Beautiful Birch Bay

Even at low tide, when it's a sunny day with all 10,781 feet of Mt. Baker gloriously visible...

Victoria, BC: Blighty's Bistro

A great dining spot on Oak Bay Avenue for Louise and us...

Sunday Afternoon Baseball: The Bellingham Bells

What a glorious day in the Northwest to attend a baseball game. Three of our grandchildren are visiting us, along with their parents, and they suggested we attend the game. For something like $9 a ticket we got seats right behind home plate, and for a bonus today featured special events for the young ones nearby, including balloon animals and a bounce house.

This was new to us. The Bellingham Bells are a Collegiate Summer Baseball Team, part of the West Coast League. The team comprises college amateur players who have played at least one year and also have at least one year of collegiate eligibility remaining. 

They took on the Victoria Harbour Cats today. After attaining a 2-0 lead in early innings, they eventually got drubbed 9-2. The most spectacular single play included two errors, both overthrows.

Our grandkids saw wild pitches, a balk, successful steals, and all from up close. What a great afternoon.

The official mascot is Dinger, a hamster... a Bellinghamaster. Get it?

Ferndale, Washington: Mt. Baker across the Nooksack River

Sehome Summer

Surrey, B.C. Dining: Tasty Indian Bistro Lives Up to Its Name

Surrey, B.C. is home to a lot of Indo-Canadians, and a lot of eateries that dish up fine curry, naan, and butter chicken. We drove up on a rainy Saturday to watch grandson Jake play Spring League basketball. With two hours between games, Jake wanted to watch other games in the gym with his teammates and eat the food he'd brought. 

We, on the other hand, drove his mother the 10 minutes or so to the Tasty Indian Bistro, Trip Advisor's top-rated restaurant (of 690) in all of Surrey. 

Tasty it was, a surprisingly elegant interior in a fairly typical strip mall.

Above is a dish, new to us, recommended by our charming waiter: Malai Chicken Tikka. Below is the balance of our feast, a bargain fifty bucks, given the quality and quantity. And then it was back to the gym, to watch Jake play.

Double Zero sinks a free throw.

Sunday Afternoon Home Cannelloni Assembly

Kale (instead of spinach) from our garden...

Ricotta cheese filling...

Beef and pork filling...

Sauce...
Béchamel sauce - Fun to watch it change color...

It's always handy to have three-year-old Parmigiano-Reggiano on hand...

Brian stuffed the cheese tubes and Kathy the meat tubes. How can you tell?

On goes the Béchamel...

It looks like an Italian assembly line...

We finish up with the tomato sauce and the parmesan...

It looks good in the oven and will look even better within reach on the dining table.

Buon Appetito!

Flight Delay in Portland

We enjoyed our flight on Alaska from Honolulu to Portland, including a pleasant lunch.

As we were landing, we caught a hazy glimpse of Mt. Hood in the distance.

Once landed, we found our flight up to Bellingham is delayed by an hour, so it's time to check out the PDX Alaska Boardroom, making us happy for the second time today that we sprang for a membership.

Honolulu: HNL Admirals Club

Our Alaska Boardroom membership admitted us to this very nice and very quiet lounge that American and Japan Airlines share. No doubt it's busier when a JAL plane is outbound.

It's an interesting circular layout.

Full self-serve bar but we'll stick to coffee at this hour.

There's even self-serve rice ball and Umami soup. Of course we had try some.

Very mild but not unpleasant...

Hilton Hawaiian Village: Evening Views