Wednesday, July 30, 2008

4th of July Camping

We had a lot of fun camping over the 4th of July! Michael, Jacob and Stephen came with us and we stayed at Friday Harbor in the San Juans. It was kinda cold and drizzly while we were there, so we didn't do much playing in the water (except Jacob, 'cause he is crazy), but we had a lot of fun. The drizzly weather meant lots of campfires which was great, because I love campfires! Mike got a bunch of ember holes in his new fleece which was a bummer though. Next time I will bring more blankets though because I was freezing at night!
Stephen, Mike and I on the ferry ride there. Stephen is wearing my sweatshirt because his was packed and he was freezing. He did not like the ferry ride. I think it scared him.
Us on the ferry.
After we set up camp Stephen and I went exploring while Mike and the guys went to buy some firewood. We walked over to the beach and Steven had a great time climbing the big rocks!
What a "big" kid!
Climbing down. What a cutie!
(btw, the "wet" on his pants is from the ocean :) )
After Stephen and I finished exploring the shore area and he had his fill of climbing the rocks we found a trail in the "woods" and ran into Jacob a little way up the trail, so we all went for a little hike. On the trail there were some really neat spots for pictures so I got some great shots of the two of them!
Aww, how cute!
Brothers :)
Jacob up a tree. It was actually pretty high.
Jacob helped Stephen up.
Our campsite. Made up of the "kitchen," our tent, the kid tent and the fire pit.
Michael and Jacob making a fire cause it started to rain.
On our last day we went down to the beach and did some exploring. Michael found something.
Everyone went over to see what it was. It was a really pretty abalone shell.
We also found a tide pool with this neat little guy in it.
On our last night we did smores, Stephen's favorite part of camping! :)
Michael's version of roasting marshmellows. Catch them on fire.
He looks so happy that I am sitting in his lap.
I LOVE this picture!
Mike carrying Stephen back to the campsite all cleaned up and ready for bed.
Me and my guy.
The ferry ride home. Stephen was exausted! He is sacked out in the background.
Playing cards on the ferry. We had a Blast camping! I am so glad to boys came with us!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Ocean Shores

We went to ocean shores for a long weekend the first weekend in June. It was so nice just to get away for a little bit with Mike and spend some time togethr. We stayed in a really great condo really close to the jetty, so we were able to walk down to the jetty whenever we wanted. It was a different experience because we always stay in town where everything is in walking distance. On our first evening we took a walk down the beach toward the jetty and encountered some really cute (and not so cute) wildlife.
The first thing we saw was a really cute little bird. He looked like a mini seagull.


After watching him for a little while we realized he only had one leg and yet he was running. His balance was amazing. When the waves would go out he would run in and pull things out of the sand that he ate. Then when the wavew would come back in, he would run away and wait until they went back out.. It was Amazing how he was able to adapt to life and Run with just one leg! If you glance at the second picture it looks like he has a second leg while, but if you look closer it is actually water splashing from where his foot had been because he is running! Anyway, I thouht he was pretty cool! :)
The second thing we encountered was really gross!! It was a dead adult sealion that looked like it had been bitten in half. In any event, only half of it was on the beach. ICK!! We gave it a wide birth. The third thing was very much alive though and totally cute!!! A baby harbor seal (or maybe a sea lion, I'm not sure). In any event he was really cute! I called the animal rescue place in Ocean Shores though because I was really worried about him being on the beach like that all alone (espically in light on the de-capitated adult down the beach). He also seemed sick and lethargic looking. Anyway, they said not to worry, that their Mamas leave them on the beach while they go hunting. They have less predators on the beach. The important thing was to not get too close to them or touch them, because the mother would abandon them if they smell like a human. I mentioned the dead adult down the beach and she said it was most likely not the mother, but they would put a 24 hour watch on the baby just to be safe. She also said there are great white sharks far out and that bitten in half by a shark and the rest of the body washed up. First off, Gross!!! Second, umm, are there really Great White Sharks out there? I thought they lived in warmer water. And, I am Totally terrified of sharks as it is. I actually rarely swim in the ocean because of it. The only exception is I have swam a couple of times in Hawaii, but mostly I just waded. In any event here are pictures of the cute little baby. They look like I am much closer to him than I actually am. I just have a really great zoom! :)


The next morning we went for a walk down the beach again and he was gone, so I am hoping that his mother came back for him. That morning we went out to breakfast at the Quinalt Beach Casino. My breakfast was terrible, but the reataurant was pretty. :)
After breakfast we did some window shopping and then went for a walk on the beach and just had a nice time being together. We found a sea star out on the beach. We took a couple of pictures of him before tossing him back in the water so the seagulls wouldn't eat him :)
The jetty in the evening
That evening I wanted to go out and take some pictures of the sunset since I had missed my opportunity the night before with the baby seal drama. So we left our condo and I captured some shots of a beautiful sunset.
The view of our condo from the beach.
Mike and I trying to get the sunset in the background. It didn't work. Mike is bearing the aftereffects of his close encounter between a hammer and his face in this picture. Poor guy! :(

The view of the sunset from our condo

The sunset from the beach

Us on the beach
My Sweetheart and I again.
We had a Wonderful trip! It was nice to be together, just us.