Tulips and Ocean

A few weekends ago, we drove north of Seattle to Skagit Valley to catch the end of their annual Tulip Festival. The festival was extended an additional weekend due to the long winter we had this year. It was debatable whether taking a 3 hour drive to see farmland was going to be worth the effort, but I'm glad we went . Donkey, on the other hand, was not so thrilled to complete a 3 hour crate ride, only to be turned away...no dogs allowed. He didn't get to pee on any tulips but he did get to see a boat parade and throw himself in front of a yuppie mother pushing a baby bus down the crowded sidewalks of La Conner, so...the day wasn't a complete flop. We found a winery doing free tastings and made a lot of right turns...turns out the GPS was in "no U-turn" mode.

Last weekend we ventured out to the Olympic Peninsula. The trip was a bit ridiculous since we are moving there in 2 weeks, but it was planned and the cabin was booked long before we knew we were moving to Port Angeles. We stayed in a cabin in Forks, which is on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula, close to all of the beaches. Forks is a one stop light little town that now revolves around the Twilight series...yes, the vampire books. Apparently the story takes place in Forks and now the town has become the number one destination for families with teenaged daughters. Every hotel, restaurant, and store has a sign referencing the series..."Bella shops here" seemed to be a favorite. It's a little sad. This town is the gateway to the most beautiful beaches in the US and a vampire movie drives their tourism industry...American priorities at their best.

The beaches were gorgeous...unlike anything I've ever seen. Of the five beaches we saw, the two most beautiful required a wooded hike to reach. We took the long way home to drive through Port Angeles. It's really small (20,000 people) but cute. We spied 2 thai restaurants, an indian restaurant, and a few coffee shops. We also had a chance to drive past the house that we are going to be renting.


I still have a soft spot for school buses.




Ruby Beach


Third Beach. If you look closely, you can see a waterfall shooting out onto the beach.

I threw him back in the water after I took the picture but I think it may have been a little too late.

Second Beach. We had to climb over all of this driftwood to get to the sand. I loved that keyhole in the rock.

Banana Slug!

First Beach. Yes, the names are really this creative.

Rialto Beach