Go Take A Hike!

It wasn't really a hike, but on Friday morning we walked from our RV park in Tumwater to the marina in Olympia. It was a trek of about 5 1/2 miles one way. We left about 10:10 after I made 2 sandwiches and stuck them into my backpack with my camera. We decided to walk down there, but we would take the city transit bus back to Tumwater. There is a bus stop right by home. About 6 years ago, we walked both ways and that was way too much for my poor feet. We lived further away at that time and it was a round trip of 13 miles. Never again, and that is why we planned on the bus ride home. (double click on a photo for larger view)

Our path takes us down Capital Blvd., which goes right into the marina area. Along the way, we pass right by our state capitol building. We stopped to take a couple of pictures. This is the fountain that is easily seen from the street and sidewalk.

This is the main capitol building with the 287-foot masonry dome, which is one of the largest in the world. The U.S. flag was flapping nicely in the warm breeze with our state flag beneath it.

We continued on our walk toward the marina, still a good distance away. I snapped this photo of one of our tree lined streets in downtown Olympia. This area was damaged heavily in the Nisqually earthquake several years prior, but has been rebuilt since.

We finally got to our destination at the water. It took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach Budd Bay. The boats were mostly at the docks, but when the weekend comes they will surely be out on the water. The boat owners know they need to take advantage of every good day while they last. Winter will come along all too soon.

Some lucky boat owners have boathouses for protection....most do not. We did see For Sale signs on many of the larger boats/yachts.

This is the Budd Bay Cafe waterfront restaurant which has a very popular outdoor cafe as well as indoor seating. It has excellent seafood choices, but I have to say it isn't as good as it used to be when we first moved here in 1994. The original owners sold it and we don't go back anymore. It's OK, but we now prefer the Oyster House.

We bought ourselves a Pepsi from a vendor by the Farmer's Market and sat down to enjoy the view and the sandwiches I brought along. We never tire of the views in and around Olympia. From this area you are looking at Budd Inlet which goes out to Puget Sound. In the distance you can see the Olympic Mountains out on the Olympic Peninsula. During the winter these are snow capped peaks and the sight is fantastic.

We finished our lunch and the cell phone rang. It was our son, Dennis, wondering where we were. He was at the RV. Our car was there but we were not. We explained that we had walked down to the marina. I asked him if he'd like to drive down and pick us up and we wouldn't have to take the transit bus. He said, "Sure". So we walked over toward the Oyster House restaurant where he could find us easily.

On the way, we walked along 4th Street and I took this final picture of the capitol building.

Here is the Oyster House Restaurant, which has another popular outdoor eating area. During the late spring and summer it is common to find all the tables occupied during lunch. We began coming here to the Oyster House for our family Thanksgiving dinner. That "tradition" started in 2005 when Bruce had heart by-pass surgery the day before Thanksgiving. I planned to spend most of the day at the hospital and not in the kitchen, so I took everyone to this restaurant instead. That began our new tradition and we have gone there every year since. They put out a fabulous buffet on the holiday with the usual turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings. Plus, they have baked salmon, chicken, pork roast, roast beef, assorted cheeses, salads and many desserts. It's a no-brainer for me now.....we just take everyone there.

While we waited for Dennis to come and play taxi, I walked over to Percival Landing (right by the Oyster House) and took a picture of this sculpture titled, "The Kiss".

We had enjoyed our day out at the marina and the walk was good. However, I was just fine with getting a ride back home!

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Note: I'm not cuckoo, here in this community they use the spellings "capitol" and "capital" in all mixed up ways. I just go with it and I think it is a capital idea.

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Until next time.....so long for now!