Washington | Adventures On the Road

The Scenic Route

13 03 2024

I took the train down to Seattle today. I spent most of the trip looking out the window and I thought about how many snapshots of people’s lives I witnessed.

I saw a mom outside playing in the yard with 3 kids and a dog and it made me excited for the spring weather coming to play with my kids outside. I saw what looked like a park ranger or some sort of official, walking on a wooded trail and I thought how he must be feeling walking through the woods with a view of the water – content with how enjoyable his morning was going. I saw a couple standing on the shore ofa tiny beach and a person standing on a ridge looking down at the water, and as the train rushed past them, I wondered how they got to those places and whether or not they were close enough to feel the push of air as the train passed by. We passed a field that was filled with so many white birds! And as the train passed they all took flight like a stadium crowd doing the “wave”.

I saw goats, sheep, alpacas, horses, fancy ducks, harbor seals, great blue herons in flight and perched on rocks, and just so much that I wouldn’t have seen any other way. It reminded me of the times I took the train from Toronto to Windsor and Seattle to Portland years ago and it makes me think about how different life has become since then. I enjoyed the train ride, the views, the solitude and would journal or tuck myself in for a nap. Now, when I take the train I am overcome with the overwhelming need to share this experience with my kids and it makes me smile to think about how much they would enjoy all of the things that I saw today, how many conversations these sights would inspire from Brooklyn and Lucy – which horse they would pick as their favorite, and how excited Cameron would be to stand on the seat, hands and face pressed against the window, eyes wide, taking in all the new sights.

And now I’m trying to figure out if I’m brave enough to take all 3 kids on a train ride down to Seattle by myself…..am I crazy???

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Tags: Family, Life, Motherhood, Nature, Random Life, Seattle, Sightseeing, StayCation, Travel, Washington State
Categories : Seattle, Washington

World Views

13 11 2022

The majority of the photos I take of the girls are from behind. I follow them around like their little photographer, taking photos of all of these moments as they navigate their world. It wasn’t until recently that I thought about what that meant. Since the majority of the time I/we are following them, their worldview is wide open.

These little girls (at 5 and 4 and 3 and 2!) are experiencing a world where they are the leaders of their journey.

They are experiencing their world not following behind myself or Nathan, or holding hands and relying on us to make them comfortable, they are already subconsciously forming their sense of self, their independence, their confidence in their abilities to understand and navigate through life, on their own, and with their sister by their side.

I hope they always walk with the confidence and sense of purpose that I see at age 5. I hope that they remain confident in their place in this world with the knowledge that they will go through life with the support of their sister beside them, and the safety net of everyone who loves them behind them.

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Tags: Family, Life, Random Life, Sightseeing, Travel, Writing
Categories : California, Canada, Hawaii, Lake Havasu City, Miscellaneous, Oahu, Oregon, Seattle, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Washington, West Seattle

I’m a Mom

14 05 2021

2021 marks my 5th Mother’s Day and I have to say it felt more….not more important…but… more impactful. It felt like I finally understood the value of motherhood as an experience – the selflessness that it entails – but also the value of the experiences that my mom has given me. Being a Mother. Having a Mother. It’s important. It shapes who we become and who we want to be for our own children. It shapes the kind of experiences I choose to create for my daughters. It’s not the easy choice, but I choose to bake homemade cookies late at night after the girls have gone to bed, so that they can bring homemade cookies to share with their class for Valentine’s Day. I choose to spend their nap time figuring out how to draw a giant cornucopia so that when they wake up they have a giant coloring picture taped to the window at Thanksgiving. I choose to use my hand as a child headrest on the airplane for much longer than is comfortable, so that Lucy’s head is supported and doesn’t bob around as she sleeps (and I also have chosen to buy a travel neck pillow for the flight home!)

On the flight to Hawaii (our 1st night flight), I sat in between the girls as they slept for almost 4 hours. Before you wind up for that high five….it took a lot of rearranging of limbs on my part, and so, I clocked about 30 minutes of sleep around 1am. I divided my time between keeping Brooklyn from stretching her legs out into the middle of the aisle and trying to rearrange a ‘too long to fit comfortably in the seat’ Lucy who is a classic ‘Head Bobber’. But as I sat in the dark, with my daughters’ heads in my lap, I thought to myself, THIS is what it is all about. This is where the love and the selflessness shines through.

On Mother’s Day, I came across an old blog post that I had written up on my phone, that I never got around to post. It was from when the girls were just over a year old and even though it was more than 3 years ago – it still resonates with me, and it felt very relevant to how reflective I was feeling that day. And so I share it now:

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You spend so much time building up to the 1 year mark. It is an incredibly emotional time and you think that time should stop at the One Year mark and let you take it all in and adjust to having 1 year olds. But time marches on and just like that, they’re 13 months old!

It took me a while to adjust to having babies, it didn’t sink in to me that I was a Mother until I said it out loud…’I have 2 daughters!’ (and that was a couple of months in). And now, my mind is grappling with the idea that I no longer have babies, but toddlers.

In the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People it talks about how adjusting your title adjusts your perspective on the world, the way you interact with others and your actions. I don’t think there is a bigger title adjustment than ‘Mom’ that adjusts your every thought and action more – at least it hasn’t for me.

I feel like I hit a Motherhood milestone very recently. The first time one of my girls was feeling like crap (turned out she had Hand Foot and Mouth 😦 We were out of town and all of a sudden at 10pm, Brooklyn was crying in her crib and could not be consoled. For babies that were sleeping through the night and able to soothe themselves at 5.5 months old…this was unexpected at the 12 month mark.

Between not feeling well and a strange environment, the result was Mom getting maybe 1.5 hours of sleep and spending the majority of the night soothing a sad baby. In the past (and even in the present), if something prevented me from getting sleep (my husband, my cat, my own insomnia, etc), I would be so angry in the morning. Frustrated, definitely bitchy, and wanting to take it out on others.

But, after my 1.5 hours of sleep and a night of baby snuggles, I emerged with so much energy, and a mindset of ‘we will just make the best of the day’…. and also, that it would be a caffeine day.

There was no frustration or anger, it was a feeling of acceptance and understanding, that I was there for my baby when she needed me, and I was happy to be there for her.

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Now, don’t think that this is all about motherhood bliss, because, man oh man, do I get frustrated, and tired and stressed. But I am trying to feel more of the bliss than the frustration, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. But I am definitely trying to make it MY choice instead of being swept up into the vortex of Motherhood.

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Tags: Life, Mother's Day, Motherood, Random Life, Twin Life, Writing
Categories : California, Canada, Hawaii, Oahu, Seattle, Vancouver, Washington, West Seattle

This Year…

30 12 2020

As the year comes to an end I’m left with very mixed emotions. It’s December 30^thand I haven’t written a post since last November. Actually, I haven’t written anything since last year. I think back to celebrating the first moments of the year 2020, sipping glasses of champagne with family, sharing hugs and kisses and laughter and the excitement for what a new decade could bring.

I think about traveling to Boise, ID in February to see friends right before the world came to a halt. Although just a long weekend trip, and what we thought would be the first trip of many in 2020, this became our big trip of the year and maybe the most important because of what it symbolized. Friendship. Family. Community. A commitment to keep and strengthen long distance relationships. It was our last trip not touched with the uncertainty and hesitation to give/receive hugs, to have our kids play together, to go out and have a beer. To live with the same innocence that we thought only children had.

So thinking about all of this makes me sad. And honestly, I’m not quite ready to look at the world with silver linings and super optimism, because this year has been a tough one to wrap one’s head around. It has been a year of loss and grief, uncertainty and anxiousness, heartbreak and many other emotions that I can’t express. Not being able to receive hugs when you’re hurting or give someone a hug when they are hurting is an almost physical pain. And that part breaks my heart; that we haven’t been able to give and receive comfort in a way that is the most natural to us.

But, although there has been lost friends, lost family, and lost babies; there has also been new babies and new friends and a strengthening bond between spouses and family. Friendships have been tested and strengthened this year and although it makes me tear up at the things we’ve all had to deal with without the physical presence and comfort from each other, it does make me happy to know that I have these amazing friends who are there to celebrate the happy moments and also listen through the tears.

This year has brought me a new community, a new home and a new sense of home. It has brought me sweet moments with my girls and comfort in knowing that they are versatile and can adapt to changing environments. It has brought me the knowledge that Nathan and I will always push each other, and our company, forward.

This year has humbled me.

It has brought me a feeling of vulnerability and the realization of how much we have and how lucky we are (which also brings about a bit of fear to know how much we have to lose…but I’m going to try not to think about that).

The year 2020 began with bubbles and laughter and lightness. It is ending on a heavy note, with a lot of reflection and a focus on being present. My hope for 2021 is that it shows me the opposite. A mixed emotion, heavy start and a light ending full of laughter and bubbles. I don’t know how we get from here to there, but I want to think that it’s possible and that we’re all starting this year holding onto someone and the appreciation of the small things that bring happiness: the smell of fresh baked bread, the sound of your cat purring in your face, the feeling of peace watching your child sleep, the joy when you realize your favourite Christmas movie is on Disney+, the sense of relief when you wake up and realize you still have 2 hrs to sleep until your alarm (OR the realization that you slept the entire night without waking up until your alarm!). Today, at this moment, I find happiness in knowing that I found my writing voice again, at the very end of the year, I experienced that tangible feeling I get when inspiration hits and a post writes itself.

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Tags: Family, Life, Random Life, Writing
Categories : Washington

Mother’s Day: 3rd Time’s a Charm

13 05 2019

This is my 3rd Mother’s Day….

And I think I/we have finally figured out how to enjoy the weekend without tears, frustrations, confusion and unfulfilled expectations.

Growing up, Mother’s Day was all about crafts, homemade cards, coupon books and lots of free hugs and kisses. As I got older, it became about gift cards, e-cards, phone calls and special occasion brunches, teas and dinners.

Easy Peasy

I never knew that once you become a Mother is when Mother’s Day becomes complicated.

For my 1st Mother’s Day, the girls were 4.5 months old. I was sleep deprived. I was anxious about sleeping schedules, eating schedules and general new-mom life. And when Nathan told me he had planned a surprise for me, my mind automatically went to ‘Mother’s Day Tea’ or really anything that took away my ‘mom’ responsibilities and got me out of the house. My ‘Surprise’ was a BBQ with family and friends at our house…. Yes, the thought was there (and appreciated in hindsight) but the reality was not pretty and resulted in me in tears upstairs while trying to ‘unsuccessfully’ get these babies to nap. I don’t actually remember anything about the BBQ, I only remember the day up until I had composed myself enough to take a picture with my girls.

I will say that the girls gave me the best present ever for my 1st Mother’s Day, and that was to start sleeping through the night!

For my 2nd Mother’s Day, I think we were both still recovering from the disaster of the 1st Mother’s Day. I asked Nathan if he wanted to know what I wanted for Mother’s Day….to which he responded, ‘to be in a hotel room by yourself’? (kind of sarcastically…but kind of not). And although this would have not been un-welcomed, I had adjusted my expectations and wanted to:

1. ‘Sleep In‘ (ie. wake up at 7am and not have to do the whole diapers/bottle routine first thing in the morning)
2. Have sushi at some point during the day
3. Get my rings cleaned

Well, not only did I get all of my wishes fulfilled, we enjoyed a beautiful day playing in the grass by the water, with a view of the Seattle Skyline. And took photos in the same place where we had our gender reveal when we shockingly found out we were having twin girls (I swore up and down we were having boys).

2018 Pics 1380.jpg

Mothers Day 2018 1380

For my 3rd Mother’s Day I went to bed on the eve of Mother’s Day feeling loved, appreciated and grateful for the kids that I have, the husband that I have and the company we created to support the life that we enjoy. What we unknowingly discovered was that in order to have a fulfilling, happy, stress (and tear) free Mother’s Day, is to not focus on the day itself but on the whole week (or better yet, all of the weeks).

On Tuesday I came home from the office to find that Nathan had dropped me off at the office and went home and CLEANED THE HOUSE!! And not only cleaned, but deep cleaned all of the areas that I just don’t have time to clean (like the base boards, and all of those corners and grooves of the stairs). I asked him if this was my Mother’s Day present, and before he could answer, I said, ‘because this is the BEST present EVER!!!’. That night, we picked the girls up from daycare, went out for dinner and watched a family of geese with their new goslings.

On Thursday morning Nathan brought me tea and an english muffin in bed and then proceeded to get the girls dressed and ready for the day. Now, before you start thinking about ways to steal Nathan away from us….I did ask him to get the girls up in the morning because bedtime was horrible and the girls and I all needed some time apart. But, the tea and english muffin was unprompted.

Saturday morning came along and we had decided on Friday that we were going to wake up early and take the girls to the beach for breakfast. This was one of THE best things we have done together. The girls played in the sand, looked like celebrities in their new heart-shaped sunglasses, Nathan lived out his dream of cooking on cast iron at a fire pit on the beach, and I got to enjoy fresh bacon on the beach, watched Lucy fall in love with the feel of her toes in the sand, and realized that I am capable of not completely freaking out when Brooklyn puts a water bottle lid (that she just found in the sand) IN HER MOUTH!

Saturday night I kissed the girls goodnight at 5pm and waltzed out of the house in a new dress and headed out for a night out with my friend, and the knowledge that Nathan would put the girls to bed and also get them in the morning. The feeling of pure bliss.

Sunday morning (Mother’s Day) I woke with the feeling that I had no expectations or wants for the day, because so much has already been fulfilled. So when the girls came into the room just after 7am and wished me ‘Happy Mother’s Day’, blowing me kisses and wanting a cuddle, my heart was able to suitably melt (instead of thinking….’hmmm….a sleep in without morning cuddles would have been nice too….- ok, it did cross my mind, but only for a second!).

My 3rd Mother’s Day was a busy day of flower shopping (and planting), Farmer’s Market shopping and supporting Nathan in his roasted chicken dutch oven dinner project. It was an impromptu dinner project, but with roast chicken brought about the unexpected opportunity for sticky rice (Chinese stuffing consisting of sticky sweet rice with Chinese sausage, onions and shiitake mushrooms) – MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE – and resulted in me making the best gravy of my life!

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And what has capped off my best Mother’s Day is the gift that I gave myself….taking Monday off to spend time by myself – a morning spent sipping lattes and writing this blog post, sushi for lunch, and maybe I can even squeeze in a nap this afternoon before going back to ‘Mom’ duty of daycare pick up, dinner prep and vegetable coercion, sister fight-breaking and bedtime routines.

Hoping to preserve this feeling for as long as possible, to remember that ‘Love is a Verb’ and to try to recreate the magic of this year’s Mother’s Day next year!

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Tags: Family, Life, Mother's Day, Motherhood
Categories : Seattle, Washington, West Seattle

Family Time on Orcas Island

25 07 2015

It was pretty tough to top our amazing time on San Juan Island. Orcas. Alpacas. Crab Mac & Cheese….

But as we rolled our suitcases up the deck at Friday Harbor Marina, a little wet from the unexpected rain shower we experienced overnight, we were determined to make our experience on Orcas Island every bit as memorable.

Now that we had checked ‘See Orca Whales’ off of our list, there wasn’t as much pressure to stand outside in the drizzly grey weather. But I still found a few reasons to stay outside on the deck. With the marina layer laying low, the trip from Friday Harbor to Orcas Island took on a mystical feel.

And although we didn’t see any whales during our trip, perhaps we saw an even more unusual sight. A bald eagle swimming.

With giant breaststrokes, we watched it swim towards the shore. I’m not sure why it was in the water, but it didn’t seem to be struggling. Perhaps it had caught something in its talons that it wasn’t willing to give up, something worth a few wet feathers.

Before we knew it, the 50 minute ride from San Juan Island to Orcas Island was complete and we were approaching Orcas Village, with its crown jewel – The Orcas Hotel.

The Orcas Hotel first opened its doors to guests in 1904 and has kept its Victorian heritage charm. And this would be our destination for the night…

But first, we had a few adventures to take on:

East Sound was our first stop. Jerry was determined to enjoy a few tasty treats at Brown Bear Baking. And who am I to prevent him from his wish!

We strolled the streets, shopped the shops and got down to the nitty gritty on the beach.

And then off to Deer Harbor to enjoy an afternoon sail with Captain Ward and his sailboat Aura.

We may not have been the best sailing companions, since Nathan and I were juggling 2 phones and work calls, but he treated us well and took us out for a beautiful sail where we saw harbor seals and enjoyed our time out on the water.

From on the water to 2,409 feet above sea level, within an hour of stepping off the boat, we were gazing at the panoramic views at Mt. Constitution, the highest point on the San Juan Islands.

It was beautiful and we just had to take advantage of the views for a family photo. We did pack the tripod, so I guess we should at least take it out of its bag once…

But then we got a little crazy. The timer was set, there was running involved. We didn’t always make it, but the end result was everyone was smiling, because we were laughing so hard and also amazed that I made it down the rocks each time without falling on my face!

Finally, we made it to the stone observation tower, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936. The tower offered panoramic views of the surrounding islands, the Cascade Mountains and even over to Canada!

As we made our way back down to sea level, we got a little distracted by these moss covered cement stumps – all that remained from some old guard rails it looked like.

And of course, we saw just a few deer on our way out – since it was prime dinner time.

After dinner at Madrona Bar & Grill in East Sound, we eased our way back to The Orcas Hotel. And there it was, awaiting our arrival.

A great place to end our day on Orcas Island, and a wonderful way to complete our family vacation in the San Juan Islands!

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Tags: Family, Nature, Photography, Sightseeing, Travel, Westcoast
Categories : San Juan Islands, Washington

#1 Favourite Thing

24 07 2015

You may not have realized, but I didn’t mention what my favorite #1 thing that we experienced on San Juan Island was on my last post. And if Alpacas made #2 on my list (and really, how cute were they – you can’t get much better than that!)…..

You also may not have realized that I never did go back to the topic of whale watching….

Now, before I get to the big reveal, let me set the scene.

During my research for our family trip to the San Juan’s, one thing was clear. I wanted to see whales. Ideally more than one. But definitely Orca whales in the wild, while not on a whale watching tour.

Luckily for me, San Juan Island has Lime Kiln Point State Park, otherwise known as ‘Whale Watch Park‘. It is a 36 acre day use park set on the west side of San Juan Island and is considered to be one of the best places in the world to view whales from shore. So, this stop was what the entire trip was built around.

The San Juan Islands are home to 3 resident pods of Orca Whales. J-Pod, K-Pod and L-Pod. Individually, each pod has more than 20 members, and as a total more than 80 whales. Great odds that we would be able to see these whales in the wild. Especially since they are known to hang out together and intermingle. The males visit other pods to mate, but they always go back to mama. Orca whales exist in a matriarchal society.

On it’s own, the park is beautiful and a great place to stop for a picnic lunch. Too bad we were too impatient, and also had our heart (and stomach’s) set on lunching at Madrona Bar & Grill at Roche Harbor. So we had to settle for taking in the views while munching on granola bars.

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Just like on the ferry boat, we looked as hard as we could. We scoured the horizon and I had my camera poised for action.

Nothing.

Then I started watching the other people around us doing the same thing. Until I finally saw someone pointing. I whipped my head around and I swear I saw a flash of black and white. It was an Orca! I swear….it was an Orca.

The family was a little skeptical, until I started doubting myself as well.

And then we saw a dorsal fin breach. I was redeemed.

Until I zoomed in and compared what was on the camera with what was on the informational chart. There’s no way that fin belongs to an Orca. Instead, it appears that what I saw was a Minke Whale. The second smallest of the baleen whales, and black/gray/purple in colour on the body and white underneath. So I guess that’s why I thought I saw a flash of black and white. Because I did.

We watched for a while longer. People started to get bored and wandered off to explore the lighthouse. Finally, our stomachs started talking, no, demanding – that if this is all we were going to see than there were other things that we need to be moving onto. Like food. Like crab mac and cheese and clam chowder, sitting on the deck while watching harbor seals in the marina. Ok, well maybe my stomach wasn’t demanding to watch harbor seals, but my stomach and my mind were in agreement. Time to move on.

We made our way back to the parking lot. Thinking about lunch, but already planning on when we could come back to really whale watch. Maybe we double back and come back after lunch, or maybe we have to plan a whole other trip back another time.

THEN WAIT. We ran into a kindhearted stranger who was rushing to her car to grab jackets for her and her husband. WHALES! There are reports that K Pod is coming around the point! WHAT????

I ran. Screw the crab mac and cheese (that incidentally, did end up being delicious). I want to see whales. So we went crashing back down the path, and I got a little excited and kind of went off roading and careened full steam into some bushes before I got redirected to the more civilized and correct path to walk down.

People were lined up on the rocky point by the Lighthouse. Waiting. Watching.

My camera was poised, my muscles tense.

Jonathan was manning the binoculars and yells out, ‘They’re coming!! They’re coming! There’s so many of them!’

We looked out to the water, and just barely you could see some white waters waves – a little bigger than white caps, coming around the point. But it could just as easily have been ferry waves that were heading towards the shore.

But then the whale watching boats start to appear and here comes the whales!

I was so focused on trying to take photos, I felt stressed and excited and nervous and exhilarated, all at the same time. I heard laughing and cheering. Ooohs and Aaahhs. There they are. Over there. Now that one. Look at that!

I was so zoomed in I had to look away and up to make sure that I wasn’t so focused on the macro that I was missing leaps and breaches.

But these whales were on the move. They came in fast and furious – porpoising in groups of 2, 3, 4 at a time.

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They came tearing past us for what seemed like forever, but probably was more like 5 minutes. We saw this resident pod of whales, as we stood on the rocks, closer than we ever would have on a whale watching tour (unless they actually came up to the boat and swam under us like you see on the youtube videos).

Finally, the last of the pod disappeared around the lighthouse, ready for their next audience at the other end of the park. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. And it would be hard to compete with.

It took a while before I could stop watching for the whales, running back down the trail to see if I could catch up with them (never going to happen). Throughout the rest of the trip, whenever there was a silent moment, one of us would say, ‘those whales’ and we would all relive the experience. THE Best experience ever.

Which makes me think that I’ve ruined myself for future whale sightings. I’m spoiled and unless I see a full breach and backflip, nothing is going to top this experience.

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Tags: Animals, Nature, Photography, Sightseeing, StayCation, Travel, Westcoast
Categories : San Juan Islands, Washington

22 Hours on San Juan Island

23 07 2015

Gray skies greeted us Sunday morning as we boarded the ferry from Anacortes to San Juan Island.

Jerry and I were determined to see whales. We were bundled and huddled up outside, scouring the waterscape trying to see as hard as we could some sort of sign of whales. A water spout, a tail slap, a dorsal fin….Any sign of whales.

The fog didn’t make it the easiest. And before we knew it, the sixty-five minute ferry ride was over and no whales…

San Juan Island has a unique history. In 1859, Great Britain and the United States agreed to a joint occupation of San Juan Island until the water boundary between the two nations could be settled. So on this little island of 621 square miles, the US and Great Britain settled into camps located on opposite ends of the island.

At the South end of the island we found the American Camp complete with a couple deer sightings and a telescope aimed at an Eagle nest.

And on the North side of the island, the English camp, with some pretty nice views and a telescope aimed at an Ospray nest. In terms of views, I think the English camp may have won the battle, but ultimately the United States won the territory dispute and the British left their camp with a view in 1872.

Although I was happy to see these historical places, it was the wild life that I came to San Juan Island for.

The first time I asked Nathan to stop the car: Cows.

I believe when I got out of the car, the question was asked, ‘Doesn’t Canada have cows?’

Of course, but laugh all you want, I got some fun photos!

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And the second best part of the day: The Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm.

I never really thought about how many different colours of Alpacas there are, or how different they can all look. And I admit, I had my favourites.

It’s a toss up between these last two – I can’t decide which one is my favourite, but they both make me smile!

One of the most beautiful parts of the island was Roche Harbor. With blue skies as the backdrop for a picturesque marina, historic Hotel de Haro, remnants of old lime kilns, and a fragrant flowering arbor, it was a picture perfect scene.

We found ourselves back at Friday Harbor, ready to settle in for the night, around 5PM. It was definitely a jam-packed day, and although we missed the opportunity to stroll the streets and browse the colourful shops, we didn’t miss out on the chance for enjoying a little marina life. And for the first time for some of us, we spent the night breathing in the salty sea air and rocking to the lullaby of the harbour.

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Tags: Animals, Photography, Sightseeing, Travel, Westcoast
Categories : San Juan Islands, Washington

Off to the Islands….

22 07 2015

San Juans. That is.

Much to the surprise of many of our Seattleite-friends, I have never visited the San Juan Islands. It’s almost the equivalent of telling the locals that you’ve never been to Alaska – what??? You wouldn’t think that not seeing Alaska was out of the ordinary, but it appears that Alaska is a pretty common trip out here. And that too, is a place I have yet to visit.

For this maiden voyage to the San Juan Islands we decided to make it a family affair. With the 5 of us stuffed into the FJ we started our journey on a grey, drizzly Saturday – typically common for the Pacific NorthWest but after the summer we’ve been having it was not the type of weather I wanted or was expecting for my little family vacation. But we eased our way to Anacortes, WA – 1.5 hours north of Seattle and our first stop on our 4 day adventure.

After enjoying lunch at Gere-a-Deli‘s in downtown historic Anacortes, with giant portions of traditional deli sandwiches and fluffy slabs of cheesecake and tasty spiced oat cake, we eased our way to Mount Erie. Luckily for us there was a road up to the summit because after the lunch that we had, we were in no shape for a hike, or perhaps because of our shape, maybe we should have hiked….

At an elevation of 1300 feet, the summit at Mt. Erie is the highest point of Fidalgo Island and offers views of the San Juan Islands.

Great opportunity for photos with the best view points near the antennas. And if the scenic overlook isn’t good enough, you can always climb a tree like Nathan to get your shot.

Apparently this is a destination spot for rock climbers as well and hikers and view-gawkers are warned not to drop anything over the viewpoints.

Day 1 of Family Vacation: San Juan Islands edition. Unexpected Viewpoints. Check.

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Tags: Nature, Photography, Sightseeing, StayCation, Travel, Westcoast
Categories : San Juan Islands, Washington

All Aboard!

15 07 2015

It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden a train other than Amtrak. And it’s a whole different feeling to be riding a train for the enjoyment of the ride rather than for where it’s going to take you. When I’m on an Amtrak train, usually I’m trying to decide how much time I have to fit in a quality nap. Don’t want to fall asleep before they do their first rounds, but don’t want to leave it too late that I wake up and arrive groggy at my final destination. Tough decisions I know.

Well, it appears that when I am riding scenic train rides, what I have to worry about is staying inside the car and not dropping anything and losing it halfway into the train ride. Well, unfortunately for my polarized filter lens, I did not manage to succeed here. And although it had me still hanging out the window on the way back, searching the train route for my missing lens, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the ride…..or taking photos.

We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon enjoying the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad tour, a steam train which took us from Elbe, WA to Mineral, WA, through the forest and foothills south of Mt. Rainier.

Like any seasoned traveler and sightseer, I made sure to make friends with a few people before boarding the train, to ensure that I had the best seat in house.

Unfortunately THIS seat was taken

But when the majority of riders were enclosed in A/C-cooled cars with views dulled by glass, I led my family to the front of the train to the open-air car, with plenty of fresh air wafting through the openings and plenty of room to hang out the window. The only rule – don’t grab onto any tree branches.

The green landscape set against blue skies were wonderful to look at, but the real gem of the ride was the view of Mt. Rainier as we crossed over the Upper Nisqually River.

Overall, a great a way to spend a Sunday afternoon, get out of the city and buy some sun-warmed Rainier cherries from the roadside fruit stand.

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Tags: Photography, Sightseeing, StayCation, Travel, Westcoast
Categories : Washington

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