Monday, August 27, 2007

Four SuperPACKED Vacation Days... & now, Back to School!!!

We had a GREAT time... It was so much fun and our days were so packed full of sights and activities... much more so than on a normal vacation - but as I mentioned in the last post, we had no playmates come along with us this time for Kaye - and she was only interested in sitting still for so long?! LOL! Actually - we DID get a bit of rest in there too... but not much!
After my week of being house-bound though, I was ready for a little activity!!!

We had never gone to the Olympic Peninsula... well - Dave and I went to Port Townsend for a romantic weekend a couple of years ago - but we - uh - didn't really get out much to see the surrounding area at all?! So - this was all new to us! We stayed in Port Angeles and it was gorgeous the WHOLE time... it didn't ever get cloudy or rainy when we hiked in the Rain Forest?! The first night we were there, we found our little secret hideaway - a great little rental on a private secluded forest road! We got settled in and headed into town to catch a concert down on the Pier... gorgeous! And super fun, too! Great to see all the locals - I can see why they sort of want to keep this little town a secret!


Anyway, Thursday we hung out at the house and then walked around town a bit... who doesn't love the little touristy shops and then we went up to Hurricane Ridge... wow!? gorgeous views?! On a clear day you can see from the Pudget Sound all the way to the San Juan Islands and Canada! We had lunch at a restaurant on the Pier that overlooks the Ferries to Victoria, BC...



Friday was our packed travel day... we went to the Hoh National Rain Forest and hiked around the "Hall of Mosses"... so breathtaking... and then we drove to the Coast and hung out at Rialto Beach for awhile... and on our way back we stopped in at Lake Crescent for a bit as well! We checked in to our first ever B&B... hosted by a great couple - super friendly and full of tips and local info... I can see one of the many pluses of staying in a B&B now is getting the inside local input! I wished we had stayed here 1st so we could get the scoop on where to go and what to do!





Saturday we headed back to Yakima - stopping off in Sequim to tour one of their many Lavender Farms! Oh MY?! SOOOoooo pretty! (and the smell.... yummy!)

Then, we went to the Olympic Game Farm... which was formally owned by Walt Disney. This is where many animals featured in (old) Disney family movies end up... so they are 'tame' wild animals. It was TOO cool!!! We got to feed Yaks (Yeah - and we got SLOBBERED too!!!?), Buffalo, Elk, Deer, some other deer-like animals!? LOL! - oh - and BEARS!!! Brown, Black, and Grizzly! The bears were 'caged in' by low wide barbed wire fences - nothing that would actually stop them if they wanted out I am sure!? They would also WAVE if we waited long enough to feed them! Too cute! (although I DID keep reminding Kayelyn to stay INSIDE the car!?!?!) We also saw Cougars, Tigers, Wolves, Bobcats, etc. It was pretty amazing... oh alright... I will admit to a minor (yes, MINOR) panic attack when Dave thought it FUNNY to stop the car completely when the Buffalo were heading straight for the car... the signs on the fence entering the open field where they roam freely CLEARLY stated to NOT STOP your car... (Hey - those guys are BIG!?!!????!??)




Anyway - we also stopped in at Port Gamble... a seriously close replica of Stars Hollow - only with a waterfront! It was just TOO CUTE!!?!?!?! Then we took the Bainbridge Ferry back to Seattle and headed home! We only ran into rain once we got back over the Pass!? Go figure?!


All in all it was a GREAT trip... even Kayelyn had fun! It was just jumping those ocean wave that made her really miss Holly... that is something that they always do together and she only did it for a few minutes... she said it just felt wrong! Poor thing! Other than that though - she didn't even mention not having friends with her this time! Of course, it had to have helped that our first place we stayed at had a trampoline, and a Volleyball court set up, and a great dog (Saabie) and cat (B.C.) that were super friendly!!! That set up was sweet - even though it was a bit further out of town than I realized... it sleeps 6 easily - more if you bring sleeping bags or air mattresses... it was STOCKED with board games, a PlayStation, books, etc. - it had a hot tub, the trampoline and volleyball net, not to mention other sports stuff in a closet... we'd LOVE to go back and actually have some more downtime at the house! The B&B had an incredible view... a great master room with private bath - the couple as I said was great and the breakfast was incredible - plus, they too had a dog Otto who Kaye loved to play with! We'd love to go back to stay with them as well and take the ferry over to Victoria next time!!!

Anyway - we are home now... Dave is enjoying one more vacation day, as is Kaye... and tomorrow - WooHoo! - is back to our regular routines... work, school, walking/prayer... oh yeah! I am ready!!! And today - I can even feel a bit of FALL in the air... and you all know how I feel about that! LOL! I have a TON of pictures to scrap now... but, (gasp!?) they will have to wait - I have three clients waiting on me to finish projects and so I will have to put my own stuff on hold for a little bit!


Until next time,
Scrap On!
~Karrilee~

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What absolutely gorgeous photos! What a beautiful state...the only time I was up that way was on our way on that ferry into Victoria. Sounds like a wonderful vacation...oh, I love B&B's...they are great! Were you able to buy any of that lavender??? I can only imagine how that smelled...ahhhh.

As for the animals...too cool...we were at Yellowstone a couple of years ago and I swear a Bison was looking right at me, pissed. Talk about being freaked out! LOL.

Oh, gasp, you will have to wait, what two and a half days to scrapbook this trip?! PLEEAASSSE.

Corinna said...

Those photos rock!
Sounds like heaven on earth!

Anonymous said...

Very cool, love the pictures!! You have been back a while now though, put the scissors down & update already! :op