The Strait

We stayed in a house overlooking the Juan de Fuca strait. We were able to walk down to the rocky beach from a path. On the path, we saw a lot of banana slugs. When someone tells you that they are big, it's hard to believe that they are this big.The first day we were there it was a bit chilly and overcast. Not a lot of rain, but it was cool. We went down to the beach and explored a bit. (Not as much as the next morning, but some.)My little hippy in training, with his peace sign.
The Collar, in a very common pose for him.Game Boy, dragging a kelp float and holdfast attached to a rock along the beach. (Kelp's big, too.) Sunset, the first evening (about 9:00 or so).

Olympic Peninsula--Ferry Ride

As you know, we now live in Washington State, on the xeric side (the Cascades are an effective rain barrier). While the Collar's parents are here, we all made the trek over the mountains and down to the sea to the wet side of the state.

We finally made it to the Olympic peninsula. It's very different over there, especially when you compare it to here! There are similarities: both sides have wineries, orchards, and lavendar farms, but the geography and climate are so different. It was down right chilly over there.

I'm going to write about the trip, but it will take me several blog posts. I'll start with the ferry ride from Seattle to Bainbridge.

The only ferry that the boys had been on before was the Valley View Ferry in Kentucky. We'd take it once in awhile when we weren't in a hurry to go to and from Richmond. This one was much bigger.

It was a pretty clear day, for this part of the state. We could see the islands from the ferry.

Some of the family was bird watching. You can tell because they are wearing binoculars.Some of us were just cold. It didn't stop him from looking for jelly fish, though. Wiz saw a lot of jelly fish.Later the view from the house.

Mariners!

Father's Day was spent at the game. The Collar's parents are here, so here we are. (Thank you for bringing us to the game. Obviously we had a great time. Even if we were all cold.)We got to see a new baseball stadium. This one has a roof--and it came out while the game was going on. I took video, because I am that much of a geek. It was like watching the alien mothership come in for a landing--the huge shadow falling over the field fit the trope of science fiction where the alien ship blots out the sun. It was pretty cool.

Ichiro Suzuki hit his 1900th hit today. We found out he is fast. The Wiz loves him best now.
Griffey came out for a pinch hit, so we got to see him again. He's Game Boy's absolute favorite player, so the new sweatshirt that I was given by the BBFs has already been absconded once. (It says Griffey with his number on it.)

There were dancing groundcrews, lots of music, and a huge amount of fun for the boys. See?Oh, and the Mariners won!

Metric Century

Yesterday I finally was able to make an attempt at a group charity ride (I've had things happen before the last few I've tried, so this is really exciting.)

This is the ride I did. Here is the route.

This is what my gps looked like at the end (an average of 15 mph):It doesn't include about 10 minutes of rest time (you MUST eat at these things).
And what I looked like (after some food and a ride home):
Wow, my hair is getting red. No, I'm not dyeing it. Yes, I was kind of giddy/stupid/tired.

It was a fun ride, bad headwinds, stupid dogs, and all. I wound up riding with a couple of guys from the Tri-Cities (and I pulled a lot, too) so I wasn't alone. I also saw a friend at several of the rest stops, so we chatted a bit too. Now I know some more routes (my goal is to have about 10) and so I have more places to go.

Maybe I'll sign up for a full century in fall. I'm pretty sure that I could do it.

Whoa.

Today, the Collar and I rode together. (He kept up today most of the time, and we went 16.2 mph, so go us!) This ride is down through CP to Whitman Mission, plus a little extra distance because if I don't ride 20 miles at least, it doesn't seem to count.

This route goes past an air field for small aircraft.

Do you know what it's like to be riding under the flight path when a plane is coming in for a landing?

I don't recommend it.

That will be all.

A Pair of Mittens

The last time I blogged about mittens, there was only one. Now there are two! There are boys on the left cuff, and girls on the right cuff.And when they are laid side by side, they look like they are holding hands, too. I'll have warm hands this winter.

Catching Up

It's summer, so it's really busy around here. It might be easier once the boys are out of school.

• I finished my mittens. I need to take pictures, but I finished them.
• I rode my bicycle over 30 miles today. 15 of those mile were up hill. (No, really.)
• Game Boy's final 6th grade concert happened last week.
• School is over FRIDAY!
• Roses are blooming all over.
• We've planted a bunch of flowers. The front beds are starting to look pretty nice.
• Our friend and her son came over the weekend. It was so much fun to see them and get caught up. W is 6 months younger than Wiz, and they mostly had fun together. We ate well (lamb and garlic sausage is amazing), drank well (tasting rooms are fun), and chatted a lot.
• So, some pictures:

Wildlife

I've been riding a lot of miles lately (it's cheap, it's fun, and I really like it). Besides seeing all of the great scenery (mountains, orchards, wheat fields, onion fields, and vineyards), there is often a lot of wildlife that I didn't see when I'd ride in Kentucky. (No, Kentucky was mean dogs that lived at the TOP of the hill.)

I've seen deer, California quail, pheasants, and hawks of various types. Magpies are every where! There are a variety of waterfowl to see too. Apparently, the kildeer here don't like bicycles, because they always go straight to the pretend to be injured phase so that I don't hurt their babies.

Yesterday, it was rabbits. A pair of rabbits came running out of the brush from other side of the road. Instead of going straight across the road (which would have been helpful), they ran out in front of me, stopped, looked at me, and then ran a weaving path back to the other side of the road.

Once in a while, squirrels like to play chicken. Stupid squirrels.

I wonder what I'd see if I stopped and looked down at the creeks. There are probably lots of interesting things to see there.