We are now beginning part 2 of our vacation and we are happy to be "settled" in one place for the next week. Discovery Bay is located on the Washington Coast, north of Seattle. We are staying at the Worldmark resort and the bay is amazing. When you look out the windows, it looks just like looking across Bottle Bay on Lake Pend Oreille--the Lakehouse where Joe's parents lived in Northern Idaho and we spent many fun summers. Lots of evergreens, but the bay is salt water instead of fresh water. There are some harbor seals that live here and lots of sea creatures. We saw some enormous starfish and something that none of us knows what it was--some kind of alien jelly fish. The tide was very low this morning and we did some major beach combing and brought back lots of oyster shells. We left the dead crabs and sea weed behind.
Tonight the tide is high and the water is just below our lowest deck. There was a big raccoon climbing there earlier. Incidentally, the unit here is on 5 floors--master bedroom, bathroom, deck, and laundry on the bottom floor; entry on the 1st floor; living area, kitchen, and deck on the 2nd floor; bathroom on the 3rd floor; bedroom on the 4th floor. We are definitely getting our exercise, but Courtnee has been running the roads outside to get some hill work in for cross country. I passed on those.
Friday, June 13th--We are so lazy, today! We needed a down day and have spent most of our time indoors besides our morning beach combing and occasional trips to the deck. Joe took all four girls swimming for about an hour while I caught up on this blog--it only took me about 2 1/2 hours after all of the technical difficulties and mistakes. We have read, watched TV, made key chains for girl's camp and Father's Day presents, took naps, surfed the web, played Polly Pockets and Webkinz, and ate way too much!
Saturday, June 14th--Today we traveled to Port Townsend, a beautiful Victorian town on the coast. The GPS got messed up and so we went on a tour through the neighborhoods. Downtown is incredibly beautiful and full of fun shops and places to eat. The Farmer's Market was in full swing and there were street musicians all along main street. One of the shop owners told us that it is the first nice weekend they have had this year so there were lots of people out. We ate at a 50's style soda shop and we all had our first ice cream sodas--strawberry, pineapple, and chocolate. The spring flowers are in full bloom everywhere and the poppies are amazing. Courtnee and I went to some of the shops--my favorite was called "Tickled Pink" and hers was "Expressions." I would love to spend at least a week here exploring all of the shops and historical sites!
Sunday, June 15: FATHER'S DAY--What a great place to celebrate Father's Day. I only wish that Joe and I could have had our own dads with us--they both would absolutely love it here! We cooked a big and yummy breakfast for Joe, he opened some gifts and a card, and then we began the frantic frenzy of getting to church on time. We went to church in Sequim which we were told is pronounced, "Squim." I was excited to go with Courtnee and Riley to YW--I love to get new ideas for our YW program. However, Lainey and Halle refused to go to Primary and after Joe got his Father's Day candy bar, he was also ready to go. Sequim is a 30 minute drive from Discovery Bay, so I decided I would rather drive home with them than walk. We came home and made Joe dinner--barbequed Salmon, twice-baked potatoes, salad and strawberry shortcake (made just like his mom makes it!) After our dinner, we went to explore a really neat cemetery that Courtnee and I found on our latest run. On the way there, we saw a huge bald eagle that was quite close--so beautiful! The cemetery is old and very overgrown, but has had people buried there as recently as last year. There is also a grave for a woman who was born in the late 1700s. The flowers are beautiful there as well and it was a fun walk for all of us! On the way back we noticed that a passenger in a red jeep was definitely dressed for the weather! Happy Father's Day, Joe!
Monday, June 16--FORKS & LAPUSH, "SPARKLING VAMPIRE DAY": What a great day! We had a fabulous day and saw some amazing places. We left Discovery Bay in the morning and headed west on Highway 101 to Forks, WA, the setting of the famous Twilight book series by Stephanie Meyer. It was part 2 of Courtnee's pilgrimage trip. On the way, we stopped for a hike at Crescent Lake to Marymere Falls. It was such a beautiful hike through an old growth rain forest with these amazing old trees and neat hollows and stumps. There are ferns and moss everywhere and it looks like somewhere that fairies would live. We didn't find any fairies, but we did see a doe and her very new fawn. The doe would leap over these huge fallen trees and the fawn would try, but would only make it on top and then slide. Speaking of sliding, Halle slipped on a moss-covered rock and fell in the very cold stream, but was very happy the rest of the time. We could not keep Lainey on the path, and she told me that she was so happy because she loves being in nature. She is going to be our vegetarian environmentalist someday.
After Marymere Falls, we continued to Forks and arrived in time for lunch at Sully's burgers. I was brave and tried a "Bella Burger" with swiss cheese, pineapple, and special sauce with the burger. I'm not sure why those things are on the Bella Burger, but it was great. To add to our Twilight Tour, we drove past the high school, went to a few stops for T-shirts, and ended at the Chamber of Commerce. Who knew what a highlight that would be! As soon as we came in, the woman working there asked us if we liked Edward or Jacob better and told us that she has to be loyal to Jacob because she is Quileute, but who can resist someone like Edward who is all sparkly. She gave us lots of "Forks" pamphlets and told us some legends passed down from her grandfather about the ones in the woods with "red eyes." They also took our picture and posted them on their official web site.
We finished at Forks and headed to LaPush, the Quileute Reservation where Jacob Black "lives." We hiked to Second Beach which was another hike through an even older growth rain forest. It was cold at the beach, but low tide so we saw lots of star fish and anemones. There are some incredible stack rocks there and I climbed a small one and had an amazing view. Riley, Lainey, and Halle couldn't resist jumping some waves even though it was only 52 degrees, and apparently I couldn't either because I slipped on a kelp-covered rock, fell in, and cut my hand up on some barnacles. We were all cold when we came back to the car and immediately fell asleep as we warmed up. Luckily, Joe stayed awake for the two hour drive and we made it home for some soup, a warm fire, and bed.
Now, who do we like better? Edward or Jacob? Courtnee-Edward, Riley-Edward, Lori...Bella Burgers!
Tuesday, June 17--Down Day!!! Watched movies, ate junk, went swimming, more crafts, and Joe and I both finished The Host," enjoyed being together.
Wednesday, June 18--LAVENDAR DAY: Joe gave me a perfect day! I slept in and then he and I went to Sequim to tour some lavendar farms. We met some charming women at Port William's Lavendar Farm; the owner and her husband decided to start their lavendar farm on "a lark" about 8 years ago and they are still going strong. The lavendar is a few weeks behind because it has been so unusually cold and cloudy here, but there were some fun birdhouses, beautiful flowers, cute gift shop, and very friendly golden retrievers. Upon the owners recommendation, we went to Cedarbrook Lavendar and Herb Farm for lunch. Joe had yummy fish and chips, I had a mixed green salad with a lavendar/cranberry vinagrette; citrus vegetable soup, lavendar lemonade and we shared lavendar cheesecake for dessert. They also brought us some yummy, flaky rolls baked in terra cotta pots with herb butter--my favorite kind of lunch! We toured their gardens as well and they were full of wonderful smelling plants and lots of cats. On the counter in the gift shop was a sleeping cat that they mentioned has been at the farm for the last 17 years, spending most of its time sleeping on the counter. It was a delightful day--a feast for the senses! I am ready to pack up and open a lavendar farm in Squim. It is green, has an ocean view, and normally the temperatures are great.
Back at Discovery Bay, the girls hung out and we enjoyed some sunshine outside. The water has been very calm today and we have been watching the crabs and seals. We are all sad to leave and trying to enjoy every last minute of our vacation.
13 years ago
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