Bainbridge Island day trip

We spent the day experiencing a quintessential Pacific Northwest summer day. My father in law has been visiting from Ottawa this week. We left home on Thursday morning and took the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island. The views from that ferry are spectacular.

We had lunch at Hitchcock Deli in Winslow (the little town close to the ferry dock on the island). Yummy sandwiches.

Our primary destination on Bainbridge Island was the Bloedel Nature preserve. I had heard of it a few times and wanted to check it out. It’s probably best to make sure you know what to expect before spending the money (17 dollars for one adult) to get into the Bloedel Nature Reserve. If you’re looking for 150 acres of colourful flowers, or a place for your kids to run around and play, this isn’t the place for you.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a serene and non-strenuous stroll through a variety of natural settings, then Bloedel may be exactly what you’re looking for. The first section is a winding walk through a grassy meadow,

then into the woods with some impressively tall fir trees,

and then by some picturesque marshland without having to worry about mosquitoes.

The section across the road with the manor is more manicured with lawns including weeping willows next to glassy ponds.

I enjoyed the manor house and the surrounding area best.

This is the view from the back of the manor house.

The final segment is the most man-made of all, with the “Japanese garden”

and rectangular reflecting pool – the only straight lines in the place not including the buildings.

The terrain is quite flat and made for spending 1-2 hours at a slow walk. My main complaint is the lack of benches at the gatehouse. When we finished walking the grounds, we wanted to rest a little. There were two benches provided and both were occupied with guests. It wasn't particularly busy, either.

After we left Bloedel we drove to Kingston. After parking our car to wait for the ferry, we got ice cream from Drifters. I loved my espresso explosion ice cream.

They have giant Adirondack chairs in a park near the ferry dock.

We took the Kingston - Edmonds ferry back home rather than the Bainbridge to Seattle ferry to avoid Seattle rush hour traffic. We had supper at Anthony's Beach Club in Edmonds. We ate outside. I was surprised (on a hot day) to be cold in the shade and with the wind blowing. They provided me a blanket.

After a busy day with lots of walking and driving, we collapsed at home.


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Fourth of July wreath

I haven't made anything in a while, so it was time!

I made this fabric scrap wreath for the 4th of July. I finished it just in time to display it.

I got my inspirtation from this blog post.

Two years ago, I made a similiar wreath with a Seahawks theme.

It is quite simple to make. Just lots of cutting fabric - with a rotary cutter, and then lots of tying.





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C's 13th Birthday Party

It is official. I am the mother of two teenage boys. C had his 13th birthday in May. We had his party this past weekend. There were 8 boys plus C at the party.

It started after school on Friday. I took most of his friends home with me in my car. I decorated the windows, much to C's chagrin.

We started with pizza and then explained the scavenger/treasure hunt game. My amazing husband planned this, with help from my older son A.

Here is J's description.

I set up a scavenger hunt all over a neighbourhood south of us consisting of a series of 8 "caches". I made the caches out of 1" white PVC pipe cut to 8" lengths with end caps on each end. Inside each was a clue. Some clues were photos of the next location, some were riddles, and some were GPS coordinates (latitude/longitude). Some were a combination thereof. I spent some time selecting the locations, creating the clues, and deploying them in hidden but find-able locations. I hid the caches up trees, under bridges, on top of shipping containers, inside fence posts, etc. They probably walked a couple of miles by the end of it. It took them 90 minutes to complete. They were allowed to use printed maps, or online maps on their phones (1 or 2 have these devices), basically any technology they had at hand, plus their own ingenuity.

I followed the boys around to attempt to take some photos. They were often too fast for me to catch on film. After they finished we came back to our house for birthday cake (ice cream cake from Dairy Queen).

C received gift cards, cash, and two physical gifts from one friend. A piano horn and magnet beads.
One of his friends is great at drawing and he decorated the brown paper of his present with this:

Six boys slept over. They played video games and watched the latest Spider man movie.

J and I slept pretty well despite so many guests. I did have to tell the boys to cut the noise at 2 am when I woke up.

We fed them bacon in the morning. J said that the best sound in the world is the doorbell in the morning after a sleepover. I managed to get a group photo, minus the boys who didn't sleep over.

J is hoping that he can "retire" from planning these parties!



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Sailing

This past Saturday, I joined C and his Boy Scout troop on a 4 hour sail trip on the SS Odyssey. There were 35 of us (parents and scouts and some siblings) plus the crew of about 10.

C with his friend M.

Here is the main mast.

The Odyssey is a 90 foot yawl. It is considered a tall ship.  It has a rich history. It was originally designed for a Vanderbilt granddaughter. The boat was used in racing for years. In WW II, the Navy used the boat for radar, sonar testing, and echo sounding studies. In 1978, it was purchased by the Boy Scouts of America and is currently used as a sail training vessel for Sea Scouts.

The inside is quite charming. There is a small piano on board. The large dining table tips as the boat moves.

Scouts looking really thrilled that I'm taking their picture. :) Some boys played cards at this table.

We passed by Stadium High as we left the Tacoma port.

Would you believe this is a public high school? It was previously a hotel.

We sailed out into Commencement Bay and near to Vaschon Island.

The scouts were able to help with hoisting the sails and lowering them, if they wanted. C declined and let the older scouts do this.

Passengers were also able to steer the boat.

I was very thankful that there was no rain at all during our trip. The sun came out at various times. No, we didn't feel seasick! I had a pleasant time chatting with the other moms.

This week during C's science class, his teacher asked if anyone had every been sailing and C could say, yes, he had been sailing on Saturday.




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Foray to Visit Family and Frolick

Beacon Hill park in Victoria

We made our annual Spring trip to Victoria this past weekend. The weather wasn't too bad. You never know what to expect in Spring. Sometimes it can be terribly windy and/or rainy and a few times we have had sunshine and warmth.

On Friday we took the early morning ferry from Anacortes to Sidney, B.C. A ferry employee told us  about the intriguing history of Spieden Island (in the San Juan Islands). It is a private island and we often spot wildlife on its steep slopes on our journey. In the 1970s it was used for big game hunting. Exotic animals were flown in and the wealthy could come and hunt them. Later it became a conservationist centre. It remains a private island.

We worked on a jigsaw puzzle during the last part of the trip. That's one thing I appreciate about the Anacortes ferry is all the puzzles that are spread out on tables.

When we arrived in Sidney we had lunch at the The Five and Dime diner.

On Friday night we took my parents out for "Christian chicken" at Swiss Chalet. After dropping my parents off at their apartment we went to Cattle Point — a park along the shore with rocky bluffs. Cattle Point is an Urban Star Park. That means that it is darker than typical urban areas and you can better see the stars.

Near Cattle Point is a WWII memorial to the 97 Oak Bay residents who died. I think it is a beautiful memorial.

The inscription says "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend."

We stayed at the Oak Bay Hotel which has become a favourite of my husband. You can see photos of it from our stay there in 2016. These beautiful flowers were in the lobby.

On Saturday my mom wanted to drive to the Esquimalt Causeway and go to Metchosin for lunch. My parents aren't able to get out on drives very often. It was my pleasure to take them out. Here is C by the sea — along the Esquimalt Causeway.

We had lunch at My Chosen Cafe which has a small petting zoo behind it. We had the waitress take our photo but it didn't turn out too well. I don't think my oldest son was ready for the photo to be taken so I cropped him out.

In the afternoon C and I went shopping in Oak Bay village. We visited a small bookstore. C sat in a chair and perused a comic book while I looked around. The manager offered him a tissue for his sniffles. C thought that was very Canadian.

Later in the afternoon we went to Beacon Hill park. J and A weren't feeling energetic. C and I walked all around. I wanted to find the Moss Lady.

I had forgotten how beautiful Beacon Hill park is.

I would love to be back there in a month or so with more sun and more flowers.

On Saturday night we had dinner in the dining room of my parents' building. That evening we went in the hot tub again. We had very interesting chats with the other hotel guests.

On Sunday morning we checked out of our hotel. J took this glam photo of me in front of the hotel.

We went to my parents' church.

We were blessed by the solid preaching of Barton Priebe and good music.

We returned by the Tsawwassen ferry. We just missed the 1 pm ferry but caught the 2 pm ferry. J saw a seal come up out of the water near to the boat.

Our border crossing went fine. Back in Washington we had dinner in Mount Vernon (after some closed restaurants and frustration) and returned home.

It was a short trip but enjoyable. I think we'll stay longer next time we go up to Victoria.


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Sunshine, snow, and mountains

The boys had breaks from school this week. A had the entire week off while C had three days off.

We returned to Suncadia where we spent two nights last year in February and again this year.

We love the view from the "Great Room" aka the lobby of the Lodge.

On Monday morning we headed for the indoor pool. The boys like the water slides. I stick with the hot tub and the steam room. For lunch we took a short drive to Cle Elum and saved money getting lunch at Safeway and Burger King.

The afternoon was spent on A's favourite spot - the coal hill.

A climbed to the top twice. They tried throwing the aerobie (like a frisbee but has a hole in the middle)  from the top. Later they did some sledding.

I spent the time reading by the fireside.

We had supper at Swiftwater Cellars.

Both evenings, we watched the Winter Olympics on TV.

On Tuesday morning I had hoped to go cross country skiing (like A and I did last year) BUT the snow was pretty icy. We braved the cold (28 degrees) and went for a long walk instead. The boys haven't seen frozen ponds before so we had them experience a little bit of standing on some ice.

We checked out of our room and had lunch in Roslyn at the Red Bird Cafe. J had a Mardi Gras themed plate that included Muffalata.

We returned home in time for A to go to soccer conditioning at school.



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Advancement

C moved up a rank in Boy Scouts earlier this week. He became a Tenderfoot. He was at the rank of Scout before.

Here is a list of the ranks:

1. Scout
2. Tenderfoot
3. Second Class
4. First Class
5. Star
6. Life
7. Eagle

C had to go before a Board of Review before he was awarded this rank. He had to answer various questions (after he completed the requirements). He was so proud and happy after he completed this.

I like the tradition C's troop has. At the Court of Honour - the boy scout pins his new pin on his mom, then hugs and kisses her and then shakes his dad's hand.

I don't have a good photo. My older son took photos but he needs more practice.


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Snow Hike on New Years Day

We went up to Snoqualmie Summit today. We planned on hiking to Franklin Falls (which was supposed to be gorgeous with a frozen waterfall) but that didn't turn out. The usual road was closed so we had to walk two miles just to reach the trailhead. We made it very close to the trailhead but at that point we were tired and hungry. 

It was pretty cold - about 28 degrees and windy. The views were fantastic.

We enjoyed our time in the snow and decided it was a good first try at snow hiking. 

We had a late lunch of quiche, sandwiches, spanakopita, and cinnamon rolls at Georgia's Bakery in North Bend.

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