More Garden D'Lights

All the electric foliage was arranges into scenes as you walk along the garden paths.

Inside the scenes were some animals. In the lagoon, there was a swan.

In the jungle there was a monkey...

...and a parrot.

Inside the Visitor Center, there was a glass display case set up as an aquarium.

Garden D'Lights

I will be taking a short break from posting summer pics to bring you fun things from Seattle, so that I don't feel so ridiculously behind all the time.

Bellevue Botanical Garden has a holiday display put together by hundreds of volunteers, called "Garden D'Lights." Strings of lights are fashioned into all sorts of things. This happy guy greeted us at the entrance:

Most of the lights are plants and flowers. Many, many, flowers.

Obligatory close up abstract shot:

Just piles and piles of glowing flowers.

Foliage at Heceta Head

I don't think commentary is necessary. Flowers and stuff.

Heceta Head Lighthouse

The Oregon coast between Waldport and Florence is a gorgeous drive that everyone should do at least once. We stopped at Heceta Head and took a tour of the lighthouse.

Seemed in pretty good shape, but the guide said there are plans to renovate.

You might get a little dizzy taking the very skinny staircase to the top.

The light...

Chicago

I know this is totally out of chronological order, but I totally had to post about my favorite food. So, I went to Chicago recently with Mom and Sis. It was halloween season, so we were greeted by super-classy decorations everywhere we went. The hotel lobby:

Gotta have that hotel coffee every morning to function!

They really love Obama here.

My favorite place in the world to eat: "The Bagel," a deli in Old Orchard Mall in Skokie. Yes, those are real salami's hanging on the wall.

They have a dessert case that has just about anything you can think of dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles.

Mmmmm...nova lox...

These guys know how to fix up a bagel.

And they give you meat on your sandwich. (Yes, that's cream cheese with my corned beef. Live with it, I'm not trying to be kosher.)

Coast

The coast was pretty amazing. A beach at the Oregon Dunes NRA:

A view of the coast. I'm pretty sure this is at Battle Rock Park in Port Orford, OR.

Um, there's lot's of sand on the coast?

I have no idea. I think somewhere between Tillamook and Waldport.

Random thing on the beach, just outside of Crescent City, CA.

Catching a wave...

Beach.

More beach.

And more splashy waves.

Just can't get enough of the beach.

Sunset. I think this was just before our last dinner in Oregon, so that would make it Brookings, if I remember correctly. I really should have documented the whole thing on Google Maps as we did it. Now I can barely remember what we did.

Vancouver

We saw most of the city, but I seemed to be in a odd mood for picture-taking. So, my pics are kinda weird.

Chinatown was fun. All sorts of crazy unidentifiable (edible, I suppose) things...

I could definitely identify the lizard on a stick!

The library is a really cool building.

There's this convention center or something. It has grass on the roof and cool wooden walls. I should have been taking so many more pictures but somebody made me feel self-conscious about being "touristy."

We got fancy cheese and meats and bread at the market for lunch.

The more I look at these pics from last summer, the more upset I am that I didn't take more, and that I didn't carry around my big camera. I will not make the same mistake this year.