day five: the vampire port

upon the recommendation of some friends who have a family home in port angeles, they convinced us we must head up. i did a lot of WWW research and all of the pictures confirmed that indeed we needed to visit this place. it is on the olympic peninsula right at the foot of the olympic national forrest. that morning, we took a fairy from seattle to bainbridge island and then crossed the bridge to our destination.

this was our departing picture. i would like to take a moment to plug the ferries here. think NYC subway system on a boat. you drive your little car on for $15.00 and get across the water, but you also get phenomenal views.
this is the face of 2 people wanting their own beds and missing their babies. can you tell? also the face of two cold people on the passenger open air deck. i think it was maybe 55 degrees that day, heaven!

bainbridge island. we didn't get much time to explore as we had so much driving ahead of us.

once the ferry landed, we headed first to sequim (skwim). it is the lavender capital of something or other. lots and lots of lavender. it became apparent to us that we crave beautiful architecture that creates small towns. there were some breathtaking views all around us, but the reality is, stephanie meyers based her novels in run down indian reservation towns full of double wides. there is not a lot of charm in port angeles, forks or any surrounding towns. that shock took me a full day to digest. here is a lavender field in sequim just outside of port angeles.
once we got into town we were hungry. thankfully, i did loads of research on food. there were great reviews on everything around. we chose the asian bistro for lunch/dinner that had a great wall street journal review. i thought for sure this would be the place to indulge in seafood and pad thai, seemed the place. no, not the best idea unfortunately. give me some authentic pad thai please with tofu, eggs, bean sprouts and peanuts. this was sub par. scott's was alright. he got a honey walnut prawn dish. once we checked into our bed and breakfast, bob, the owner, pointed us to the mountains. he told us we had to do hurricane ridge before the sunset. this was the drive up.
it was a full panoramic view of the olympic peninsula, i think we went from sea level to 5500 feet elev. in about 20 minutes. it was impressive and i finally felt like i could put a smile on my face.

sarah agnes prine take two

you know who sarah agnes prine is right? no? click here and buy "these is my words" today. and then, when you are done, reread it like i did. my lovely friend brooke thought real hard about what i would want for my 31st birthday and concluded that a good book and a treat were just the thing. she even stretched herself and got a treat without chocolate so i could fully enjoy and indulge.(chocolate has been poison to me this pregnancy:() so indulge i did and love i do sarah agnes prine.
i think about her (fictional i know)life and feel strength. so as the snake situation was unfolding, with my pregnant belly, i just felt a little sarah in me. i kept joking that while i was getting ready for my evening of cooking for a gathering of women, i was going to put on my green rubber boots and strap a shovel to my waist to keep my assets all safe and protected from the visitor.

this morning i sat around with wet hair in jammies after my shower. i needed to not be needed today, so all i did was answer the phone. first a salesman, and then kaylene.

my dear sweet, i want to be like her when i grow up, neighbor, kaylene called. usually she flows on the phone when we talk, she just kind of paused this time. she finally got out that she had a visitor about an hour after my visit with the slithering fellow. she was innocently gardening in her lot kitty corner adjoining mine that is separated by a fence. pulling weeds, admiring the handy work of the harvest when she nonchalantly looked over to see the biggest reptile she could imagine. overcome with disbelief about the size of the middle of this snake, her screams brought out neighbors inside their homes. her own flesh and blood thought she had discovered a body in the garden. something atrocious for sure.

she was so startled to look over and see this visitor's middle, that she didn't even get a look at it's head or tail. her son went out and confirmed that the tail was indeed a pattern of stripes and not rattles. it didn't matter to kaylene. she declared that the garden was closed. weed patch it was the rest of the year and no one was allowed out ever never ever.

she confided to me that she has come across rattlers without such a reaction, but the sheer monstrous size of that snake took her hours to calm down from. that and i am sure the proximity to her were her undoing. she was still shaky recalling the incident to me this morning.

right after her call this morning alaska called me. he laughed at the incident because he is after all mountain man. he recollected about 25 run ins with rattlers thru the years. some have lurched at him after he provoked them, never bitten him. he attested to their non aggressive ways stating that they have to be provoked incredibly to get a bite. i am sure that is what that bear fella said before he was eaten alive too. beware alaska brother, beware!

his story of the week involved his camping trip last week where he had a black bear running thru the campground and how his biggest concern was all the good gourmet food they had brought up was going to get eaten. he was packing that stuff up faster than he was looking to see where the bear was headed or mace for that matter. he has priorities you know.

so there you have it, my sarah agnes prine tale. kaylene confirmed that it was large, maybe 4 feet with a middle the size of my calf, and that is no tall tale.

the day i got to channel my inner sarah agnes prine

thursday my church commitments required me to be at the church and staffed with a babysitter by 9:50am. i also had a large relief society gathering that night at my house. so, my day was laid out on paper, scheduled, and offered no time for dilly dally. no time at all. i even thought about scheduling bathroom breaks for myself because i get into these zones, it can prove dangerous.

as my mom was pulling out of my house at 9:47am after dropping uncle kyle off to babysit, she quickly returned begging me out the front door privately. she just kept pointing and saying, "what are we going to do?" she was in a panic zone. she related to me that as she was pulling out she saw a visitor coming up the lane. i mean a visitor. and as the story gets relayed over and over let's put the SNAKE at 4 feet long, okay?

as if the slithering creature had turned on its blinker from the main busy road, it was headed right up to my house with purpose. right up to my house. headed up to say hello. in the snippets of story from my mother and what i could process because i was on a schedule, i got bits of diamond back pattern and look at the end of the tail, it looks like rattles. she told me that as she was in her fancy and heavy car pulling out, upon the discovery of this slithering creature, she threw a water bottle out the window at the large snake. her intent was to see if it would coil so she could decipher if our lives were hanging in the balance or not. it didn't coil and her heavy car pulled right back up my driveway and not over the unwelcome visitor. she later confieded that she didn't want to have to clean up the guts.....

there were also other viewers from our bay window keeping an eye on the situation. of course today we are laughing, but yesterday my mother froze. she was asking me, do i run over it with my car? what do i do? yes, yes mom, run over that bad boy with your big heavy car, i kept insisting. but she couldn't. you would have been scared too at the sight of this monstrosity.

with my basketball belly, i bolted next door to the current house being built. there were manly, jacked up trucks parked in front and i thought that surely our answer would be found with all of the testosterone in the construction. surely. the first man i saw acted like he understood english until i said snake. that was met with backing away and saying no, no, no in his accented english. i kept begging if he would come dehead this bad boy with a sharp tool or shovel. he kept at his no, no, no.
upon my return to my house, i was informed that the snake did indeed make it to my house and burrowed into a hole in the front yard.

at this point i am thinking that a rattler lives in my weed infested yard and has underground paths and homes of eggs and mates all over. my poor mother is still frozen repeating, should i run over it with my car? all i knew was that my schedule did not allow for such diversions and i was needed down the street to give rides to girls for our adventure. i should have thought it thru more, contemplated that instead of a resident at my home, this snake was the traveling kind. why, he might be headed to my neighbors.

instead, i called the redhead after an hours contemplation and also upon hearing that my friend in the car, who lives up the street, had to evacuate a rattler living on her front porch last year. so i put the redhead in charge of the removal of the snake. since he and animal control are in each other's cell phones now, he got his friend on the line. mr animal control reported that it is indeed illegal to kill a rattler, but please kill it and don't call me. catch it and call me. he also reassured me that it was more than likely a blow snake. they imitate a rattler with patterns on their back and also markings on the tail looking to be rattles.

by afternoon the tale was spreading about our run in. i kept retelling the tale and had people show up in the front yard with hoes and shovels swiping along my sidewalk. also, advice that wasp spray aimed at the snakes face will kill it deader than heck. i wanted it deader that heck too i said. by the end of the day, i felt like i was crying wolf. really. a 4 foot snake with a middle the size of my thigh, okay, maybe my calf? well, that's how i felt until my back yard neighbor called me this morning.....
(to be continued)

job

it's been almost a year now with a new job for scotty. we are at the reflective stage as we comprehend how great life is.

sometimes i don't think scott divulges the full extent of how great his job is. his surgeon said is best last week when he commented that a PA and a surgeon partnership is really like a marriage, you never know what you are going to get.

this being the third "marriage" in scott's career, we are very incredibly happy. his doc is incredibly human and realistic. like last night for instance. i had the entire relief society coming over while we had 30 minute meal demos. i was a crazy mess for 2 weeks readying the house, getting a meal ready to demo and such. scott found out that their typical home for dinner schedule was not going to happen. blake was so kind and accommodating, letting him off early so he could come home and grab the kiddos for me. scott of course felt guilty and blake was the one making him feel justified in leaving.

we have decided that a job comes down to lifestyle. scott has been offered multiple jobs this past year (he must be great!). in fact, 2 last month. it comes down to more than a paycheck, really.
if you have full confidence in your surgeon as a PA, your life is good. one of the best parts about this current dig is that scott works for 1 doc. not 60, not a corporation, but one. we have noticed the most difference in that fact alone. with the other jobs there was always something on the table the "big wigs" were taking away, or fighting on. it just wore on scott day after day to go into battle mode.

with this job, he gets to go in, and, gasp, practice medicine. the only stress comes from what normally should in this line of work. super important. we feel incredibly lucky.

here is a cool write up about blake. this story was actually featured in our local paper and picked up by multiple national news sources. i think "the doctors" in LA have actually contacted him too.
because scott doesn't take call, he wasn't in on the initial surgery. but he was assisting when they put the skull back together and did the follow up visit to remove the staples. this was a miraculous story and sure makes anyone feel like god is real. (to get the full story click each picture and a the story unfolds)

i think it odd that scott didn't even mention this surgery day to me. 4 days a week of spine and brain and i guess this is just part of his day. i had to hear about it when my mom asked if i knew about it after it ran on the front page of the paper.

four days in, four to go

pikes market place is one of my favorites. it is an absolute must if you are anywhere near the seattle vicinity. it is a permanent mass farmers market with some of the most unique products and delectable food. there is every kind of everything you can imagine. give yourself a couple of hours for this. it is downtown so parking can be tricky, and it is crowded. we opted to go on a monday when it would be less crowded. as you can see, it was still busy.

our first stop was piroshky piroshky. it is a fantastic russian bakery with breaded delicacies that cater to the belly's content. the dough they use is similar to a croissant, very buttery and flaky. scott opted for the bavarian cream and i dove into the cheddar cheese roll. we washed it down with a puot,plum, peach, and strawberry smoothie from another street vendor. it was quite heavenly. my cheddar roll won the prize and could account for 3 of the 9 pound gain.

i think it is very comical to look back at pictures scott took of me. one of my biggest discomforts is having my picture taken on vacation. i feel so vain. i don't know why, but it is like a root canal for me. so this is me, pretending to be happy on vacation, which i am, but having to appease my redhead because i love him so. the fruit behind me is the stuff they used in the smoothie, i can almost taste it now.

this picture doesn't do justice to the flowers that line the vendors shops. they were fabulous.

here is a sampling of some of the fresh seafood available for purchase. oh to be a local here......

the flowers. there are masses and masses of these flowers that the sweet oriental ladies are going crazy making nonstop. these bunches? they sell for $5-$20. the ones pictured are the $10 bunches. oh, to be a local. the smell they infuse the market with makes for a great memory.

for lunch we settled on pike's place chowder. they offer a 4 sampler and have won every chowder competition they enter. it was 75 degrees that day and so we were pushing it with hot soup, but it was worth every bite. we did include a cold tomato gazpacho with shrimp that helped cool us down. it was worth it. there was also a cheese shop that boasted the best mac and cheese around, i believe them. the line was half a block. if we were to go back, we probably would have ventured into the line.

there are tons of homeless in seattle. my take on it is the abundance of artistic and ridiculously talented folks who gather up there. i have never seen such homelessness abound in any big town before. this picture is of me watching a teen aged boy lay down on a cement block with his pillow and sleep like there are not 40 million people around him. he was dirty and had pajama pants on but could probably get into julliard with violin skills or something. it is a different crowd up there....i do love my people watching.

we headed down to the aquarium after a couple of hours soaking and strolling pikes. we found an awesome map shop just above the market. we spent quite a bit of time in there and finally settled on a 1500's map of the world to frame for the house. it is really cool. the aquarium is mr zoology's thing. as is the zoo and other living creature exhibits. those places just make me sad looking at all those caged things. i liken it to dogs or cats coming to see people at the jailhouse. it seems odd to look at creatures out of their environment in a glass cage people bonk on all day. oh well. scott said it was nice.

we went to ivar's for fish and chips. someone told us they would walk on glass for ivars. the reviews all over were phenomenal. they have a fine dining place as well. i am hoping the reviews were talking about that place. the fish and chips stand was nothing to holler about. we shared a little boat of them. they did have malt vinegar though, and the englishman red head said that is an authenticity marker. he longs for the days of fish and chips in leeds, england wrapped in newspaper with malt vinegar. sigh.

anyway. after a stroll along the waterfront we decided to attack molly moon's ice cream shop across town. we liked the girl scout thin mint and decided the line would be worth it.

i am still out on molly moon's ice cream. it is run by a bunch of tree hugging organic save the earth nuts. now, i am on board with conservation, really i am. this felt really trendy to me and so i don't know if it has lasting merit. the line was outrageous, around the block long. and, the other thing that has me hung up is that it is not a sweet ice cream. i got the salted caramel and scott had the theo chocolate. i just don't know how i feel about wasting calories on ice cream if it won't suffice my sweet tooth. this place also had a roasted garlic flavor and often boasts a bacon ice cream served atop hot oatmeal with dried fruit. the salted caramel tasted just like it sounded with the salt overpowering any sweetness. even the chocolate was not sweet. it was densely flavored with cocoa but not sweet. hmm. i just don't know what to tell you. i guess it is worth a try to experience a non sweet treat. the service stinks there too. the employees acted like they were put out that they were busy. hello, kids. when you work at a crazy popular ice cream place, you won't get many breaks. if it isn't worth $10 an hour, go somewhere else. they horn rimmed glasses employee was ordering customers to stand here, move here and just jumped in whenever he wanted to serve someone. he was probably the owner. oh well. i am out on this one. i liked the girl scout thin mint. the cookie rendered a sweet element but it was served with vanilla. it needed to be paired with a rich chocolate. anyway. that was the ending to the day. it was right nice.....

ruff ruff

it seems like the hot topic around our house the last of june and all of july has been the red heads dog bite. you can see from the picture below that it wasn't something people ignored. it was right there on his face. right in the middle. this picture can't do the swelling justice. his nose was spliced across the rim and the puncture on his head got to the size of a quarter with infection.

it happened one summer night when he decided to go out jogging. i told him that's what he gets for exercising. he should have stayed home with his incubating wife and eaten ice cream;)

he had just helped the neighbor locate some horses that were thought to be missing. he hadn't been gone for more than 10 minutes. i already told you about the call that made me embarrassed because i laughed so hard. a call telling me my husband was bit on the nose by a dog. i could only picture him dragging his nose along the road to get such punishment. i didn't end up seeing him until the next evening because he spent the night in the ER and got up early for a full day of surgery.

my husband was innocently running along the road. some people were coming off a mountain hike and their trail just happened to intersect with the road scott was running on. these people happen to live a few houses down from the trail and let their 2 large boxers off their leash. scott heard some yelling thru his ipod and took out his speakers. a jogger for these dogs was like a moving target. he decided to stop running as they were right on his heels. they both came up to his waist. he went to pet the one that was acting up and bent his head about 2 inches when the other one lunged at his face. no bark, no growl, nothing. you can see where the jaw was open and got him. he said before he realized what was happening he had this reaction to jerk back. he didn't know why he did this but it coincided with when the boxer clamped his jaw down. just as scott's head came up he saw a jaw clamp down in front of his face. he is incredibly lucky to have his nose still in tact although he now boasts a good scar.

this has been an eye opening experience for us. in our county, a dog can bite three times before it has to be put down. pathetic. why do people buy big dogs? i wonder if these dog owners realize the history of a boxer. boxers were bread to kill cows and take them down at the face, suffocating it. that is why this one went for the face, it's what boxers do. scott was in line with two other dog bites at the er that night. his was the best outcome as the other unfortunate victims were getting their faces put back on in the operating room all night.

every ER staff member told him that boxers, pit bulls and rottweilers are their only offenders in the ER. They are fighting dogs.

of course when this first happened the dog owners were beside themselves, reassuring us they were going to put the dog down. they have small children and didn't want to take any chances. after a day had passed we got a loaf of bread and a promise that they will use a chain to keep the dog restrained along with some training.

this was probably one of the hardest things scott has had to go thru. he really struggled with being upset with these people. he kept saying, why would they waste their free warning on a nice guy like me that won't sue them? his anger came from thoughts of the dog doing this again and the fault being with him because he didn't put up a stink about the dog being put down.

he had me take the above picture in his angry phase, just in case it needed to be documented.

the dog owners kept calling and scott had to leave their calls unreturned. i told him not to call until his anger was gone, that was an okay thing to do. so after a month he ran into them. his anger has dissolved but he didn't side step with them. he told them he is scared to run past thier house now and he hopes they are using a chain......

some people.

day three

day three was a down day. day two put me into contraction fest. i let scotty go to sleep that night without mentioning i was timing those bad boys. they also started to hurt, really bad. i was one constant prayer that night. i did not want to spend the rest of the vacation in the hospital. i was pumping fluids like they were going out of style and laying on my left side. i know the drill.

that morning we went to a great worship service in seattle and had a really low key morning. we decided after to hit Voula's offshore cafe.

this place is other planet. not only the food, but this place is a religion. people are sold on voula's. so is guy feiri. HERE is the clip of their appearance on triple D (diners, drive ins and dives).
we got there around 11am. when we pulled up, the crowds were outrageous. you actually signed a check in sheet outside the restaurant and waited for the gal to come out and call your name. you waited and you waited. i thought for sure that once you got in, food would be eminent to rescue a starving woman and her fetus. our waitress said it right when she said Voula's is like torture, entertainment and pure indulgence. the wait outside is only half the battle, because once you get in, the show begins.

i was mesmerized by the show. really, 3 guys, cooking every order one at a time. it was a precise science that was fascinating. we didn't even talk to one another we were so entertained. it took a good 45 minutes for us to get our food. i went with the smoked salmon scramble and scotty partook in the chili verde, smoked pork, benedict. they were both ridiculous. it was one crazy experience. and that guy in the above photo to the far right? the guy. voula's son. i felt kind of famous.


by this time, it was well after 1 o'clock and i was due for a nap. the religious experience had put me over the edge, old voula's. so my patient husband sat in the stinky hotel, while i slept in the stinky hotel. boo.

we roused that evening and headed over to the ballard section of seattle to see the ballard locks and the salmon run. it was a good way to spend an afternoon. we browsed the botanical gardens, watched the boats fill the lock system, and then meandered to the salmon run. it was a beautiful stroll.


then. for dinner. we worshipped triple D again. we went to bizarro italian. when guy said that the clam fettuccine made his top 5, i knew we couldn't miss out. it was other planet amazing. they didn't even complain when we asked to split. we had a wonderful appetizer that were these cheese balls. they were centered with fresh mozzarella, surrounded in risotto and then breaded and topped with a roasted red pepper reduction. the whole meal was fantabulous and could just be my favorite meal. the pasta is made on site so it is fresh, add to taht the salted pork and succulent clams. oh honey. it was fantastic.


one of my favorite parts was discovering that molly moon ice cream was served there. i had read amazing incredible things about molly moons. i had also read about the line, so to be able to avoid that peaked my interest. we shared the girl scout thin mint ice cream and were pretty pleased. ( i will give my full review on molly moons on tuesday when we go there and wait in line officially)

on my way

i have issues with food. i love it, love it, i love it.

i do. but i also have discretion about it too. i have the desire to weigh myself everyday which proves daunting when you are on a mission to gain weight to accommodate a growing fetus. i have always weighed the same with each delivery. always. the only part i like about being pregnant in the summer, which i have done 4 times now, is that your summer eating is pretty healthy. with number 2 being born in december, i could definitely see how much harder it was to loose the weight after. it just stuck more. there was not a fest of summer fruits and vegetables during the most pound retaining part. no sir. it was full of turkey and christmas desires.

i feel nearly like a martyr with all the posts of indulgence on our vacation regarding food. but today when i went into the doctor's office. well, he had to "talk" to me about the large amount of weight i had gained the past month. i had gained almost as much this past month as i had the entire pregnancy. when i asked how much i had gained, he chuckled and told me 9 pounds.

9 fraggin pounds in one month. now, to my credit. 2 visits ago the scale boasted 6 pounds and he told me to watch it. last month 1 pound and they figured that their scales had been off. so this go around i promised him there was a vacation involved and i would eat watermelon the whole rest of the pregnancy and to check his scales. he reassured me that i was just fine and on track to gain my regular 30. but still. 9 pounds. i called scott up and told him to write me a note for a handi sticker, his wife was on her way to morbid obesity. my blood pressure was 120. 120. me. i am lucky to pull a 100. sometimes i would go in and it would be in the 90's. so 120 for me was as good as a stroke. let's pick out the casket already.

now these thoughts may seem incredibly irrational to any one's eyes reading this. but my phobia has been discovered. i have an intense fear of gaining weight. i have been there. i dieted all thru high school and beyond. there is no worse way to live that knowing you need to loose weight. really. for me the worry of what health problems i will have from gaining weight are enough to put my husband in the loony bin. like all afternoon, i have told him that i am sure i am one ice cream scoop away from diabetes, one dessert away from a stroke, one night away from severe sleep apnea. he is glad he is working late tonight, that can be sure.

the poor doctor. i told him he gave me a hot flash with the news and at first he laughed until he saw the tears in my eyes and my beet red face. he thought i was joking. he spent the rest of the time reassuring me that i am just fine, not to worry. 20 pounds of weight gain by 29 weeks is normal and regular, just don't do it again kind of thing. i told him i was fine with 20 pounds, but 9 of it in one month. oh lawsy. my blood pressure is spiking retelling the tale......

day two

day two was jam packed. we were like two desert travelers soaking up our seattle time. we started out right at sweet iron waffles. they claim the best leige waffle in the country. guess what? they're right. i had heard review after review of nothing but bravo from this little place. each reviewer swore they were in europe. the concept of these waffles is a batter that is raised and in the waffle maker there are sugar crystals that form the most beautiful crust of sweetness around these babies. they are worth the trip alone. right down town, a few blocks up from pikes market.
scotty had the brie with fresh basil. he was in heaven and would talk about it everyday. i opted for the bacon and pure maple syrup. it was absolutely divine. i can't say enough about these waffles. we also felt really lucky because there were only two people there. we heard these kids comment that this was the first time the line wasn't out the door. 3 tables and a maximum occupancy of 12 made me very glad we beat the crowd.
snoqualmie falls was next. i loved the drive thru the mercer island tunnel, thru issaquah and into this scenic falls area. it was so stupendous. really, really lovely. it was a balmy 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

after our hike around the falls we drove around mercer island. i don't know what draws me to this place. it is busy and crowded, but offers some charm that has me captivated. just off downtown and before the eastern side. we spotted this little teeny sign that touted a public beach. scott missed the road because it was so small. we found the parking lot with another downward hike. i geared up for this steep trail and was rewarded with this.
the coolest beach. they have sectioned off for public use with these cool docks and even have lifeguards. it was so famous as ella would say. anything wonderful to her gets claimed as famous, except she can't say f so she says samous. melt me. we sat for a while, taking in the amazing weather and the beautiful water view.

after the falls and the beach, our waffles were long gone and left our bellies begging for more, more, more. this little cafe was the hook to get me on this trip. we loved this place on our honeymoon 10 years ago. we kept speculating about the quality and if ten years ago our tastes might have changed. we were a little off on the distance and were ravenous hungry by the time we got there. it was up the I5 north and at the bottom of chuckanut drive. i had forgotten the funky vibe but not the chocolate ice cream. we were thrilled again to have the place to ourselves. i guess vacation appetites made for no crowds for us, eating at odd times.

we got so lucky as to be at the Rhodie cafe during their celebration of the islands. scott went with pan fried oysters while i ventured out for the shrimp, crab island cakes. they were full of coconut, mango and tender sections of sweet shrimp and buttery crab. it was pure indulgence. and then....

it was time for dessert. we chose the cooked butter and sugar bananas with their chocolate ice cream. normally this lovely dessert is served with vanilla, but i twisted their arm. and oh, was it worth the twist. the cocoa flavor is so intense, i can't even say the ice cream is cold. it essentially captivates what semi cold fudge would be like. it was 10 minutes of pure, sweet indulgence and a memory to make me happy to be alive, seriously.

the rhodie cafe is at the bottom of chuckanut drive which overlooks the san juan islands. it is the most healing drive. it will wipe away any hurt from your past. no joke. for half of it you are surrounded by mass trees, hugging you like a blanket.
the other part of the drive gives you glimpses of the water dotted with small islands.

and then, there are small pull offs with campgrounds and fishing spots. it was why we applied for a job in the town. really, the rhodie and chuckanut. we did it all for them.......pathetic? i just know what i love.
we ended the evening by taking a stroll along the bellingham bay boardwalk.

it was a fantastic day. it was as much fun retelling it too!!! i forget that relishing the vacation is as much fun as being there, well maybe......