A Weekend at Lopez Island

Last weekend we camped in the San Juans on Lopez Island. I originally planned for us to stay on Orcas Island as well, but we caught a later ferry than expected (causing us to be in ferry line in Anacortes for more than six hours!). Here we are, finally in transit.

Amanda has a "Pocahontas eating popcorn" look here.

We didn't want to stretch ourselves trying to island hop, so we stretched out at our campground at Spencer Spit State Park. We totally posed for this photo, but it turned out great! Look at that view from the campsite!

The beach nearby was pleasantly sandy where there wasn't seaweed.

In the morning, our breakfast of champions included some dry granola and hot coffee thanks to my new Jetboil Sol Titanium Stove. It's a great combination of weight and boiling time if you're considering a backpacking camp stove.

Later in the morning we refilled with a second breakfast between Holly B's Bakery and Caffe La Boheme.

We spent most of the day exploring Spencer Spit.

This is the photo I get when Amanda takes advantage of me teaching her how to use the camera.

There are sandy beaches in Washington State!

This is the view of the campground from the spit. Our camp is furthest right.

We drove south on the island to check out Watmough Bay. I felt like I was on another continent on that beach. It would be amazing if it wasn't a rocky beach.

What lunch looked like.

Amanda made me jump in the water. I'm smiling, but the water was freezing and I think I'm actually in shock at this moment.

We played on an old dock on our way back out.

This was the view at Shark Reef Park.

I reacted quick enough to seeing a guy jump in from one of the rocks. I think he was recovering some garbage his child threw in. That's what I call commitment to Leave No Trace!

In case you're thinking about getting married on Lopez, consider the hay barrel package.

This is what most of the island looks like by car.

We stopped by a great little unmanned farm stand on the way back to camp.

On our final morning, we woke up to a layer of fog, packed up camp and headed home. We felt rested and thankful we spent all our time seeing so much of Lopez Island.

Tacoma Art on the Ave 2013

Location, location, location!

One of the reasons we bought our house was that it is just a few blocks north of 6th Avenue, one of Tacoma's best scenes. We're close enough to walk and just a block far enough away that we don't have to deal with the noise from the clubs and parking competition.

Every year, the 6th Ave. Business District hosts Art on the Ave, which is sort of like Seafair-light, minus the hydros. Here are some photos from this year's event.

Beach Camping at Quileute Oceanside Resort in La Push

This past weekend we drove to the Washington State coast on the Olympic Peninsula for some beachside camping at La Push. We stayed on First Beach at Quileute Oceanside Resort and had a great time exploring the local area and making a 40-mile detour to see the Hoh Rain Forest.

The video tells the story!

Here's Amanda posing for the classic shot at Hoh Rainforest.

Here we are on the Hoh River.

This was the scene at First Beach.

We spent the evening hanging out with some Canadian neighbors and roasting marshmallows. Classic!

Finally, here are a couple shots on Third Beach. We made a pit stop at the trailhead and hiked down to the big beach before driving back home.

Border Collie Herding Instincts at Play

When we first got our chickens Bianca and Nera, we weren't sure how our border collie Gianna would react. She was certainly interested in chasing them, but we didn't know if she wanted to kill the chickens or herd them.

Fortunately, it's been the latter. We slowly introduced them and gave Gianna more and more freedom around them. Now they coexist in the yard without supervision, and we can command Gianna to herd the chickens in the coop. Sometimes the dog herds on her own when she's bored, too.

Nera has been broody these past few weeks, so Bianca has been out of the coop solo. I snapped some photos of the usual herding dance between Bianca and Gianna.

Julian & the Spirit Walkers at Medi's

My brother Sergio and Julian have been friends since grade school. Now roommates, they've started a band called Julian & the Spirit Walkers that has been gigging Tacoma.