monkey tree cafe

on vashon island, there were two places where i was interested in having lunch: monkey tree cafe and la boucherie (the retail and dining arm of sea breeze farm, which i also wanted to visit). since la boucherie is only open wednesdays-sundays, that left one choice. (with me, not having to make a decision is often a good thing).

when we got off the ferry, julia asked where we were supposed to go, and i told her we were going to lunch. we made the wrong turn from the ferry, but that was okay since it gave us a chance to see the island and we weren't really in a hurry anyway. once it reached the southern tip of the island, the highway turned around so we were soon heading in the right direction.

this is the monkey tree cafe, a nondescript building next to a gas station and the electric company. if you didn't know about it, you wouldn't give it a second look when you're driving down the highway. so, it's a good thing that i did know about it. once we parked and i saw the outside, i was rather glad because it did look like a cool place even from outside.
when we walked in, the first thing we saw were bread and pastries (it's a bakery as well as a cafe)--they looked delectable. the place itself was small--there were wooden tables (some made from wine barrels), coffee table books propped against the walls, antique knicknacks, and just and overall eclectic mix of decorations.

we headed to the back of the cafe (there's outdoor seating, too--but it was too wet and cold for that. in fact, while we were eating, it drizzled, hailed (small ones), and snowed), and grabbed a table. the waiter (he might have been one of the owners, too) brought us the menu and told us about the specials on the board. everything sounded good. for the soup specials, they had white bean minestrone soup, garlic potato soup. for their entree specials, they had udon soup with tofu and pear caprese salad. everything on the regular menu sounded good, too.

though i was tempted by the garlic potato soup, the walnut basil cream pasta (from the regular menu) and a bunch of other things, i chose the croissant french toast. julia had the open-faced sandwich (with artichoke, havarti, peppers). we also had to get the beer-battered sweet potato fries with various dips.

while we waited for our food, the waiter brought us some yummy blood oranges.

this was my french toast. it was a huge order--a misunderstanding on my part. the waiter had said they had half orders, and i had asked how big it was (but i was thinking about the full order). when the waiter said 1 1/2 croissants, i didn't think that was so big so i ordered the full order. well, i got 3 whole croissants with some cooked apples and butter. oh my gosh, this was utterly delicious! at first, i was wondering if i was supposed to get some syrup, but one taste of the butter and i was just thinking, yum. i don't know what kind of butter that was--it was whipped or something--but it provided all the sweetness that i needed. of course, the croissants were already sweet. though i tried to eat it all, it was just too much. we had to take home one croissant.

this was julia's sandwich. i didn't try it, but she said it was really good and that it's probably the best sandwich she'd ever had.

this was our sweet potato fries. i don't think they were all sweet potatoes, though. they were nicely battered and fried. there were three different dips, but i'm not sure what kind they were. one seemed mayonnaise-y (aioli maybe), one seemed like thousand island dressing, and the last was something tomato-ey. all the dips were good, though the fries were good all on their own, too. with all the food, we did not finish this either; we probably ate less than half, so we had to take that home, too.

before we started eating, we had thought about buying some baked goods to go. but we were so full afterwards that we couldn't really think about it anymore. i ended up just buying one chocolate croissant topped with walnuts (i had it this morning. it was so-so).

they really have great food at this place. i was telling julia that she should take her parents here and somehow she mentioned that everything was vegetarian. being the carnivore that i am, i hadn't even noticed that! out of all the places i've eaten at so far during this trip, i think that the monkey tree had the best food.

i wish i could have tasted the other food. the place was full, and everybody seemed to enjoy their food. many seemed like they were regulars. i would heartily recommend eating here, or getting some of the food to go for a picnic. they don't take credit cards, so bring cash or check.

vashon island

yesterday, i woke up to snow. these are pictures i took from: my bedroom window, julia's bedroom window, and the front window downstairs.

with the snow outside and the cozy bed, i was quite tempted to stay in bed. julia had to take her cat to the vet, which gave me some leeway, but it was already late enough, and i had to get ready.

our plan was to take the ferry to vashon island. on my list of potential to-dos, taking a ride on a ferry was a must. but i wasn't sure if julia would be okay still going with the weather being what it was. but she was up for it, so we headed out. it was quite late by that time--my fault, as i was moving quite sluggishly.

it was already almost 11 when we left the house, so the first ferry we could catch was the 11:55am one. i took this picture of cars disembarking from the ferry while we waited to go on.

here are some shots i took while on the ferry: the point defiance marina, the tacoma yacht club, the ferry, a fellow traveller, cars on the ferry.

it was a very quick ride--just 15 minutes--nowhere near enough time to really enjoy being out on the water. there's vashon island already.

here is a picture of a marina near the tahlequah terminal on the southern tip of vashon island.

here are a couple of buildings in town: a bookstore and a hardware store turned restaurant.

we didn't really have too much time to explore the island; we only had about 2 1/2 hours. we did eat lunch there, visited a coffee roasterie/grocery store, and the public library. i will have separate entries for these.

it seemed like we had to leave soon after we got there. while waiting to embark on the ferry back to tacoma, i took this picture.

this is a picture of the point defiance terminal taken from the ferry. that line in the distance are cars waiting to get on the ferry.

it was a good trip. the weather was weird, and we didn't really have enough time to look around (maybe next time). but we still enjoyed ourselves.

puget sound kind of day

Today, the plan was to go sailing on Lake Union, maybe go to Ballard Locks, and definitely eat some good food. You see, every Sunday, the Center for Wooden Boats offers free boat rides on the lake. The problem with this is that they don't accept reservations, so you need to put your name down the day of the sail, and you can do this as early as 10am. As this is a popular activity, one would probably want to put one's name down as early as possible. However, when you live an hour away, waking up early to put your name down for a sail that's not for a few hours is not ideal.

This morning, especially with daylight savings, I was not in the mood to wake up early. When I finally woke up, there were snow flurries. I knew that this would make Julia more inclined not to drive all the way to Seattle. I wasn't so sure that I wanted to go all the way up there either, when we weren't sure if the weather was going to clear up. So, we decided to change our plans. We decided to have brunch and go from there.

We made reservations for Salty's at Redondo Beach. Laurel and Roland had actually wanted to take us there, but since we were supposed to go sailing, that's why we ended up hanging out on Saturday instead. They couldn't join us this time, but having previously seen the restaurant's famous brunch menu, I was ready to go there and wasn't too sad about having to give up our original plans.

We got there on time for our 11:45 reservations, and the place was packed. It took a while for us to get seated, but we hit the jackpot and were seated by the window, overlooking Puget Sound and the beach. It was a gray day that alternated between gentle rain and flurries. From where I was sitting, I loved it. The rain, the water, the trees, the mountains--so Pacific Northwest. Here are a couple of shots that I took from our table--one drizzly, the other with flurries. Though these pictures are more pointed sideways to the beach, I could actually see much more.

Brunch was certainly a feast. They had various sections. One line had more traditional breakfast fare--cinnamon rolls, waffles, eggs benedict, kielbasa,potatoes, etc. Another line had a carving station for roast beef and hot dishes, such as blacked salmon, chicken caprese, seafood paella, etc. Here's what Julia and I got. As you can see, we both got a cup of thick chowder that contains not only clam but also scallop and other seafood. The food was quite good. Even though I don't like fish, I had to get the salmon--this is Seattle, after all. The blackened salmon was especially good.

On another side of the restaurant were the cold types of dishes. This was where you could get shrimp, oysters, and Dungeness crab, as well as seafood and other types of salads.

I'm not actually one for cold seafood, so I only got this. Though many people come for this part of the brunch, this wasn't my favorite.

In addition to what's already laid out on the tables, there were also several things you can order, such as omelets, pastas, and crepes. I ordered a strawberry crepe and a shrimp omelet (though I think I got a Denver omelet), but I forgot to take pictures.

I was actually already rather stuffed by the time my crepe and omelet came, but I still ate some desserts anyway. They had cakes, pies, fruit, and a chocolate fountain.

This is what I got. The chocolate-dipped strawberries were especially delicious.

Drinks were also included in the brunch, so I had a couple of glasses of pineapple juice, while Julia had soda.

After we completely stuffed ourselves, we walked a little bit by the beach, right outside the restaurant. It really is a beautiful area, and the water is remarkably clear.

We then headed to Tacoma to pick up my piece from my glassblowing experience. The snow came down a little bit harder during the drive, but it stopped by the time we got to the studio.

When I saw my final product, I was a little disappointed. It wasn't as pretty as I'd hoped it would be (I actually rather liked the way it looked before we cooled it down), but that's how it goes. I'll have to look at it more when I get home (I had it shipped).

I wanted to buy some souvenirs so it took us a while to get out of the studio. We were supposed to go to Northwest Trek, but we were too short on time. So, we headed out to Point Defiance instead. Our first stop was driftwood-filled Owen Beach. It was certainly a popular spot and a great place for taking pictures and enjoying the scenery.

We continued the five-mile drive and drove through some lovely trees. On this trip, I had really wanted to go to the Hoh Rainforest, but when I found out it took 4 hours to get there, I knew we couldn't do that. So going through the evergreens and mossy trees of Point Defiance was my alternative. Here are some pictures of the beautiful trees, some with Puget Sound in the background. Beautiful, isn't it?

When we were about done with the five-mile drive, I wanted to go to the zoo and aquarium, but it was already closed. (Julia's not really into zoos, which is why we didn't go there first.) On the way out of the park, we ran into this peacock. It didn't seem to be afraid of people because it didn't try to run away when we drove near and when I was following it around. (That last shot is a bit fuzzy because it was heading towards the car, and I was afraid it was going to go into the open car door.)

After getting out of the park, we headed to the marina and walked a little. By that time, the weather had certainly cleared up. Here are some pictures.

By the time we finished, it was still in the 4 o'clock hour. It had been a day full of all types of weather. What a luxury to be able to enjoy the scenery! If I hadn't sensed that Julia was getting tired (I was, too), I would have liked to just sit and look out and maybe nap until it was time for the sunset. But today wasn't the day for that. Maybe I'll get to do that yet during this trip.