Jasooralmadinah Travels&Tours: You have to add a trip to the tulip farms of the Pacific Northwest to your bucket list

Monday, 20 July 2015

You have to add a trip to the tulip farms of the Pacific Northwest to your bucket list

My favorite trip to cross off my bucket list: Visiting the tulip farms of the Pacific Northwest.

At the age of 50, kids raised and on their own. I decided to try something I'd never done before. Being adventurous was on the list, along with seeing a tulip farm. Living in the Nevada desert, there are no flower farms anywhere close to me.

Jodi DeRuise

Jodi DeRuise

My research showed me farms in WA and OR. Well... Now I wanted to see both! So my best friend, my daughter, and her friend decided to take a little road trip.

We only had a week, and wanted to see and do a lot. We decided to fly to Victoria Canada, rent a car, and drive it home, stopping and doing whatever and wherever we wanted along the way.

Jodi DeRuise

The Butchart Gardens in Victoria was the first thing added to my list the second we touched down! It was beautiful in the spring, but now I just have to go back to see all that wasn’t in bloom in April. The smell of the hyacinth is something I’ll never forget.

Jodi DeRuise

Pike Place Market in Seattle was our next fun little stop, especially shopping and trying out everything at Le Panier! You’ve got to try their "Savory Square with Chicken" if you get the chance -- so yummy! We even bought some tulips there just to carry around, a nice preview of what was to come.

Jodi DeRuise

Next stop: The Mt. Vernon tulip festival. It was everything I’d ever dreamed of and more -- after hours of photographing the incredible tulips and having lunch, we headed to Mt. Olympus. Taking a ferry short cut, we got to our destination for the evening much quicker. It was so beautiful. The views were amazing. We hot tubbed with wine and sat amongst the beautiful trees and evening moon.

Jodi DeRuise

The next day we were off to see the Hoh Rainforest. On the way we had a choice to see Cape Flattery, but this would take an additional 3 ½ hours, 2 in and 1 ½ back to the highway. We had to make a decision, since visiting the Cape would mean less time at the Rainforest. .... at the last second, we took the turn off. We came this far, we had to!

Jodi DeRuise

I’m so grateful we did, because this place took my breath away. The 2 hour drive there alone was crazy beautiful, with several small beaches and coves along the way. We stopped at each one and walked around gathering drift wood and shells and even watched 6 bald eagles playing above us in the sky. My jaw literally dropped at the beauty the Cape held too once we got there. I will always treasure that feeling I had when we walked the little path and came up to the first look out. Just breathtaking.

Jodi DeRuise

Jodi DeRuise

Next stop: the Rainforest.

Who knew we had a rain forest in the US?! Not me! We took a 2-mile hike and photographed the beautiful mosses, but the pictures just don’t show the true beauty and the colors.

Jodi DeRuise

On the way to Oregon we stopped in Forks to pay our respects to the filming of the Twilight series (the girls wanted to stop so bad). Other highlights in Oregon definitely included the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Silverton, the hike to Silver Falls, the gorgeous tulip farm in Woodburn, Oregon, and blowing glass in the town of Lincoln.

Jodi DeRuise

Jodi DeRuise

From the coast we just picked a winding, dirt (and at times one-lane) road to get us back over to Napa/Sonoma area. What an adventure, eating and photographing our way from Canada back home to Nevada, and one that should definitely be on your next bucket list.

By: Jodi DeRuise