A Basket Case?

Emily is a great host and on several of our visits to the US she's booked us passage to major sporting events, whether baseball, American football or, on our recent trip to Seattle, basketball. And, over the years I have become accustomed to the hoopla of such events: their ramping up of the players and the teams; video replays of scoring occasions; the entertainment between sessions of play; and so on.

The basketball was no exception. Here's the view I had of the stadium just after our arrival, with a large noisy audience making their way to their seats

Players were introduced one by one to the audience and we could just make them out from some distance away. Or we could watch them close-up on the screens handing from the ceiling.

Then the teams got together for, I guess, instructions from the coaches and the stadium itself  was more clearly lit up. All this took quite a while.

The home team's Mascot was apparently this 'fake' bear which roamed all over the stadium floor greeting people. Isn't the US full of fake news and people right now?

And while all the introductions were in progress people kept arriving and buying food or other goods.

Yet more parades, introductions and instructions still followed

This included the bear, as you can see here.

And, finally, after quite a while, the audience was in place. Do you recognise any of the people close-by?

Strangely, I didn't take any photos of the play itself. I guess that it was too fast and remote from where we were sitting. However, I might just add that the hoopla continued whenever there were intervals in the game - and, wow, there many. Play was suspended to exchange those on the court with those seated on the side benches or at intervals when the sides exchanged ends. Likewise, when the home team scored the event was replayed to much applause.

Still it was an enjoyable experience and, at least, Seattle won.

AS

In the Land of the Gods

Another superb experience we had during our North American stay was a trip to the Olympic National Park lying to west of Seattle across Puget sound. I've seen the Olympic range many times from near Emily's home in Kirkland. On cannot miss it as it soars 8000 feet above sea level and is frequently draped in snow while only being maybe 20 + km away.

This time we took 3 days off over the Memorial Day long weekend to stay at an Airbnb home in Port Angeles on the Olympic peninsula's north coast. And, on the second day, which was bright and sunny, we drove up to Hurricane Ridge, one of the highlight spots in the national park to take in the view and walk a trail. All 6 of us took the trip, including Emily and Greg and their two kids, Flynn and Ella. Dot and I, as grandparents, made up the test of the entourage. It was a fantastic experience!

The road journey itself - only about 25 km from where we were staying - was exciting as the road snaked in a fairly gentle manner ever higher and the scenery grew ever more spectacular. At the ridge-top visitor's centre we alighted from our car and were met with a sweeping view of the snow-capped mountains. The first picture is one of 5 taking in the whole range and shows the highest point, Mt Olympus itself, reaching just short of 8,000 feet. Of course, the original Mt Olympus is in Greece and was thought 2,000 or so years ago to be the spot where the Greek gods hung out.

And this picture is a close-up version of Mt Olympus with its mini-glaciers. 

Five of us then started to walk one of the park's main trail, which climbed for about 2.5 km (1.6 miles) to a great lookout which gave us even better panoramic views of the mountains and their surrounds. Take this for example:

And the countryside was not without its wildlife, including the deer shown here, brown bears which had been seen the morning of our arrival - but not on our route, chipmunks, and

It was also the season when the wild-flowers emerged from hibernation.

And this was our ultimate destination via a well-maintained walking track.

The higher we got on the track, the more panoramic the view across the mountain range. And, by the way, it was warm enough at c. 6,000 feet for me to wear summer geear.

This was despite a few remnant pieces of ice still on the hillside - the ice was useful for 'snowball' fights among some of our party - guess who.

And here's a cheerful little chappy - a marmot snugly dressed in fur looking for food and maybe human company.

The higher we got, the more expansive the views.

And those included Port Angeles below, followed by a feint image of Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada across the straight separating the two nations. Victoria, the capital of B C lies somewhere in the distant haze.

On the north-facing slope, the cooler weather had preserved rather more of the winter snow-drifts.

And here's another marmot looking for food, just like the young deer we found at the side of the trail.

And, finally, here I am taking a breather with a mountainous background.

This was a lovely experience, and highly recommended if you have the chance.

AS

A Bavarian Encounter

We're coming to the end of our trip to Seattle to our family members living there and celebrate Ella's 8th birthday. But over the three weeks we have had many excellent experiences that I'll report on over my next few posts. Perhaps one of the most exceptional outings took us the little town of Leavenworth buried in the Cascade mountain range bordering the eastern side of the Seattle region.

Its population is a little under 2000 people and a century ago Leavenworth's main source of survival was its timber processing industries. Those eventually gave out, partly for environmental reasons, and the town came to see its future based on tourism and over many decades it has transformed itself into an up-market tourist destination. And the attraction is? Well, the Cascade scenery is great - with its mountains, valleys, forests, lakes and many walking trails. But many other places share these attractions. Leavenworth did something much rarer and more imaginative. It turned itself into a Bavarian village and indeed a rather authentic one! Apart from that, it contains many ethnic restaurants - some German, lovely hotels, plenty of high-end gift shops, and such entertainment as music and 'horse-drawn coach-rides.

I let my pictures tell the story. When we left Kirkland the day was dull, windy and wet - most unpleasant. However, Emily explained that the weather in the Cascades could be very different to the coast and that Leavenworth was sheltered by the mountains, an opinion that proved correct!

The sun broke through as we headed eastwards into the mountains.

We finally found Leavenworth with its cheery roadside greeting.

And another one in town to reinforce the point!




















My first impression on leaving our car was Wow! This is something very special - not just a few Bavarian - like buildings but masses of them. In fact nearly every building in sight.

My favourable impression was aided by the mass of wall murals, German wording, other artistic displays and even street signage.












And all this was cradled in the mountains











Moreover, the design of buildings included a lot of wooden features including balconies and intricate gables on roofs. This was not something that arose haphazardly, but required massive investment and careful control.




Another central European design feature on many buildings was over-hanging balconies or facades like those shown here.











And one recurring image on the walls was that of the castle developed by the 'mad' King Ludwig of Bavaria - the famous
Schloss Neuschwanstein.

The signage on buildings also contributed to the atmosphere. Here's Bear House.





















And Mozart, below, got a look in. Many of the eateries also cashed in on the atmosphere - German or otherwise.





















Of course, some businesses couldn't avoid flying the stars and stripes.












But most played the game.












 Of course, what went on inside could be rather different. Here I am in a clothing store with my mate - a local grizzly bear.











But outside again, the arrival of these coaches did much to reinforce the Bavarian image. We didn't take a ride, however, as we were attracted to the arrival of tens of school kids armed with violins, cellos, and violas. I don't know why this happened, but their performance of works like those of Mozart again matched Leavenworth's image. They were also very good.

Meanwhile, one of the carriages trotted by. And here we can see Emily and Dot enjoying their Bavarian lunch. Naturally, we ate Bavarian ... and mine was naturally some kind of wurst.

 All up it was a great day!

AS