August 8, 2010 – Playing in Poulsbo, WA.

Would you believe me if I said this was where we were staying while in Poulsbo, WA? Darn, you are right! Not a chance, smile!

This is the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. The 150-acre reserve was given “to the public” by Virginia Bloedel so we could enjoy nature’s beauty—and we did!

We came to Poulsbo, WA, WA, to see Jerry & Mary Frye’s new fantastic kitchen and living room re-built by Mary and Jerry—with their own hands! Mary requested two sinks and a kitchen bigger than my living room in Texas. (Mary is a gourmet cook and deserves a kitchen like the one she designed and built.)

Her cooking area—granite counters with tile back splashes. Yes, they installed all of it. The cabinets are from IKEA; do you know what that means? They assembled all the cabinets too.

The prep sink and ovens—across the room from the cooking area. See Mary’s double ovens? Drool!

And the clean-up sink—between the other two photos across the room also. Isn’t it wonderful? And I have a kitchen in the camper with two drawers and two cabinets! Oh well, life is not fair.

On the way, we drove out to Manchester State Park just east of Port Orchard and guess what we saw in a field? We have driven passed by Siberian tigers and elephants in our travels, not to mention alpacas and llamas, however, this was a first:

And he (?) wasn’t alone…along with a double-humpy camel, we spied a single hump camel too—in a field in Washington.

I wondered if they thought snow was very cold sand??? We see oddest things in our wanderings!

Mary and I visited Poulsbo, the Scandinavian-themed town where they live, and Bainbridge, to check out the shops. We stopped to sample ice cream at the new shop in Poulsbo--and again the next day in Bainbridge:

Mary is thrilled—dark chocolate ice cream!

We both tried the dark chocolate ice cream, the first day---and the Italian chocolate the next day.

I think Mary’s smile says it all! If you are in the Northwest and see a sign with Mora Ice Cream, and you like chocolate, try the dark chocolate.

Back to the Bloedel Reserve. Mary and I treated ourselves to another day out…to check out the gardens. Little did I know I was agreeing to a one-mile walk in---and another mile walk out!

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The estate is a slice of heaven—all the best parts of heaven.

See Mary walking, walking, walking……

And, of course, there is a Japanese garden, with a Zen garden too. Feel the peace!

And they didn’t forget the reflecting pond either.

While touring the garden, visitors are invited wander around the downstairs of the mansion. This is the view from the deck—they can see all the way to Seattle.

Gee, rich folks have a rough life, smile.

After spending four nights with Fryes, we moved next door to the Eagle Tree RV Park to discharge our full tanks. It is a lovely park, ($32 a night) but we were parked in the trees—and when it rained, as it did for both days, it continued to drizzle for hours after the outside-the-trees rain stopped.

We went to Sunday breakfast at the Farm Kitchen Cafe with Mary & Jerry. The Farm Kitchen Cafe offers a First-Saturday breakfast. I think it is popular; Mary & I stood in line for an hour….

See Larry; see Larry stand in line. I don’t think Larry will agree to another breakfast at the Farmhouse Cafe in the near future!

The bacon was delicious! I heard they cook it twice. What ever they do, it was yummy!

On Sunday, we moved to Chimicum, WA, a whole 26 miles—a long travel day, to the Escapees Co-Op park on Sunday morning. Their campground was full; we were offered a dry-camp parking spot for $5 plus 52 cents tax.

“Yes, Virginia, Washington charges lodging taxes on a parking space,” We bring our own bed, linens, water, bathroom, and take away our sewer, and still have to pay a lodging tax for parking overnight. We spent that afternoon checking options and decided to move to Sequim Elk’s Club on Monday morning for a water/electric site for $16 a night donation.

We are exploring the Olympia National Park for the next few days.