Author: Journeys with EileenDiane

Warhawk Air Museum, Nampa, Idaho

Warhawk Air Museum, Nampa, Idaho

Journeys with EileenDiane

When you arrive at the Warhawk Air Museum, you receive a Self-Guided Tour pamphlet… get ready to explore. As you walk about, you will discover many older planes, including P-40N Warhawk, P-40E Kittyhawk, P-51C Mustang, F-86F Sabre Jet, N3N, Fokker DR-1 and two MIGs: MIG-17 and MIG-21. You will find many collections of memorabilia as you peruse the large collection, ranging from “home front” items, including children’s toys, books and puzzles, to a collection of many different types of uniforms worn during WWII to a piece of the Berlin Wall. There are more than 175 items listed in the pamphlet, ranging from a cabinet dedicated to the US Marine Corps, another with submarine items, another with WWI memorabilia to a NASA exhibit. Take your time to read the stories and immerse yourself in a different time.

The museum is located 17 miles from Boise. Their web site has a wealth of information, including about the restoration of a Grumman F9F Panther, the first jet used by the Blue Angels. www.warhawksmuseum.org

Road Trip ~ Western Washington to Boise and Coeur d’Alene

A Very Special Cat

A Very Special Cat

Journeys with EileenDiane
Looking outside for squirrels
She would only drink water from a glass …
Socks had teeth marks from being carried about so often
Never knocked tree over … would sit on the branches …
Comfy on the sofa

Shadow came into my life when she was about four years old. A friend, living in Minneapolis with her husband and two cats, had recently inherited two additional cats from her husband’s nephew. Knowing that my cat had recently died, Mika called, saying, “Shadow is so sweet, but a bit needy. She would be perfect for you. Plus, four cats are just too much!” I laughed and said, “Yes, sounds like a great idea!”

Mika flew to Seattle with Shadow, staying the week-end. Shadow made herself at home immediately. I quickly discovered that my beautiful black, petite cat loved to climb, especially to the top of doors and bookcases. I was always amazed how she kept her balance. Very soon, her favorite place to sleep at night was next to my pillow and we quickly became best buddies.

Shadow’s Ladder

Other places that she enjoyed climbing included a ladder, which I had used to change a light bulb. Seeing that Shadow liked it, I kept in open in the living room, putting a beach towel on the top shelf where she liked to take naps. She loved Christmas, climbing the tree both before and after it was decorated. Because she was so light, she never knocked the tree over, though I would find ornaments on the floor and sometimes she would meow for me to take her down from the tree.

When I accepted a job in Charleston, SC, Shadow accompanied me on my cross-country drive, sitting in her case in the front passenger seat. She loved exploring different hotel rooms each night, especially the high places.  Cross Country with Shadow ~ A Cat Tale (continued) …

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Bloedel Reserve ~ Bainbridge Island, Washington

Bloedel Reserve ~ Bainbridge Island, Washington

Journeys with EileenDiane
Visitor Center
Japanese Gardens

Catch the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, browse the shops and peruse the local restaurants. For walk-on ferry passengers, take Kitsap Transit’s “BI Ride” from the ferry to Bloedel Reserve where you can easily spend several hours exploring the 150 acre public garden and forest preserve.

The bus leaves you at the gate house / gift shop entrance where you start your adventure. Knowledgeable staff will review your Bloedel Reserve map and answer your questions. The map is easy to follow and if time is an issue, you can choose several key spots to explore and leave the full walk for your next visit.

Highlights of your visit to Bloedel Reserve include the serene Japanese gardens (comprised of traditional Japanese gardens, a Sand and Stone Garden and a Japanese Guest House), wild Moss gardens, a waterfall overlook, a boardwalk over wetlands, the bird marsh, maple lane, a reflection pool, camellia walk and the former residence, now the visitor center.

At the visitor center a docent will answer your questions. The library has a collection of 1,400 horticultural and botanical books, available for reading and research on-site. Explore the living and dining rooms on the first floor, check out the plaques on a hallway wall containing a brief history of the reserve, including a quote by Prentice Bloedel, the original owner: “Nature can live without man, but man cannot live without nature.”

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Alaska ~ Train Adventure

Alaska ~ Train Adventure

Journeys with EileenDiane
Botanical Gardens, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
on half day Steamboat tour
a beautiful Alaska sled dog …
on half day steamboat tour
All Aboard … your adventure awaits
Fields of beauty … end of August

Fly to Fairbanks: Check out the terrific Museum of the North at the University of Alaska plus their marvelous botanical garden (HUGE cabbages, plants, flowers). Take a half-day Steamboat tour where you will see a demonstration of seaplanes plus the highlight seeing the friendly Alaska sled dogs and a visit to the Chena Eskimo Village.

Train to Denali National Park. Take the one day tour to Mt. McKinley which is spectacular on a sunny day. The National Park has a nice exhibit and if bears are in the area, signs are posted.

I stayed at The Princess Denali Lodge (next to the Park) which has shuttle service & very good restaurants, especially the Grizzly Bar & Grill. Gorgeous area to walk about. Glad that I spent several days here, rather than being rushed as people on tours seem to be.

Alaska Railroad Train a super experience between Fairbanks and Denali (sit upstairs!) and then Denali to Anchorage. In Anchorage, check out Orso, a marvelous Italian restaurant. Would I return? Oh yes! In addition to spectacular scenery, people are great and the food is quite good. Very memorable journey.

 

 

Cross Country with Shadow ~ A Cat Tale

Cross Country with Shadow ~ A Cat Tale

Journeys with EileenDiane

After ending the job-offer phone call, I enthusiastically screamed, “Hurrah” to Shadow. “I have a new job and we are moving.” Shadow looked at me as if she understood that our lives were about to drastically change. After a year of looking for work, we were about to move from the Pacific Northwest to Charleston, SC.

I immediately started “to do” lists with ”SHADOW” at the top. My intention was to drive, taking Shadow with me. When I brought Shadow to the vet and asked her what she thought, she immediately said “Shadow has to go with you!” She explained that Shadow would adjust to the car travel and spending nights in different hotels as she would be with me. However, if I left her with a neighbor, she would feel rejected and abandoned, especially since she was an older cat.

After I told my family and friends what the vet said, there was no more mention from them of Shadow not accompanying me. With my #1 priority worked out (more or less), I went about making plans for the move, finding an apartment on-line, working with a moving company and mapping out the trip.

Boxes began piling up and Shadow was an integral part of the adventure. She climbed on the boxes and seemed at times to be supervising the packing. Thanks to great neighbors, Shadow & I were able to leave the day prior to the moving company coming which made our departure less chaotic.  Read more →

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Oregon

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Oregon

Journeys with EileenDiane

 

Replica of Fort Clatsop
Replica of Fort Clatsop
Fort to Sea … follow in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark

Start your quest to follow in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark at the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center. You’ll receive a brochure with information about the twelve sites spread over 40 miles which comprise the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. Peruse the gift shop for guidebooks, maps, toys and an extensive selection of books.

The staff recommended Stephen Ambrose’s “Undaunted Courage” to gain an informative understanding of the epic journey.

Browse the exhibit hall which includes a detailed list of preparations for the journey, a panoramic map of the expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific, their clothing, rifles and muskets which were used for hunting, trading and self-defense, the tools they utilized, a replica of a canoe and a diorama of the natives showing the explorers a beached whale.

View the two orientation movies: “Confluence of Time and Courage” about their journey and “A Clatsop Winter Story,” representing Native American views of the visitors, with their different customs and rules.

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Favorite Photos

Journeys with EileenDiane
On a clear day …
The Palace
Marvelous street sign … The Cat who Dances
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Early AM … great time to walk on beach
Versailles Park
in beautiful historic area of city
Jameson … posing
A favorite walk.. high above the ocean
Museum of Flight, Washington

Museum of Flight, Washington

Journeys with EileenDiane

The Museum of Flight, home to more than 150 historic planes, spacecraft and related artifacts, celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2015. It offers an interactive experience for aviation enthusiasts and families at each of its main areas: the Great Gallery, the Tower at Boeing Field, the Red Barn, the Personal Courage Wing, the Space Gallery and the Airpark.

Start your adventure with a 30- or 60-minute guided tour of the Great Gallery. Walk among the reproductions and aircraft, ranging from an 1896 biplane glider to the popular M-21 Blackbird spy plane. Indulge your Red Baron fantasies by climbing into the cockpit of an SR-81 Blackbird or an F/A-18 Hornet.

If feeling adventurous, check out the X-Pilot simulator and take the controls. Fly a jet fighter or a WWII combat plane, engage in a dog fight, doing loops and 360 degree rolls. The 13-seat 4D-X simulator is tamer with 3-D graphics and some motion.

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