwood LOJ. The Lynnwood motel is one of the elders in the chain, which is perfectly fine to a motel in a strip mall, but it can not be compared with the water environment of Mukilteo pension.
If you leave I-5, winds through miles of the Mukilteo Speedway. It looks like a south --Tacoma Way, a lot with the car, a lot of junk cars, strip malls and fast food joints for miles. But how do you come down the hill to the actual ferry approach, your socks knocked off your feet by the overwhelming beauty of the coast of the bay, islands and even Mount Baker in the distance. It is breathtaking, with open mouth.
From the left is a state park, historic lighthouse and buildings, a building of condominiums, the Whidby Iceland Ferry, Ivar's Fish Bar and Restaurant andthen the silver could Inn.
Unfortunately, the Coast Guard lighthouse was not open to visitors of the two days we were there, but we stood outside the fence and looked into the yard.
The Silver Cloud is light in the white gravel siding, clad with parking under the building. If you are in the lobby, a beautiful view of wrap-around view.
The lobby extends over the side of the building, with mullioned windows to the view, making the room seem more like a homeas a public building. The room is arranged with comfortable wing chairs in conversational situations areas, tables and chairs, beautiful framed prints, suitcases that looked as if a guest from the 1940s and '50s, she had only deposed, fireplace, bookshelves with a good cross section of the Books adapted to the tastes of the guests and light for comfortable reading. It ends in a beautiful antique look Kitchen Queen barn with cups and tea bags. The paths in a small kitchen where they keep to the pumpCoffee cans and juices.
We checked into our room, which had the same magnificent view, oriented in the direction of the ferry. The ferry comes in every half hour, up to 1 clock and then go again for an hour, up to 6 clock and then his half-hourly intervals. We had many chances to see the ferry. Out on the sound, which sometimes happens that seems to respect those who had just started dancing. Miraculously, it seems that every time you look out the window, you see,a ferry.
The room had a comfortable blue decor, with an armchair and ottoman, microwave, refrigerator, iron and ironing board, gas fireplace and hot tub in a window overlooking the ferry terminal housing. Best of all for us, but the fact that the room has beautiful lamp is on both sides of the bed and a lamp for the chair and ottoman. We did not have the side of the bed with the lamp to wrestle.
We opted for a walk and looked at the restaurantsacross the street from the Silver Cloud and ferry port. First was the Buzz Inn, which is considered fairly average. There was a lot of activities at Ivar's Fish Bar People come by ferry or lined up waiting for the ferry at Ivar's. We have never tried the fish bar. Don hate lines.
We crossed a small ferry to the busy intersection of Diamond Knot Brewery and restaurant in Manhattan. I saw the posters and newspaper clippings in the window of Manhattan. It seemed that we were aDay later to enjoy belly dancing at the Manhattan. We stuck our heads in the Manhattan and Don said the owner, that we would come back. Then we went into the brewery.
The sign on the door Brewery says: "On In / If the door is unlocked, / We are open Comm / Must 21 years or older" - poetry for the beer drinkers in the world. In other words, if you can get in, you logged in. I found very funny and I did not even have a drink at.
We went to the brewery for a beer to drink. It is a long corridor of aBar with stools lined up at the bar, a conversation with a sofa and chairs, a few tables on the back just before the barrel storage area. The sign was a peanut shell motiff and there was truth in advertising. Peanut shells littered the floor.
We were sitting near the drums and had a house ale. The barrels nature remind us of our home rental day. We have several rental by the University of Puget Sound. Sometimes we would end up with empty barrels students left.
Wedrank the beer and read the local newspaper, The Mukilteo Beacon. The beer was good, but a cigar smoker drove us after just one glass.
For dinner we went to Ivar's restaurant, next to the Silver Cloud. The wind was very lively, it means that it was blowing like crazy. Don and I took our hats. Ivar's watch, a sign on the door warning customers because the wind slamming the door was closed. But it was warm and cozy in the restaurant, we were shown howa table on the water side view.
I ordered the Idaho trout. The waitress said, "I'm sorry, but we're out of it." "Ok, then I'll have the Shrimp Primavera." "I'm sorry, but we are out of this too. We have a lot of things. The cook tells us that someone might go into the store!" Don ordered the fried oysters. I love fried oysters, crispy on the outside if it still melts are cooked on the inside. They had, that I have ordered. These were wonderful. Before ourDinner was also arrived, I heard the waitress telling the woman behind us, "I'm sorry, but we are out of the pan fried oysters." It is a good thing, it did not take us 15 minutes to order.
While we ate, we saw people on the dock. Even with the wind, the people stood and watched the waves and ferry. Two men on the pier again and again cast a crab pot into the water, waited a few minutes and pulled it out. They seemed to be successful. After a while we saw a man leave and when he came back, along theSidewalk, blew his baseball cap into the sand. He has walked past the Silver Cloud, and then went down to the beach, because we saw him later to retrieve his hat about ten minutes.
After dinner we went for a walk on the pier and talked to the man who had lost his hat. Don asked, "How in the world do not hold your hat on anyway, in this wind?" The man was not very talkative, but he said, "I pack it up."
It was windy and cold. Sometimes the wind gusts would be. Sand andShell particles beat against the windows of our room like hail. Back in our cozy room, which I took a long luxurious bath.
The room we had jutted out from the rest of the structure. The main display page containing a gas fireplace and Jacuzzi. The tub looked directly down on the water in the north and the ferry terminal, Ivar, and the rest of the motel rooms in the West.
Don lowered the privacy shades and kept the Inn is beautiful, thick bathrobes to my chest, I humbly crept intothe tub. With the light from Don picked the colors so I could look like. The spa tub of water swirled and agitated. I am relaxed and peered over the tub. A heron walked on the windy coast. I sank back into the warm waters of the spa.
The next morning I went down to the lobby. An antique cabinet stands the breakfast room. He believes China plates, cups and tea bags.
I enjoyed, and make that Continental Breakfast is enjoyed on the Silver Cloud. I had muesli, yoghurt, tea,and a cinnamon twist pastry. They also had fresh fruit, several kinds of coffee, several cereals, many pastries as well as a toaster with bread, bagels, waffles, French toast and English muffins. It was quite extensive and I was pleased. I really enjoyed sitting in a wing back chair at a marble table, looking out at the phenomenal view as I ate.
The best thing about the Silver Cloud's continental breakfast wasn't even the food. It was the detail. They didn't have plastic utensils and the Dishes were placed in pots lined with cloth napkins. Very elegant.
Don got up early. Don will always get up early. He walked into the lobby only to be expected to drink coffee. He wanted to visit the Manhattan restaurant. He may BREAKFAST. With the large selection of Silver Cloud, ate, drank coffee and sat down while he read several newspapers (USA Today, the Seattle Times and Everett Herald all provided by the Silver Cloud is), and observed people. He saw couples, especiallymiddle-aged or older, and businessmen. "I'm in Manhattan tomorrow," he decided.
We went for an exploratory ride public transportation. If you head to Mukilteo Boulevard, you get to a vantage point with beautiful views of the sound and all the way to the Port of Everett.
In Everett, we drove around the gallery of the Arts Council of Snohomish County. I had it once before, look for a retreat to an exhibition of paintings, calligraphy, Jocelyn Curry Asher, so beautiful, socarefully drawn and colored and calligraphy is exquisite.
Susan Russell has also pieces on exhibit there. She teaches art in the Snohomish High School and has a wild woman way with paint, they rave about the red equivalent to locks. I looked at her notebook on the work and bought two tickets from her.
Anyway, since we were overlooking the main room of the gallery on the works of Tim and Lynda Lord. They were sculptures and paintings on the same topic. They were so funny and surprising, thisHeads of women with fantastic decorations. I've even bought a sheet of stamps on the basis of their paintings and sculptures.
In the souvenir shop, she had lots of greeting cards (two brush lettering with illustrations by Susan Russell), jewelry, ceramics, and this ingenious bird feeders. They were cups and saucers, some looked like fine china, most of sturdy stoneware. The cups and saucers were glued and screwed to an aluminum rod that sticks into the ground. They also had to makeInteresting water sources for birds.
There were also interesting garden "flower," cut from sheet metal bolted petal shapes together on an aluminum rod, provided with bottle caps in the center. One of my favorites was from a Guinness bottle. These have been tastefully decorated, favors not like the beer can-crocheted hats fashion terrorist party animals as personal adornment in the 70s. As they move in the wind, the garden would "bloom" a good bird deterrent for your homegrownBerries.
Don looked at the sculpture and found that there is a video production is in progress. Since this is a video producer, he asked about the project and found that a manufacturing and service company Seattle video taping a training video called Keeping the Good Ones. Only a few weeks later I found myself writing up an announcement for the same training program for a client who sells training programs.
On the way out of town, we stopped at the St. Vincent de Paul store, but notdo not see anything worth buying. So sad, often come to save some of the most interesting things from a thrift. During the Christmas season, to a Value Village, I bought my daughter-in-law Eddie Bauer a beautiful bowl with a painted sage green rug outside and Arts and Crafts-looking oak leaves on the inside, for a very good price, and she loved it .
Rolling back in Mukilteo at noon, we stopped at the Manhattan restaurant. The menu offers a fun mix of cuisine, with Egyptian, Greek,Italian, American and Mexican as well as an ice cream parlor. When I see a sign so I wonder they do everything well? Well, they do.
We had an appetizer stuffed grape and cabbage leaves. The grape leaves are better. With coal, we tilted way to the Polish cuisine. The grape leaves are, we remain in the Mediterranean.
I had spaghetti and meatballs and I liked it. The noodles are al dente and the meatballs were very good. Don said it tasted like my meatloaf --Perhaps the same ingredients with the inclusion of something else. I asked what the different tastes and my wife was told Bartos - a little dill.
An Egyptian immigrant couple, Mr. and Mrs. Pete Bartos, who are always there) with her little girls (and two boys in school, capital of Manhattan.
The restaurant is normally closed on Mondays. They were just open to a party, we arrived and they served us as well. . . and then a young couple after us.
During the night we went toIvar's again, but the wind was not blowing so hard, so we could walk instead of haste. I had a wonderful salad. Don had appetizers and we shared a dessert. After dinner we walked hand in hand on the fishing pier and then to the silver on the pedestrian pier Cloud. It was a beautiful evening and the views were so welcoming.
In the evening we saw "Remember the Titans" on pay-per-view. It was a good, thought-provoking film about overcoming prejudice and a unified team. She alsoFavorites Denzel Washington, another good reason to watch them. I said, we are seeking the quiet life.
I drew some mock-ups for valentines in colored pencils in my sketchbook, while Don slept after the film. I've never got any valentines made for all members of the family, but I have an interesting variation on the Don. (He had asked me what I wanted there for a Valentine's Day, and I told him: "A love letter." This was the impetus for me to produce for him, too!)
Donnoticed that there was a small world. Only a few weeks before our trip, we had our son, Del, to put the Leon Russell concert at the Emerald Queen. One of the songs played Leon was his arrangement of a Bobby Dylan (another favorite singer Don's from the old days) song "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall." Don had not heard that song before playback. We have it again in the background of "Remember the Titans".
The next morning I got up and enjoyed the continental breakfast, again inthe beautiful lobby. I ate alone. Don has already gone out. He went into Manhattan and enjoyed the company of owners Pete Botros. They talked for about half an hour. Pete's from Egypt, and spent most of his time in the United States in New York and, therefore, means the office of Manhattan.
"So, as you New York?" Don asked. "No," he replied, "I like it here." About thirteen years ago he went back to Egypt and met his wife there. They married and live upstairs. He was aContractor, but became a restaurant owner about a year ago. The restaurant is still in the making. "They should have been here Saturday evening," said Pete. It sounds like the Manhattan is the place to go on Saturday. Belly dancing seems to attract the masses, but I think that perhaps it is more than just the belly, and dancing. I think people come for the Botros family. Nice people. Good food.
After lunch we went home, reluctantly.
We had decided not to go WhidbyIsland this trip. The ferry is so busy, it has much to discover. I is a line on some B & Bs. Maybe next time. . .
No comments:
Post a Comment