Spring break in Sequim

SEQUIM (pronounced "skwim"), is the best vacation secret in Washington.  IN fact, the entire Olympic Penninsula is the best vacation secret in Washington.  Sleepy little towns with stunning views.  We happened to have some good friends who had some connections here and so we packed up our two families and stayed for the weekend.  There was running, some gaming, some game-feeding, and lots of good food.  And it was an interesting experience living with another family for the weekend.  Being able to observe another set of parents interacting with their children in the morning and at meals and at bedtime, I started noticing ways I wanted to be better with my own family.  Rather than feeling dejected at my own parental inadequacies, I felt inspired.  It probably helped that it was General Conference weekend and we interspersed the playing with listening to talks from the apostles.

Our trip started off with a bang!  We took a 40 minute ferry ride to cut our driving time and got to enjoy sunny views of the water while we wolfed down Ivars seafood

 The kids had a blast.  I am so glad I get to raise my children in such a beautiful part of the world and the opportunity to expose them to some wonderful experiences.

All 4 adults are in training for marathons/half marathons, so on Saturday morning we all took turns running.  Carrie and I got the first turn, so we caught the sunrise. The Olympic mountains are breathtaking!

 

This is the view out onto the Dungeness Bay and the Straight of Juan de fuca.

 

 

Carrie and I also caught some obliging deer who were on their way to Starbucks I assume...

 On Sunday we spent almost the whole day on the Dungeness spit-- a 5 1/2 mile sandbar/mini penninsula that extends out into the bay.  The kids played in the sand and we picnicked and listened to conference talks, and dozed in the sunshine.

 We found this awesome teepee fort looking thing that the kids instantly adopted and remade into their own world.

 

this was a view of the bay around sunset.

 On the last day, the deer came back around to our house, much to the delight of our kids.

 One of my favorite parts of our vacation was our trip to the Olympic game farm.  You pay for admission, you pay for a few loaves of bread, and then you just drive and meander through their park, feeding the large "game" along the way.

 WE started out small with some baby deer.

 We only drove about 5 mph, so Anna and Benjamin came up front with us.

 The Buffalo were pretty intense.  Their heads were as big as our entire window, and their tongues are black and slimy!

 Anna's favorite animals were the peacocks.  They were the least threatening, I think.  She spent the first half of the drive crying in terror from the backseat.  I think she thought the animals were going to eat us as well as our bread.  It took quite a few fancy peacocks to calm her down enough to enjoy the rest of the experience.  It wasn't until a Donkey licked my hand that she finally embraced the silliness and fun of the adventure.

 The zebras were so cool!  Big teeth.  There were warning signs that they could bite, but we came away unscathed!

 Carnivores were kept behind fences.  No feeding them!  But we were still amazingly close to them.  And I swear to you, they wave when you drive by!  I almost thought they were animatronic.  They were bears that actually acted bear like (at least they way you think bears would act, like in Yogi bear...)

Overall, it was one of the best vacations I have ever had in all my 32 years.  We plan to make Sequim a yearly tradition for our family. 
I am so thankful we are friends with the Hong family, and that they were generous enough to let us crash their own spring break vacation and let us rub shoulders with their family for a few days.  After 72 hours with them, I only like them more.