One place to add to your list of places where it really sucks to have a dead car battery-- in line for the ferry (for the ferry waits for no one!). Luckily, there was another ferry in three hours, so our transfer to San Juan Island was only slightly delayed!
Our full day on the Island was the ONLY overcast day we experienced, but even that was beautiful in its own way. Our first stop was Lime Kiln State Park, which is an apparently prime whale watching spot because within minutes of getting there in the morning, we saw whales just off the coast of this lighthouse. Only this time it was free and totally unexpected, which of course made it more special.
Every day, whale watchers come to this lighthouse and just cuddle up with their blankets, waiting to see those rare glimpses of whales. We feel really lucky that we were there just when it happened.
I don't think Anna appreciated just how cool that was. She just wanted to climb the rocks!!
a private moment between Anna and her dada!
I loved showing Anna all the sea life she could find in these small pools of water where the coast meets the sea.
I showed her how to "tickle" the sea anemones! She loved watching them close up tight when she touched them. I felt like I was on my high school biology field trip.
This is the moment I realized the whales were RIGHT THERE (relatively).
We had PBJ's every day for lunch on this vacation. No matter where we were, we stopped for a picnic. PBJ's taste better when eaten outside anyway, and no matter where we were, it was always beautiful.
a rare hug from a squirmy, active girl
I don't know what Anna is doing, but I love to watch her play!
This particular park reminded Richard strongly of Ushaia in Argentina (another tip of the world).
One of the things I loved about our vacation was that we had no schedule from day to day. We just explored or played as we felt like it. It was very freeing. We could linger where we wanted.
San Juan Island's Museum of Art is actually an outdoor sculpture park. Anna fell in love with a statue of a dancer. She stayed there for almost a full half hour. She has a dancer heart.
I loved showing this sculpture of a "missing piece" to Anna because she has a knack and passion for puzzles.
next we went to the whale museum (I mean, why not...right?). We were the only patrons.
Anna always finds the binoculars wherever she goes. Someday she will be a dancing, exploring, running, puzzle solving, singing thesarasus of a woman...and I love it.
Anna and a new "friend" watching a short film together.
waiting for the ferry to go to Victoria.
Anna showing off the friend she is taking home to introduce to her bears. I tried to get her to name him "Oreo" but she adamantly proclaimed that his name was "Whale."
a few views of San Juan Island as we leave
This is Friday Harbor. Unfortunately, we didn't get to experience a lot of the awesome food here, except for a New York breakfast sandwich made by a man named Vinny that we ordered 10 minutes before the ferry left. I should have noticed the sign above his little restaurant that said "In a hurry? Forgedaboutit!!!" So thats how a 7 1/2 month pregnant woman was seen sprinting with a sandwich toward the ferry docks so that she wouldn't be left behind by her husband and child.
We stayed at a place called "Earthbox Motel" that had a great swimming pool that we took advantage of a couple of times. Richard is a born teacher and in just an hour, Anna went from clinging barnacle who feared leaving the stairs of the pool, to a confident toddler, making waves as she kicked her arms and legs out as her daddy took her around the deep end.
to be continued in Victoria, BC for the last leg of our journey!
No comments:
Post a Comment