This week in The Pearl – July 18, 2025


Last weekend, well actually Thursday and Friday, were such a treat. Our friends from Mukilteo, Shirley and Jim, came down to visit for two days. They are Francophiles as are we, they travel to France most every year. We met up with them there on two of their trips. This time together was bittersweet though….

This Week in The Pearl – a bit of café culture


Tricia frequently says, “Wherever you go, there you are.” Jimmy Buffett sang that “you take the weather with you.” Both of these thoughts came to my mind this week as I was sitting outside at Via Delizia, just down the street. Wednesday was a good day – a trip to Oblation Paper & Printing, a…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip – Maybe I need the tip?


Aficionado – love and knowledge Collector – Ownership and curation When it comes to writing instruments I am an aficionado, not a collector, and therein is the dilemma. Here I am on the deck at The Inn at Otter Crest with my normal appurtenances – monocular for spotting ships and whales, a pint of stout,…

This week in The Pearl – spring is coming


The buds on the trees right outside our fourth floor window are growing every day, new leaves cannot be far away. Last Saturday was such a good day. We visited Adam in the morning, then a quick stop at New Seasons to pick up the fixings for Sunday lunch – large portobello mushrooms and Yukon…

This week we end the cruise


Today we are at sea headed for Los Angeles, we arrive early on Thursday, and disembark. Sixteen days is quite long, a bit too long for me. Here are what may be the last two pages of my sketching journal for this trip. I plan to print it up into a spiral bound book. An…