Sol Duc Hot Springs Birthday

I'm going to the Sol Duc Hot Springs on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula, on August 14. It's my birthday, and I want to swim and soak and get a massage for these tired bones! I'm doing it after my birthday on Sunday, so I can get an appointment.

Come join me. Bring a swimsuit and towel, and flipflops or other swimming shoe. The pool entrance fee is very inexpensive. The pools range from mild to very hot, and the pool is a delight. But hide shiny stuff - ravens fly overhead!

They have food at the pool, including the Sol Duc Resort restaurant and a snack bar. No eating in the pool area, of course, but direct access. Gorgeous walking trails, to Sol Duc Falls. 

There's cabins and camping, too. If they don't have them, try the Last Chance Camp and Equine Rest Stop in Forks. Which means you can bring your horse. The husband is frightened of Liberals, but he likes fun. And Veronica, who runs the place, is definitely fun! 

Come join me. If you can't, I'll be doing this every year!

My 60th Dragon Birthday - More Cakes Than Anybody

I'm a Dragon, in the Chinese calendar. This is my 60th year.  I had the most fabulous birthday anyone could wish for.  Well, I did.

Firs of all, I had a cake that frosted itself, when Wendy Emlinger sent me this fabulous birthday card.

Best Reuben ever.

Then we toured Seattle's Fremont neighborhood and had lunch at Homegrown restaurant. An accidental choice, made for the elegant and soothing decor. But the food was a revelation. The best Reuben sandwich I'd ever had (and I had a truck-driver dad who used to drive me about to taste pies and Reubens in rural Washington), combined with an arugala-hazelnut-almost-too-many-figs salad. Goodness.

Roberta Gregory took me to the King Tut Exhibit in Seattle, and we discovered that an ancient prince had accidentally speared his beloved - and no doubt sacred - hunting cat. This was very sad, and we read it in words and pictures on the cat's sarcophagus. Ancient drawn books coming alive. Well, you look at it and tell us that's a cat's tail - usually carved so smoothly and elegantly by the Egyptian sculptors - and not a rigid lance head. We felt so sorry for the cat and the prince.

Afterwards we discovered Morfey's Cakes, and the adorable and sprightly (sprite-like?) baker, Erin Blanchard. Morfrey should be filming her for their site. She's completely excited by her art. While I didn't taste any of it - I am 60, after all, and now it's about the eyes - in this case it was truly about the eyes.  Ooh la la.

Erin Blanchard and The Blue Cake.. 

The cake tower - with Rainbow Cake.

Too - many - cakes.

The gray cake. The Eifel tower atop it had melted in the heat.

Only pretending to taste. Om imaginary nom.

Someplace in the course of the day we did truly tasty coffee at the wonderful El Diablo Coffee Company.

We ended up at the Oddfellow's Hall restaurant, where Maggie Bloodstone shared the icy top sip of all her champagne flutes with me. Marvelous.

Finally, Ron Austin sent me the link to part of his amazing international comics-author series. Right when I needed it for an interview.