Makayla and Randy 3 days apart
Cayden and Cayleb 3 weeks apart
Madalyn and Makenzy 10 days apart
Mom...I stand alone, and NO there is no 6th baby to make it even!
It was a surprise get away...but a perk to planning ahead is rearranging schedules, as such Randy was unable to come....sadly we left him behind....and headed to the San Juan Islands for Makayla's birthday which conveniently coincided with spring break.
This was our first visit so we took lots of pictures, Cayden took 90% of them and did a pretty good job. At the end of our stay, he said he liked taking pictures but wouldn't want to do it for a living...I'm o.k. with that.
things we saw on the way-
it's about a 1 hour ferry ride-
-picturesque "personal" islands along the way, notice the skies, they pretty much stayed that way the whole time, yup this is pretty much a Northwest spring
-me, Madalyn
-the kids
- the ferry dropped us off at Friday harbor - we picked this boat out for you Grandpa
-having never been here before I wasn't sure where to stay...ended up selecting the Roche Harbor Resort, loved it and after talking to the locals, they confirmed this was "the place" to stay, it has condos, a turn of the century hotel, cabins, condos, a church for weddings, restaurants, some stores, a spa and of course a harbor - after driving around the island while we were there, I would definitely recommend staying here, plus I am always looking for killer deals and I got one here.
this is the view from our room - in the morning the church bells pealed out "oh, what a beautiful morning" from "Oklahoma" as well as other melodic songs for 20 minutes
- whale wathcing tours are big business up here, the "for sure you'll see one" season runs May - Sept.
- this was incredible art sculpture park on the resort premises...I revel in museum visits but seeing the art outdoors gave it a new resonance and impact plus, it is sooooo much easier on a 1 year old's attention span
- a view of the art park
- walking along the boardwalk with the kids
- spring has sprung! this is one spot where the have outdoor weddings, functions, etc.
- later we took a drive around the island (about 45 minutes to an hour and you can circle the whole island), there are a lot of meadows dotted with homes, inns and bed and breakfast homes are all over with vast patches of spruce and fir shooting up in between.
- who said Philly was home of brotherly love
- Roche Harbor has an airstrip for people flying in from Seattle, about a 25 minute flight, Cayden liked the ferry ride but would like to try the plane
- this is False Harbor, the name says it all but beautiful place. We came here after a shopping trip in "town" and were told this is the best spot to see the sunset...but, we got restless and didn't wait around for the sunset
- my kido's, Kenzy had tuckered out at this point in the day
- me, just relaxing at False Bay
-off to "Whale Watch Park", this is the nickname for the park which is technically called Lime Kiln State Park because the whales swim along this channel. Again, when I was talking to a local, she said the whales come down this way because the water is very deep, it cuts between the San Juan Island and Victoria, Cananda which is close enough to see from here, so close in fact, that you can see the outlines of buildings.
- there is a lighthouse here, (can't see it in this picture), it was built in 1919 and was the last fully automated lighthouse in the U.S., before that several ships crashed into the rocky shores in the narrow channel.
- again, talking to another local, I asked, "so what are some highlights of the island?", she responded the Alpaca farm, so away we went to Krystal Farms. This farm is absolutely picturesque, looks like it popped out of a movie set, but the camera batteries died, so you'll have to do with just the Alpaca shot.
- we don't have seasalt for blood yet, but we know some of grandpa's Dutchman seablood runs in us yet, we couldn't get enough of the boats!
- we shopped, watched movies, goofed off, did cartwheels off logs (o.k. I did a half one, chickened out, but the girls did), played at parks, threw lots of rocks into the water, and pretty much had a great time celebrating Makayla's birthday and being with my best friends minus one, then it was time to head home for Easter and eggs and Randy's birthday.
- whale wathcing tours are big business up here, the "for sure you'll see one" season runs May - Sept.
- this was incredible art sculpture park on the resort premises...I revel in museum visits but seeing the art outdoors gave it a new resonance and impact plus, it is sooooo much easier on a 1 year old's attention span
- a view of the art park
- walking along the boardwalk with the kids
- spring has sprung! this is one spot where the have outdoor weddings, functions, etc.
- later we took a drive around the island (about 45 minutes to an hour and you can circle the whole island), there are a lot of meadows dotted with homes, inns and bed and breakfast homes are all over with vast patches of spruce and fir shooting up in between.
- who said Philly was home of brotherly love
- Roche Harbor has an airstrip for people flying in from Seattle, about a 25 minute flight, Cayden liked the ferry ride but would like to try the plane
- this is False Harbor, the name says it all but beautiful place. We came here after a shopping trip in "town" and were told this is the best spot to see the sunset...but, we got restless and didn't wait around for the sunset
- my kido's, Kenzy had tuckered out at this point in the day
- me, just relaxing at False Bay
-off to "Whale Watch Park", this is the nickname for the park which is technically called Lime Kiln State Park because the whales swim along this channel. Again, when I was talking to a local, she said the whales come down this way because the water is very deep, it cuts between the San Juan Island and Victoria, Cananda which is close enough to see from here, so close in fact, that you can see the outlines of buildings.
- there is a lighthouse here, (can't see it in this picture), it was built in 1919 and was the last fully automated lighthouse in the U.S., before that several ships crashed into the rocky shores in the narrow channel.
- again, talking to another local, I asked, "so what are some highlights of the island?", she responded the Alpaca farm, so away we went to Krystal Farms. This farm is absolutely picturesque, looks like it popped out of a movie set, but the camera batteries died, so you'll have to do with just the Alpaca shot.
- we don't have seasalt for blood yet, but we know some of grandpa's Dutchman seablood runs in us yet, we couldn't get enough of the boats!
- we shopped, watched movies, goofed off, did cartwheels off logs (o.k. I did a half one, chickened out, but the girls did), played at parks, threw lots of rocks into the water, and pretty much had a great time celebrating Makayla's birthday and being with my best friends minus one, then it was time to head home for Easter and eggs and Randy's birthday.
