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Our second day out and about in Los Angeles took us to Burbank for a two-hour tour of the Warner Brothers Studio. I found the art on the walls a little more interesting than ‘’the arch roofed sound stages all painted a uniform tan. But the bat cave lighting at the bat mobile display did make for some interesting effects.

From there we went to the Farmer’s Market and dispersed to find lunch of our choice. I opted for a shrimp and oyster Po’ boy which was delicious.

Next up the La Brea Tar pits which we were told translates to the the tar tar pits. In any case the museum displays of prehistoric animals caught in the tar were very interesting, including a wall of dire wolf skulls. The tar pits themselves were a little underwhelming as they did not fit my imagined picture of bubbling black ooze but rather a lake with some methane bubbles and a few fenced off spots with tar covered sticks and leaves but no current activity.

Back to the hotel for a rest and dinner followed by an interesting presentation on the early days at Capitol Records, the home of which we will be seeing today as we make our way to Hollywood via subway.

I set out today up the Little River to Cades Cove. This is an area of scenic vistas and well preserved historic buildings. Churches, cabins, a mill, barns were all in the mix. Unfortunately, it is one of the most popular areas in the Park and even on a Friday morning in May it was well attended. I refrained from killing one German tourist in particular and still managed to get some good images. I hate to think what it must be like in summer.

I have to say, I have never seen so many butterflies in one place just flying around. There were literally everywhere. This blue one stopped to pose for me, not the best background but they don’t often stop so I couldn’t be choosy. I may be able to pretty it up with a new background when I have a little more time for processing. There were a lot of yellow ones as well.

I was ready to leave the hoards behind by noon and retreated to Gatlinburg for a rest in my room and lunch at Bubba Gumps before a late afternoon foray to Roaring Fork Motor Nature trail. More cabins and some nice stream and waterfall access. I was afraid to go on a hike as they keep forecasting rain though it has not yet materialized. Tomorrow is up to 80% chances but that’s down from the 90% they were forecasting as if yesterday so we’ll see. It does make it hard to plan but I may try for another shot at Cades Cove later in the day after the masses have gone to dinner tomorrow if it is not raining.

I really don’t have a lot to show for the first two days of the Road Scholar Program. We started Tuesday at the Heard Museum in Phoenix which featured art and culture of the Indians of the Southwest. This mural shows the many tribes dancing together.

It was dark in the museum and I tried to photograph some of the baskets, pottery and jewelry but with little success. I did come up with one halfway decent shot of some Hopi Kachinas and some Navajo jewelry. After lunch at the museum we proceeded to make our way to the Hopi Second Mesa through snowy Flagstaff. It was a 5-hour bus ride and visibility was not too good due to the rain and snow. It has been a dry year here and everyone is glad for the moisture though it did literally put a damper on our activities.

I may have mentioned that absolutely no photography is allowed on Hopi lands. It was explained to us that the reason is because in the past pot hunters have used photographs to locate sacred objects which have been stolen from the Hopi resulting in an irreparable loss to their culture.

We were allowed to take photographs during a demonstration of Hopi pottery making Wednesday morning. Their pots are made with coils rather than turning on a wheel and they are fired by burning sheep dung in an open fireplace rather than a kiln. Designs are painted onto the pots before they are fired and artist needs to understand how the various pigments will change during the firing.

In the afternoon we visited Old Oraibi Village, said to be the longest continuously inhabited settlement in North America. It was a little sad to see that many of the old structures had been torn down and replaced with concrete block houses. Though the village does not have electricity or indoor plumbing there were solar panels and satellite dishes in evidence on many of the homes.  

The Hopi are an interesting people and I would like to know more about them. Our guided explained that Hopi is not really the name of a group of people but a way of life. The Hopi separated themselves from other Puebloan groups in order to pursue a more peaceful lifestyle. On our last day on Second Mesa we were treated to a traditional Hopi meal prepared by our Hopi guide’s wife.

Today started with a visit to the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens which have been built on the site of a former golf course. I think it was the best garden we have seen yet. There were ornamental beds, a rose garden, a pond with a peninsula with species from the Southern Hemisphere, a vegetable garden highlighting the species that do well in this climate. We had a guided tour which had the advantage of imparting a lot of information but the disadvantage of not allowing enough time for creative photography. I did manage to get some good pictures, but I am jonesin’ to try out my artsy lenses and that requires a little more free time with the flowers. We still have three more days of gardens though so maybe I will manage it yet.

From the gardens we proceeded to the Ferry Terminal to catch the Ferry to Victoria. We were a little late getting in but otherwise all went smoothly. On the bus ride from the Ferry terminal to the hotel we had a lecture on the history of Victoria. I don’t think I slept through too much of it.

We are now ensconced in the Royal Scot Hotel where we were welcomed by a real live bagpiper. My hotel room is larger than several apartments I have lived in over the years. The salmon dinner at the hotel tonight was very good but the service was a bit sketchy.

Today we set out with a guide from the Ecology Society to tour Stanley Park. Our first stop was the rose garden where we found most of the roses in decline but a few late bloomers looking pretty good. There were also ornamental beds lending color to the edges. Next we stopped at Prospect Point where there were more ornamentals and a nice view of the suspension bridge. Then we took a walk in the woods and learned all about hemlocks, Douglas fir and Western Red Cedar the three stalwarts of the Pacific Rainforest.

After dropping off our guide we proceeded to Chinatown to tour the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Garden. The first traditional Chinese garden in North America. We learned about the jade pond and got to watch the feeding of the Koi which was interesting because the call them using a gong suspended just into the water. The fish apparently can feel the vibration and have come to associate it with being fed.

Then we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant which was a multi course meal served family style which featured eggrolls, pot stickers, fried rice, vegetables, shrimp with vegetables, sweet and sour pork (I think) and beef with broccoli. We then walked it off with a tour that took us to gas town. We had to circumvent some area in order to avoid the homeless and drug addicts. It seems that most of the younger generation Chinese have moved out to Richmond and the area is in decline.

Arriving in Gastown which is the heart of old Vancouver where the city got its start, we had to contend with the cruise ship hoards and I was ready to go back to the hotel though on another day without so much gear I would have liked to wander the streets and shop. Without the cruise ship hoards that is. We too the bus back to the hotel and I collapsed on my bed for an hour. I registered 10,000 steps on my fitbit without leaving my room.

This is going to be short because it is late and I am tired.  I spent my first half day in Vancouver, B.C. today and so far I am impressed. Everyone is talking about the heat wave. Gee, I think it might have gotten up to 80 today. But the natives were out enjoying it and the tourists are here in droves.

Vancouver is a city of high rise buildings surrounded by water. Beyond the water there are mountains in all directions. It is a city of vast open spaces and miles of bicycle and walking trails. It is a city of art and architecture. And it is a city that celebrates diversity and embraces its heritage. It is a city where food is celebrated from farm to table to around the world.

I took a Hop on, Hop off tour today but I only hopped off once for about an hour to explore Granville Island and eat lunch. It still took four hours just to ride around the city on the bus. To visit all the museums and explore all the neighborhoods would take, oh, I don’t know, maybe a year. I’m looking forward to learning more over the next few days.

Once again we made our way down to the Spring Street Landing to board the Chinook where breakfast was served as we cruised north toward Sucia Island. We took a side trip around Spieden Island where we saw deer grazing on the hillsides and harbor seals lounging on the beach. The highlight, though was a whole family of bald eagles sharing a fresh kill. I think it was salmon but they were far enough away it was hard to tell. But the parents were standing guard on the hillside while the juveniles dined. Then all five took off and were circling and calling to one another.

We continued on to Sucia where we disembarked and split into two groups. My group started with a short hike to some fossil beds. Mostly seashells embedded in rock. Then we waited for the other group to return from Shallow Bay which, when our turn came, proved to be a lovely walk through the woods to a secluded inlet.

Back on the Chinook around 1pm we were served a yummy lunch of fried chicken and potato salad accompanied by an individual bottle of champagne! The afternoon was spent cruising leisurely back toward Friday Harbor  with views of boats and lighthouses, bald eagles and harbor seals, lots of Islands and many fine views of Mount Baker.

We got back into port around 4:30 and said goodbye to the Chinook and her crew. I went back to my room and fell asleep while trying to read. Then roused myself for a walk downtown to dine on more Dungeness crab at the Cask and Schooner, a local pub.

Well, it’s been a wild few days getting to North Carolina and adjusting to the time change but the results have been well worth it. I had to choose between being at the Medford airport by 4am for a 5 o’clock flight or leaving in the evening to catch the redeye from Portland to Atlanta and then on to Raleigh. I opted for the redeye. Well, I thought it would be a good idea to get to the airport a little early and grab some dinner at the restaurant there. Oh, Medford, how can you call yourself an International Airport when the one restaurant isn’t even open at 6pm?  So, I grabbed some snacks from the gift shop to tide me over until Portland, where I had a two and a half hour layover. Fortunately, there was a Rogue brewery outlet right next door to my gate. I highly recommend the Chocolate Stout and the Mahi Mahi fish and chips.

Unfortunately, it was a full flight and sleeping wasn’t really an option. Even if I could sleep sitting up with a 250 lb man encroaching on my space, there was so much turbulence it woke me up every time I thought I might drop off.

My vision of coffee between flights was quickly dispelled when I realized that the redeye was half an hour late and I had only 45 minutes to change planes if it was on time. Of course, the flight to North Carolina was departing from a different terminal. By some miracle I arrived at the gate just before they shut the door. Though I feared for my bag it turned out my bad baggage karma was over for now and it arrived in Raleigh on the same flight as me at 8:30 local time.

Alas, I still had a 2 ½ hour drive and a 20 minute ferry ride ahead of me. Fortunately the traffic wasn’t too bad and I was fortified with Starbucks. After two rest stops and a killer Carolina barbeque lunch I made the 2pm ferry to Bald Head Island where I was greeted by my old and dear friend Betsi.

After dropping my bag at her house we proceeded on a tour of the island. The cool air on the ferry and lunch had bucked me up for a while and I enjoyed a walk on the beach where we scared off some birds and looked for sea shells followed by a home cooked dinner before I finally crashed completely at 9pm. I should mention that Bald Head Island is mostly car free (service pickups are allowed) and we zoomed around the Island in a golf cart. There are only 200 year around residents on the Island so it was pretty quiet this time of year and we mostly had the roads and beaches to ourselves.

Next day we set out to photograph some of the things I saw on the tour the previous day including this falling down fence and to take another walk on the beach. We found lots of shells and lots of feathers but it took some time to turn up the elusive goal…a perfect sand dollar!  Betsi found this one but graciously gifted it to me and it is now carefully packaged in bubble wrap and a box for the trip back to Oregon. The weather, I have to say has been absolutely gorgeous.

Just before dinner the first night Betsi said “Come here, I want to show you something.” So we walked across the street to a gazebo overlooking a lagoon and here were upwards of 30 great egrets come in to roost for the night. Of course, it was too dark to photograph and when we came back the next day they all flew away but this great blue heron wasn’t budging and as we were waiting for the egrets to come back a whole herd of turtles swam by. We then went down to West Beach for the sunset which was
spectacular and I once turned around and there was Old Baldy (the lighthouse) surrounded by pink clouds. I went back to see if I could capture the egrets and though it was pretty dark I did get this one shot.

After a good breakfast and a short nature walk it was back on the ferry for me the next day and a totally different kind of experience in downtown Wilmington which I will tell you about later.