Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Memorial Day Weekend

Saturday May 27-Monday May 31, 2011

Wednesday, May 25 was my first day of work at GGLO in downtown Seattle. I’m really liking it so far. They are an integrated design firm of architects, urban planners, interior designers and landscape architects. They create and revitalize communities by elevating the quality and spirit of life. This approach creates a more sustainable design to spaces. Their main market sectors are multifamily residential, mixed use, commercial, office, retail, hospitality, parks & public places and single family. They were founded in 1986 and similar in size to LS3P’s Charleston office. They were about 120 people before the recession and now around 60. They pride themselves on the comfortable balance between hierarchy and anarchy, happy hours and working crazy hours. There is no dress code (that’s for middle schoolers) so jeans to work is fine by them. They have a strong community service commitment, recently winning an award for their efforts in Seattle. Most of my colleagues are very young and fun. The project I am working on is a team of 4 girls. I count my blessings every day that our transition to our new home has gone so smoothly. I'm shocked how quickly I found a good job at a reputable company. It's great to know you can trust in the Lord and He will provide for you.

My commute is about an hour door to door. Joe drives 8 minutes to his park and ride. There he joins is vanpool for an hour drive north to the Paccar Technical Center in Mount Vernon. I drive 12-15 minutes to my park and ride. There I catch the bus for a 40 minute ride into downtown Seattle. I walk a few minutes down a few blocks to the office. It’s location is great. It’s located on Harbor Steps, a great urban space which connects 1st Avenue to Western Avenue on the waterfront. There are a series of cascading fountains. Joe will pay less for the vanpool a month than he would in gas to drive himself to work. I have a benefit to pay my company $20 a month for a free annual Orca Pass to ride all buses, rail and public transportation (except ferries).

Friday after work and taking the bus to the park and ride, I got in my car and drove up to Bellingham to spend our remaining days of the lease in the furnished house there. We went to Boomer’s Gourmet Burgers Drive In for dinner since there always seems to be a good number of cars there at all hours. It was pretty good.

There is a huge race in the Bellingham area on Sunday, called Ski to Sea. It’s a 100 mile relay team race of seven race legs, each a different sport. Each team of 8 does the following activities: cross country ski 4 miles, downhill ski/snowboard 2.5 miles, run 8 miles, road bike 42 miles, 2 man canoe 18.5 miles, mountain bike 20 miles, and sea kayak 5 miles. This year the marathon race was celebrating 100 years.

Saturday we ran a few errands and then went to hike Teddy Bear Cove as a family. We were the only ones there on the beach. The water was calm, at low tide and the sun was out. Chance went right into the water to swim with no coaxing. With the lower water level, I climbed around the shoreline some to see the cool rock formations with eroded spots up close. Chance kept trying to follow me along the slippery wet rocks. Joe was nervous so I headed back to stable land. Chance on the other hand decided to climb up the steep rock hill. We had to quickly do the same to keep her in view.
When we went down to the sand-like cove beach, Chance again freely went swimming to her heart’s content. We had never seen her swim so much voluntarily. She started shaking while she was standing on the shore because she was cold being so wet, which led her to just go back in the water. Joe loved watching her play as much as I did. It’s things like this that make us less scared about having kids one day. One day but not quite yet… She chose the perfect spot to shake off, right next to Joe.

The only people in sight were out on their sailboat in the cove. I could have sat there for hours, but once Joe’s seen it, he’s ready to go. We went to Win’s Drive-In for dinner. Much better burgers than Boomers.

Sunday we went to mass one last time at Assumption, which is on a hill overlooking Bellingham Bay. I hope we like the parish in Bothell as much as this one. We went into Fairhaven for the Festival for Ski to Sea. We walked around the streets within the historic district which were lined with booths selling crafts, food and featuring live music. Joe wished he had convinced me to bring Chance. We saw so many dogs out. I said no since she wasn’t allowed in the beer garden. We walked down to Marine Park to view the finish line where the kayakers run ashore and bring the bell. We walked past the first place finishing team on our way to the shore to view the number 2 and 3 team paddling in. Joe grabbed a gyro to eat and then we went to the beer garden for some Boundary Bay Brew, made specifically for this event. I had some Thai eggrolls.

Later Sunday afternoon we went to Arroyo Park since Chance was allowed off-leash on these trails. It was a little muddy, but Chance loved being free to roam and lead the way.
We packed up the cars with all of our remaining stuff in Bellingham, mostly clothes, plants and car stuff. Monday morning we drove down to the new house in Mill Creek. Joe kept forgetting which room was which once he was upstairs. I found it quite funny. We talked about where we would place the big pieces of furniture for when the movers arrive hopefully Thursday or Friday. We also discussed things we could really use right now to get by until the movers arrive. Chance proceeded to run around the whole house sniffing every corner she could. Nothing seemed to freak her out yet in the extremely empty house. We went to Lowe’s for some new shower heads, specifically a detachable one to bathe Chance in the guest bath. We bought some hooks to hang our new bikes in the garage. Joe checked out lawnmowers at Lowe’s and Home Depot, opting for the later. I had bought another set of our silverware to eat at Bed Bath and Beyond as well as some cheap disposable Tupperware to use as plates/bowls for now and a spatula. At IKEA we bought a chair Joe has been wanting for a while, but didn’t have the room for until now. He couldn’t stand that we didn’t have a place to sit in the house but on the floor. While we were discussing our last items we’d like to purchase for this home, I got a phone call from the movers! Turns out they will be at the house Wednesday between 8:30-9am. I wanted to start a happy dance in the middle of IKEA (which I probably wouldn’t be the only one doing since that store is awesome!).

I unpacked our minimal things while Joe put together our new chair. He placed it in the corner of the large empty living room. When he sat to play some games on the iPad, Chance chose to sit as close to him as possible. She had the whole place to explore, but she’d rather stay close to her daddy. She really is a people person. I hope she handles it well Tuesday when we both leave her in this empty place to go to work. 
The first night sleeping in the house, Chance did great sleeping on her blankets in the hallway outside our bedroom even with the door open. We expected her to sneak into our room once we were asleep. I can’t wait to get our stuff and to finally feel like I’m home. Our lease is for 18 months so come October 2012 we should have an idea of where the next step in our lives will be. We are loving the location of our new home. It’s a couple miles from Interstate 5, the main thoroughfare in Western Washington. We both have great proximity to park and ride options. We’ll barely have to fill up our gas tanks anymore.

Friday, May 20, 2011

San Juan Island Anniversary Trip

Friday, May 20, 2011

Joe and I planned an amazing overnight trip for our anniversary weeks ago. We booked the ideal secluded campsite on the western side of San Juan Island at the county park. This campsite was booked for every weekend through the rest of the summer. We lucked out that a Friday night was still available, the day after our actual 4th anniversary. It also just happens to be the date 5 years ago when Joe proposed on the Brooklyn Bridge. Joe arranged to take the day off of work. I may have mentioned the San Juan Islands before. You can see many of them from Bellingham and the surrounding shoreline area. There are 743 islands and only 428 islands at high tide. 60 of these are inhabited and 4 are served by Washington State Ferries sailing from Anacortes. San Juan Island is the westernmost major island serviced by ferry. It consists of rocky shores, sandy beaches, prairie and pastureland and lakes and forests. We were so excited to take this trip to celebrate us.

The night before we packed up Chance’s stuff for the trip. She tested out her new backpack. It’s about time she pulled (“carried”) her own weight around here! 
We left the house just after 7am to be at the Anacortes ferry terminal early enough for the 9am ferry. We arrived around 8:15am, shortly before the loading of the 8:30am ferry to Victoria, BC. There were great views of Mount Baker to the east, by Bellingham. If Chance only knew where we were about to take her.
We boarded the M.V. Yakima vessel in Anacortes. The remaining cars drove onto the two car decks. The ferry holds a maximum of 2500 passengers and 144 vehicles.
We were so excited to be bound to the San Juan Islands on such a gorgeous day. When look back to the mainland you could see Mount Baker. There were some weird birds I hadn’t seen before (possibly cormorants?) on the dock bumpers.
We couldn’t help singing the SNL classic: “I’m on a boat, I’m on a boat…I got my flippie floppies.”
We soon left port. 
We soon had a great view of the Olympic Peninsula with massive mountains to the southwest. 

We continued to see Mount Baker from the sea. In the foreground is Guemes Island.
The ferry went near Rosario Strait which separates Cypress Island to the east and Blakely Island to the west.
During the journey between Blakely Island to the north and Decatur Island to the south another ferry passed by.
It was a little windy out on the open decks.

We checked in on Chance in the car. She seemed to be doing fine.

We passed between Lopez Island to the south and Blakely Island to the north. Joe admired the islands from behind the glass.
Lopez Island to south and Shaw Island to the north.
I couldn’t resist doing the Titanic on the front deck. “I’m the king of the world, on a boat like Leo.”
The ferry arrived at Friday Harbor, a historic walkable seaport, the only incorporated town in the San Juan Islands.
We disembarked and walked around near the harbor.
Friday Harbor is really cute with waterfront restaurants, boutique shops, bookstores, galleries, and museums.
We stopped at the Market Chef to pickup a sandwich for later when we’re hiking. We got a roast beef and rocket sandwich with house roasted Oregon Country Beef, hot horseradish sauce, marinated red onion, chunky olive salad and island arugula on a caraway-salt roll.
We chose Maloula’s Mediterranean Restaurant for lunch. We had the closest patio table overlooking the waterfront. I had an Insalata Caprese of tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella with a hint of pesto sauce that I ate around and shared with Joe due to allergies which didn’t turn into a problem today. Pine nuts don’t typically bother me too badly in small doses. Joe had a lamb burger and fries.
As we ate lunch we watched the ferry leave port and a seaplane land in Friday Harbor while a whale watching tour boat was leaving.

We drove south down Cattle Point Road to the American Camp in the National Historic Forest. There was a standoff here on the island in 1859 between the British and the Americans which was caused by the shooting of a wandering pig in an American potato camp. Referred to as the Pig War, the pig was the only casualty with no other blood shed. The negotiations created an American fort to the south of the island and a separate British fort to the north. 

We hiked to Jakles Lagoon, one of three lagoons off Griffin Bay, to get a good view of Mount Baker from the shoreline.
Joe already wanted a nap. Too bad the day had only just begun.
We continued down Cattle Point Road to the Cattle Point Lighthouse which was up on a cliff along the south shore. The view of the Olympic Mountains across the Strait of Juan de Fuca was amazing. These mountains were maybe 25 miles away across the Puget Sound. It was a little hazy from this distance. It’s also clear to see how massive Mount Baker is from here because we are probably as far away from it as we are the Olympic Mountains.
We hiked up to the lighthouse built in 1935. To the east were tiny islands off of Lopez Island.
We got a phone call here finding out that our moving truck will arrive anywhere between Monday May 23 and Tuesday May 31. Great planning there on the relocate service. We now have a longer time window than Monday-Wednesday. It looks like I will be using my sleeping bag to sleep in the house Tuesday night before I begin my first day of work Wednesday. Joe will have to take a day off to be there whenever the movers arrive. Oh well, back to enjoying the beautiful scenery.
The lighthouse wasn’t the nicest but the stark white building set in the landscape at the top of the hill was beautiful.
Chance loved running through the tall grass field.
We then drove to Lime Kiln Point State Park, better known as Whale Watch Park.  Orcas or killer whales spend their entire 40-80 year lifespan in their mothers’ extended family group (pod). There are 2 pod communities here. The Resident Community eats mostly salmon and cod and the Transient Community eats other marine animals in addition to fish. We were hoping to see some playful behavior like breaching, spyhopping, and lobtailing. June through September is prime whale watching season. Sealife here is abundant and the salmon are migrating along the shore. Also seen in this area are Dall’s Porpoises, Harbor Porpoises and Minke Whales. 

I tried to speak whale much like Dora from Finding Nemo, but I must not have it down because we never saw any whales.
We hiked over to Dead Man’s Bay. It’s too pretty to have such a morbid name. When I explained our hike at Deception Pass I mentioned nearby Ben Ure Island was infamous for its activity of smuggling illegal Chinese immigrants for local labor. If the US Customs Department was signaled to be close, the pirate Ure would tie the illegal immigrants up in burlap bags and toss the bags overboard. The tidal currents would carry the discarded bodies to this bay on San Juan Island.
We continued to hike north along the rocky shoreline.
Lime Kiln Point Lighthouse was built in 1919 along Haro Strait. This was the last major lighthouse in the US to be fully automated, the last to receive electricity in Washington. The name of the park and lighthouse derives from the vicinity to former lime kiln operations on the northern part of the island near Roche Harbor. The current lighthouse is a replica of the Seattle Alki Point Lighthouse.
I like to climb trees.
Girls were digging on the shore searching for tumbled glass. Chance was very concerned about watching Joe on the shore below. We were informed that the whale watching boats checked in with the lighthouse letting them know that the whales were liking heading this way up the Haro Strait. Unless they turned back, the pod should be there in about 2 hours. It was a little after 3pm at this point.
We decided to drive a few miles north to setup camp at the San Juan County Park. Our campsite was secluded from all the others. It was a walk-in site. It was close to the main road on the west coast, but it was great because our firepit and picnic table were right on the shore of Smallpox Bay overlooking Haro Strait and Vancouver Island.
We debated where to setup the tent. We preferred in the shade of the trees where the ground was softer but it wasn’t very flat. We ended up down the path near the shore, blocked by some bushes. Chance did well carrying in her own stuff. She even explored the site with all her baggage. For some reason since we’ve moved here, she loves to eat tall grass. Not a cool idea since she has the stinkiest farts afterwards and we were sharing a tent that night.
Once we had camp set up we went back to the Lime Kiln Point Lighthouse. We split our roast beef sandwich from Friday Harbor while overlooking kayakers and a ferry boat passing through the Haro Strait by Vancouver Island. I am jealous of those on the ferry if they end up seeing the orca whales near the Olympic Mountains.
I laid out on the rocks to catch some sunrays and hope to see some whales. We awaited more news to hear if the whales were coming. From this point we could see Victoria. The tide was coming, which is usually when the whales tend to pass by this point. I saw some spots in the water that kept coming in and out of the water. I asked Joe to look closer at the point where there were many tree log tops sticking out above the waterline. He confirmed that I was in fact seeing sea otters! They swam closer to our rock outcropping. One turned its head and stared straight at me. It was so cute! I think I scared him away though. They never came back out of the water after seeing me.
We were very impatient after waiting 2 hours for the whales to come. Joe was getting really hungry. Five whales were spotted at a break in the water about a half mile south. We occasionally saw their movements, but not enough to feel like we really saw them. We often thought we saw them but it ended up being a wave or something else. We finally gave up hope that they would swim up to us. We walked south down toward the break to find out that they had mostly turned around. We headed into Friday Harbor to grab a quick dinner and grab firewood before dusk.
We picked up a 4 pack of microbrew and a bundle of firewood at the local market. There was a sports bar across the street called Hailey’s Bait Shop & Grill. We decided to sit at the bar and get quick service. Unfortunately we were bothered by 2 annoying drunk guys the entire time. It could have been a good meal if we could have eaten our burger & calamari in peace while watching the Vancouver Canucks struggle to get back in the hockey game.
Back at camp, Joe quickly started a fire as the last bits of sunlight dropped behind Vancouver Island. The water had risen quite a bit since we set up camp. A bunch of bull kelp floated into the shore of Small Pox Bay.
We were full from dinner and didn’t even feel like smores, but we did finish our beers. I saw a small animal scurry along a driftlog near the shore, about 10 feet from our campfire. We shined the light over there to see a raccoon looking back at us. This was the first animal to spook Joe. There was a deer up near the road that spent probably close to an hour just starring back down the hill at us. It eventually crossed the road, but still kept looking down at us. Joe made sure it wasn’t around anymore before we went to bed.
It had rained overnight. It was really overcast, which was not what the forecast was before we left the mainland. We were really glad we decided to put the rainfly on the tent. All was dry within our tent. We decided to pack up camp and drive to the northern side of the island. We passed the English Camp, part of the San Juan Island National Historical Park. We stopped in Roche Harbor for breakfast at Lime Kiln CafĂ©. Joe had eggs with ham and bacon and I had eggs benedict. The resort at the harbor was really nice. It seems they get a lot of Canadians from Vancouver Island since Sidney is right across the strait. It’s a popular yachting destination.

We were glad breakfast was quick because we wanted to catch the 11:05am ferry due to the overcast weather. It actually rains half as much here as Seattle so we were really unlucky. We made it there around 10am and got our car in line for the ferry. We walked around Friday Harbor since we wouldn’t be loading until 10:45am.

Chance was very nervous once we drove onto the ferry. I think it was because this time our car was on the outer edge so she could see the water. I laid in the back of the Xterra with her so she could calm down and take a nap. It took her awhile for her to quit shaking. With how overcast it was we didn’t see the need to go to the upper deck to take pictures so we stayed in the car for the hour long ferry ride. 

We stopped for lunch in Mount Vernon at Joe’s new favorite Thai restaurant, Rachawadee, which means lilac. It’s located in an old 50s style lunch counter with 8 or 10 stools. The food is amazing and very flavorful. 

We had an amazing trip. There are still so many places to explore. I’d love to bring our bikes we are about to buy (REI currently is offering 15% off bikes) to Orcas Island. We can’t wait to explore the Olympic Peninsula as well.