Finally. Pretty darn good I’m sure you will agree!
Check out the updated eagle gallery out here.
Lovely Eagles!
Surfing USA
The sun was up and the sky was blue, which can only mean it was time to go to Whidbey Island. Spare shorts, towels and cameras were packed and off we went at just before 9:30am. A good trip up the freeway meant we were in the ferry queue (next to a bus load of noisey oiks aka summer camp children) at just after 10am and floating on the water at 10:30am. The ferry trip felt a bit chilly today – although the sun was out there was a touch more wind (outside the car, not in) so we didn’t stay on deck for long.
On arrival in Whidbey, we set off for Langley and its beaches, restaurants and shops. Within minutes of arriving at the first beach and getting out the car Toby had completed his usual trick – running into the water and getting his shorts wet! When his shorts were removed so that he could go into the water and play he wasn’t interested! Typical!
Harry and Toby did a spot of crab fishing – and they caught a beauty – although the shell had clearly been vacated some time ago, it was a good catch nonetheless:
httpv://youtu.be/OK_nailh8cI
After a few artistic photo’s – replicating the poses that a professional photographer was taking of some family – Tracy took the boys surfing:
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httpv://youtu.be/t9pMOejz5ZQ
Once I’d uploaded this to YouTube, the tag suggestion tool popped up with “comedy” – not sure what it thought was funny, the singing, surfing or both?
After leaving this beach behind we went up into the town of Langley and checked out some of the shops before our tums started calling us! We went to the bistro which we had eaten at on our last visit to Langley and sat out on the roof terrace again. The food was lovely, the drinks not bad and the weather was fab. It was just like being on holiday.
After the leisurely lunch, some more shopping and a stroll along the beach front we went back to catch the ferry. Although the boys were starting to get a bit bored with shops and sitting in a car, we decided to prolong their agony (and the time it would be before they could play on their DS) by doing a spot of wine tasting at the Columbia Winery. After sampling four white wines, we bought a couple of bottles and a couple of glasses and sat outside in the sunshine. While Tracy and Sally had a drink the boys decided to indulge in some full on fighting and wrestling! Just before they completely battered each other we left (with Toby in tears) and went home.
With access to DS’s, Wii’s and the xbox restored, so was order and a relaxing evening was had by all, so we were all fully recharged ahead of Vancouver! Wow, it’s all go, go, go!
Teddy Bear’s Picnic
If you go down to the park today, you’re in for a big surprise!
The Zoo!
What a start to our first July 4th Independence Day weekend. A glorious sunny morning without a cloud in the sky and Toby wetting the bed! There’s never a dull moment round here.
After throwing Toby’s bedding in the washing machine and having some breakfast we headed off down the road to Cougar Mountain Zoo. We’ve talked a lot about cougars since we’ve been here so we were all excited about seeing our first one. We should have known better!
The zoo was only small with a range of cougars, tigers, parrots and alpacas (plus a few other bits and bobs) but it has a nice quiet, relaxed feel about it. First stop was the cougar cage but there were no cougars. We knew they’d be there later though so we went to see the tigers. There were three tigers, one of which sprayed to mark its territory. Harry and Toby enjoyed this and spent the rest of the time round the tiger cage talking about how you needed to run if a tiger turns its bottom towards you. Toby is convinced he can out run tiger wee!
We then went up to see the reindeer who had lovely furry antlers. They have lots of special reindeer events all across December so we may have to go back to see them and Santa Claus.
As we spent some time looking at “the most beautiful cranes in the world” Harry and Toby were more interested in a ladybird. When told to leave the poor ladybird alone Toby wasn’t very happy but Harry informed Toby that they should leave it because it is an endangered species.
We then saw some of Harry’s favourite animals – parrots. Tracy asked the first parrot if he could say hello. And he could. He said hello! We asked him to say it again but he wouldn’t! The parrots were very lovely and very colorful – hence why there are lots of pictures:
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Toby and Tracy fed the alpacas some chopped apples which they liked very much. Toby took a bit of encouraging to feed them but he did it in the end. Harry was not having any of it though. Just to be clear, he wasn’t scared of them, he just thought the alpaca would probably tickle his hand and he doesn’t like being tickled. I repeat – he was not scared!
After a few more parrots, no cougars and munching their way through an ice-cream we went back home.
I decided to get the new lawnmower out (which didn’t come with a power cable – how stupid is that!?) and give the lawn a cut. It was starting to get quite long and the home owners committee wouldn’t be happy with us if we let it get much longer.
It was a heavy old mower but the lawn looked much better once it was cut. I think I need a strimmer though just to tidy up the edges.
With the garden tidied, Harry and Toby emerged from playing on the Wii to spend the afternoon in the garden. The main highlight from the afternoon was their version of Total Wipeout. It took a lot of discussion to get the rules of the game sorted but as I’m sure you’ll agree it was well worth the effort. Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the very first edition of Total Wipeout – Harry and Toby style (you may need to increase the volume on the video settings below rather than your PC):
httpv://youtu.be/1astp9xu3lo
After they had finished this game they moved on to a variety of other games including throw the ball in the pool:
httpv://youtu.be/bl6p0arcs1Y
That game lasted most of the afternoon. And what a lovely hot afternoon it was. So hot that most of it had to be spent lying on the loungers taking it easy until it was time for a BBQ.
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It’s a tough life but someone has to do it!
Whidbey Island
On the Saturday night the house had gone to bed with the knowledge that I was taking them on an adventure the next day. It was to be a magical mystery tour that they would only find out about as the day unfolded. With this in mind, I was slightly disappointed that at 8:45am the following morning I was the only one awake! So much for the early start, the excitement had clearly overwhelmed them in their sleep!
With the car packed up, zip codes scribbled on pieces of paper and the excitement at fever pitch (or maybe I just imagined that) we were off. The boys were surprisingly good about asking where we were going or if we were there yet (I think the arrival time on the sat nav screen takes care of one those questions for them). It may also have been that the first couple of times they asked where we were going they were told that we were going to the mall at Bellevue or going wine tasting at Woodinville and with that they lost interest and simply feared the worst.
As we headed north on the I-405 we were interested to see the signs that informed us that we had left the “apple maggot quarantine area”. I’m not quite sure of the full boundary of the apple maggot area but it sounds quite interesting and I need to research it further (it’s probably not interesting at all!). It was a day of interesting sign posts as later on we also entered a tsunami danger zone as well as following a tsunami escape route.
Anyway, we drove north for about 40 minutes before arriving at Mukilteo and the ferry. The ferries cross over to Whidbey Island every half hour so we bought our ticket, lined up in the car park and then made our way onto the ferry. It was only a 15 minute crossing but it was just enough time for the boys to explore and take a couple of pictures. The water was beautifully calm and with cloudless skies the Cascade mountain range looked pretty impressive.
After disembarking we headed over to Langley which was a 10 minute drive over to the east coast of the island and is a very pretty little village (although they call it a city). At Langley they ring the bell whenever whales are spotted feeding offshore. I was keeping my fingers crossed but there were no bells today. Meanwhile Harry and Toby had charged their cameras and started taking (what I’ve no doubt are) wonderful photos of us, landscapes, boats, pebbles and my bum which was a source of great amusement for Toby.
We then took a stroll round the town – the Inn at Langley looks super nice, I’d like a weekend there – before heading to Prima Bistro for lunch. We sat out on the roof terrace with a beautiful view (apart from an electricity pole) across Saratoga Passage and on across to Camino Island. The Bistro was inspired by French classics so Harry ordered cheeseburger and chips and Toby had fish and chips (with a side of fruit)! Nothing is wasted on them – two sophisticated little boys!
Tracy and I had crispy pork belly and some warm olives for a starter followed by prawns and sauteed greens and a croque monsieur. It was all very yummy and it felt like we were on holiday, which I suppose we sort of are.
After lunch we got back in the car and headed to Double Bluff Bay which was on the west coast. We relaxed here for just over an hour in the gorgeous sunshine while the boys played in the lake. Mount Rainier looked absolutely incredible. Even though we’d driven even further away from it, it looked even bigger. On some of the pictures you can just make out the skyline of Seattle in the bottom right – Columbia Tower is a black dot on the horizon compared to her (Mount Rainier is referred to as “her” in Seattle – maybe because it is a big obstinate bugger!?).
There is also a picture in the collection of an eagle. You wouldn’t know it was an eagle from the picture but I assure you it is. Moments earlier though, while I was frantically trying to change the lense on the camera, it had dived down into the lake, not too far ahead of us, and tried to catch a fish. It could have been a brilliant eagle action shot however my reflexes clearly weren’t up to much and ended up as a small black thing in a picture flying off somewhere! Never mind – I’ll get the right picture eventually.
After leaving Double Bluff Bay we tried to get to Useless Bay – just because it has a great name – but we couldn’t quite find the right way – it seemed to be tucked behind some sort of members only access roads. We then drove down to the southern tip of the Island to a beach area called Possession Bay. We didn’t stop here though – we thought we’d better start making our way back to the ferry and home as some of us had to go to work the next day!
We timed it to perfection though as the clouds were starting to come in and we’d had by far the best of the day (and weather) on the island. We only saw the bottom half of the island and we will definitely be back to see some of the other sights such as the Lavender Farms, the Rhododendron Park, and the skeleton of Rosie the whale.
We may also indulge in a spot of local wine tasting if there’s anyone in the family who would find that of interest?
[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157626940421911″]
Falls & Games
Having had quite a busy day on Saturday, Sunday followed suit for the most part. It started with a early trip across to Seattle Aquarium. I had received an email saying it was early entrance for members – which we are. However I obviously didn’t read the email as it is next Sunday! Never mind. We only had to wait for 15 minutes before we got in. We checked out the octopus, which really is ugly, stroked some starfish – the aquarium is unusual in that respect as they do let you touch some of the creatures. Having spent about 90 minutes there we took a quick walk up to Pike Place market to see some of the flower and seafood stands. They flowers were particularly impressive and incredibly cheap. We couldn’t buy Tracy any flowers though as we had more adventures to head off on.
Next stop was about 40 minutes east along the I-90. We headed past Issaquah and up some mountain foothills to Snoqualmie Falls. The waterfall here falls a very impressive 270 feet which is apparently 100ft higher than Niagara Falls. The log at the top of the waterfall in the 6th picture below is actually a massive tree which is probably a good 70+ foot long. I’d love to watch that go over the edge!
[flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”falls” tag_mode=”all”]
After leaving the Falls we headed back to Bellevue and had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. This is the restaurant that always does giant portions that make you feel full just looking at them. Worryingly this time we ate most of the food and remarked that the portion size wasn’t as bad. Hopefully they have reduced their portion sized. If not, we are obviously just turning into biffas and becoming American! The rest of the afternoon saw us spend most of our time lazing around the apartment and playing a little bit of tennis. Toby is improving no-end.
Monday saw us take in our first game of baseball as the Mariners hosted (and beat 4-3) the Baltimore Orioles:
[flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”orioles” tag_mode=”all”]
The weekend had been spent building up to the baseball. Mainly in the shape of “you’re not going to go to the baseball unless you start behaving yourself”. Most of the time they didn’t behave. Particularly Toby “in a mood every 20 minutes” Stickells. He managed to just about behave enough to get his ticket and a trip to the match. It didn’t last long though as he also managed to end the day in a mood as well – crying about taking his clothes off and putting his pj’s on. Honestly! He is currently under threat of having to sleep in the middle bedroom which is the room with the single, hard bed and no duvet!
Anyway, back to the game. When we arrived one of the stewards asked if it was the first game Harry and Toby had been too – they are obviously trained to spot them! When it was confirmed that it was they were given a certificate to keep and a Seattle Mariners shirt each. They only had youths XL sizes so they look like they are wearing dresses but they are both happy and wore them out playing tennis later that evening. We climbed a lot of steps before finally reaching our seats. It was pretty high but the view was still surprisingly good, although it did make my legs have slight wobbles as I walked down the steps towards the ground on toilet trips with the boys. The game was pretty entertaining and lasted just short of 3 hours. Harry enjoyed it all, even going as far as saying it was better than soccer but I don’t expect that view to last long – he is a bit fickle. Tracy enjoyed it too – the Kindle didn’t even come out the handbag. Toby liked it but spent some of the time on his DS and quite a lot of the rest asking who was playing and who was winning. He enjoyed the games on the big screen, the singing and dancing though. As a side note, we managed to put away 3.5 foot of hotdogs between us! It sounds worse than it actually is. I think!
The weekend ended with shepherds pie, some tennis, Toby in a pj mood, Harry in the middle/naughty bedroom, Tracy drinking my bottles of beer and a lovely sunset over the lake. Perfect!