Exploring Washington State

Thunderboats memories from our childhood.

David Williams has been a fan of hydroplanes since he was five.  Now he is the Executive Director of the Hydroplane and Race Boat Museum in Kent.  In this episode we chat with David and we learn about Washington State Hydroplane history.
 
 Seafair, The 1962 Worlds Fair, The Seattle Pilots, The Seattle Supersonics, and much more can be directly traced back to hydroplanes and the men that owned and raced them. 
 
 Learn how Hydroplanes helped shape Seattle in the 1950's and 1960's bringing Seattle into the spotlight as an American city.
 
 David shares stories about the history of hydroplane racing.  Hydro's were instrumental in bringing advertising into modern sports.  
 
 Learn about the Hydroplane and Race Boat Museum. We chat about some of the boats that have been restored by the museum through the years.  Some of the boats are still used in demonstrations!  
 
 If you ever build a hydro out of scrap wood and pulled it behind your bike this episode is for you! 

If you want other great ideas of places to visit, or to find out more about people who are making amazing things in Washington State you can visit Explore Washington State.

What is Fortuna Found?

At its heart, Fortuna Found is the brain child of Nic O'Neill. It is a place to create, play, and fly kites, and a way to foster creating an environment for others to do the same. 

What does Fortuna Found mean? Well, you will have to listen to this episode to find out.

In this episode I chat with Nic and we learn about kites. Ranging from flying indoors (yes you really can fly a kite indoors) to traction kites that will allow you to surf on water, or ski on snow.  Kites really are everywhere and Nic shares many interesting stories about kites and kite flying.

Nic has a project that she is working on to visit each state park in Washington State and to document the kite flying potential of each park.  We are looking forward to hearing her adventures as she works though this project.

Find out more about the kite community in Washington State and learn lots of great places to go and fly a kite throughout our state.

If you want other great ideas of places to visit, or to find out more about people who are making amazing things in Washington State you can visit Explore Washington State.

Lavender in Sequim.  Today Sequim is well known for Lavender.  In the 1990's that was not the case.  Mike Reichner went to a meeting one night and came home with a brand new plan.  Soon Lavender would be blooming and Sequim was on the way to be the Lavender capital of  Washington. 

In this episode we chat about how Purple Haze Lavender Farm was named. We learn that there are many flavors of Lavender Ice Cream!  Purple Haze has a Lavender salad dressing and many other products using Lavender that we would of never imagined.  There is a story about a wooden statue in the back of the truck.  You will have to listen to hear the full story.

Mike is a great story teller and you can hear just how passionate he is about Lavender, Sequim, and  Agritourism.  We know you will enjoy this episode.

The farm is open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Even when the farm is not in season you are allowed to walk the grounds and see all that is happening.  During the season the farm is hopping and thousands of people visit each year.

Purple Haze has a retail location in downtown Sequim and is open seven days a week. You should stop by the shop and see all of the Lavender inspired products.

We know you will enjoy this episode. We are looking forward to visiting the farm again in 2021.

Dear listener.  Every now and then things don't go as planned. This episode is one of those times. Forgetting to bring equipment, failed memory card, first time doing a in person interview and more made this the most challenging episode that we have been involved with.  (to this point we're sure there will be other hiccups)  Mike and his wife were simply amazing and so patient.  We had a great time chatting with them both.  Thank you for having us as guests. The audio is not where we would like it to be but the content is wonderful.

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ExploringWash)

In this episode our guest host MacKenzie Passegger has a conversation with Jon Anés .   Who moved to Washington State recently. The draw to Washington State and North Bend which is where he calls home is that he can simply open the front door and he is simply a walk or short bike ride away from being able to climb.

Jon, describes his hiking strategies, how to plan and prepare for a good hike. Having a plan B or C is something he is a big believer in.  Sometimes his best adventures are plan B's

He is trying to summit Glacier Peak and it is currently his obsession.

Lots of great conversation and information about hiking and climbing in Washington State.

Some of the places mentioned in this episode.

 If you want other great ideas of places to visit, or to find out more about people who are making amazing things in Washington State you can visit Explore Washington State.

In this episode MacKenzie Passegger chats with Graham Silcher the founder of Ridge Line Rings.

Learn how Graham started making rings out of Elk Antlers.

Graham shares his origin story how he started crafting rings first for his mom and then for friends and family.  Soon it became obvious he was on to something that others would enjoy.

As a one man show Graham shares with us his work routine and how he manages the day to day.

We know you will enjoy this episode!

Make sure you check out Ridge Line Rings online.  

Dick’s Drive-in has been an iconic location in Seattle, Washington since the late 1950’s. Their food is a childhood staple for locals and a bucket-list item for many Seattle visitors. 

But although Dick’s Drive-in’s core is burgers, fries and shakes, they are so much more behind the scenes.

Jasmine Donovan, granddaughter to one of the three original entrepreneurs that created and built Dick’s Drive-in, tells the story of how Dick’s came to be and what it has yet to become. 

Donovan flipped burgers herself in high school while using her mother’s maiden name to keep her family ties to the president of the company a secret. She wanted to be treated just like anyone else while on the job. 

Now the President herself and CFO of the company, Donovan has opened new locations, had to adapt during a pandemic, and is starting new adventures for the company.

The Dick’s Drive-in Food Truck has just been announced and Donovan is calling to customers to see just where they should visit first.

Find out more about Jasmine and Dick’s Drive-in by listening to this episode.

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If you want to read or listen about some of the many places to explore in Washington State, the Explore Washington State website is the perfect resource to get you onto your next adventure.

In this episode we talk to Mike Mondello, President of SeaBear Wild Salmon headquartered in Anacortes Washington. Mike explained the history of SeaBear, including how they created the name. Another interesting story is how they invented the special pouch that lets them ship fresh smoked seafood anywhere in the world without refrigeration.

Warning: This episode contains vivid descriptions of scrumptiousness. It's really a good idea to have a snack before listening. Really.

Mike talks about a couple of his favorite ways to enjoy SeaBear smoked salmon including the tailgate roll and the amazing smoked salmon martini. He shares his favorite places to eat around the Seattle area and a few favorite things to do when entertaining friends.

Links to things mentioned in this episode:

If you want other great ideas of places to visit, or to find out more about people who are making amazing things in Washington State you can visit Explore Washington State. 

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ExploringWash)

In this episode we talk to the husband and wife content team the Mandagies. Berty and Emily Mandagie produce a travel blog (themandagies.com) featuring world-class photography and stories of their travels and adventures. We talk about how they got their start during their time at the University of Washington in Seattle, how taking photos of friends for their weddings and trips led to a business, and how Emily began writing the stories to accompany Berty's photos.
We talk about their move to Spokane and their adventures as new home owners. They told us about their favorite places to visit and eat in the greater Spokane area. They described the joy of photographing New York city from an open door helicopter on a recent job.

Places and things described in this episode:

If you want other great ideas of places to visit, or to find out more about people who are making amazing things in Washington State you can visit Explore Washington State. 

In this episode we have a conversation with Kathleen of Kathleen Elizabeth Photography. Kathleen is a Adventure Elopement Photographer. During this episode you will learn about Adventure Elopement and how to have a successful wedding day in the wild.

We talk about having Dicks Drive-In as the catered food. =) We talk about her photo gear that she uses on the photo shoots.

I never had heard of Adventure Elopements before this episode. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun chatting with Kathleen. I hope you will enjoy the episode and perhaps be inspired to have an Elopement Adventure of your own.

Here are some links to places mentioned in the podcast.

If you want other great ideas of places to visit, or to find out more about people who are making amazing things in Washington State you can visit Explore Washington State. 

In this episode we have a conversation with Heritage Distilling Chief Marketing Officer Hannah Hanley.  We learn the history of Heritage Distilling from the inspiration to open a distillery while drinking scotch around a campfire to their most recent collaboration with the Chehalis Tribe opening the Talking Cedar Distillery and Brewery. The first distillery on tribal land in the United States.

We also learn more about some of the special projects that Heritage is participating in. The  Special Forces Whiskey Project that donates a portion of all proceeds to help the Special Forces Group GoldStar Families, Chapter XVI SFA Scholarship Program, and The Specials Forces Association Chapter XVI.

You will hear how you can have a cask of your own by participating in the Cask Club where you can create and customize spirits of your own choice.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode.  We hope you will enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoy recording it.

Here are some links to places mentioned in the podcast.

If you want other great ideas of places to visit, or to find out more about people who are making amazing things in Washington State you can visit Explore Washington State.