Marsbarn Designs...

Working against my nature

Big E and I did sneak away from the water for a couple of hikes in the woods.

We saw impressive fungus, berries and trees.

 

Our first hike was complicated by a large number of 

downed trees.  I'm not sure if they were from this 

winter or last, but after we'd climbed over, under, 

and gone around the first dozen trees that blocked the 

path, we decided maybe we should try a different 

trail on a different day.

Now, I swear I took at least one photo of the downed trees, but when I later checked my camera, all I had were macro shots of fungus, moss, and berries.  Yep, sounds a lot like me, doesn't it?

Look! Salmon Berry (and friend).

Our second hike took us on a Nature Conservancy trail.  

It was a popular, very well maintained trail. We had 

lots of company (the human kind) and the 

slithery kind.

The trail lead out of my comfort zone (nice cool, moist forest) into hot, dry, sunny, dusty, grasslands.

I was brave, and continued onward.

The view, when we reached the point of the headland, was lovely.  And look! I took photos of the non-detail kind!  

 

Old friends and new ones

It is interesting to me how different the beach is every trip.

We saw legions of hermit crabs this trip, where in previous trips we might only see one if we were very good.

We normally see this green anemone in the tide pools nestled in with star fish,

but this trip we also saw these smaller, more delicate pink anemones. The girls will go back to the beach in August for a week with Grand M.  I wonder what they'll see then?

Snippets of a week at rest

Okay, so maybe there was more to the beach than S'mores and bacon chocolate.

Meaning, of course, that we ate other things too...

And there were lots of walks on the beach.

We met the locals.

And some out of town visitors...

Wave hello, Mr June Beetle... How can an invasive forest eating monster be so cute?

The petrified forest was visible during low tide, and was filled with all kinds of barnacles, muscles, sea worms, and other things that would prefer to be underwater.

The weather was perfect. Each day had a little something for everyone.  There was sun, rain, clouds, and winds in turn.  The days were warm, mild, or chilly.. you just had to wait an hour or so for the next permutation if you weren't pleased with the current weather.

 

Oh, and did I mention? I took a few photos while I was away.

the fourth comes, the crowds go, and a tradition gets even better

We are back home.  The remainder of Big E's vacation time could be counted in hours.  

Our week at the beach started like this on the Fourth of July.  People, people everywhere and not a spot to sit.

But once midnight had come and gone, our beach emptied out and returned to the quiet magical place we love.  

I've been making homemade marshmallows for the beach for years, but this year I added a new layer of sophistication to our S'more ritual... enter the Homemade Graham Cracker.  Oh who knew things could get better than last year?

I was concerned that my cracker wasn't crisp, but the soft, toothsome, wheaty charm of this biscuit 

was only increased by the fact that our s'mores didn't fall apart as we ate them.  You know that part of  s'more eating where the graham breaks apart and the stick-gooey bits fall down your shirt?  That wasn't an issue this year.

Oh, and that chocolate square?  That would be bacon chocolate people.  My dear, sweet friend Di sent me a bar of it, and I hoarded it for the beach.  Think homemade s'more perfection with a hint of smokey saltiness.  Such bliss.

Art Day

Oh my goodness but this first month of summer vacation has been a blur.

Z, E, and K came and spent a day with us. The men went out and had a man-date (complete with tatertot nachos and locally brewed beer) and the girls?  We had a major art fest.

I pulled out my bins and drawers of Stuff. Papers, photos, canvases, paints, all the stuff I look at and promise myself I'll use, but things just get in the way...

Z, K, Nay-nay, little e, Sweetheart G, Auntie O, and I... we were wild.

This a bit of wonderfulness made by K.  She laid out so many cool, cool designs.. it was amazing to watch.

Little e made this cool picture. She mixed the pain and painted the background herself. Can you see the almost clear, sparkly dress on the fairy?

Auntie O made this one.  She finished a slew of collages, and then took home a stack of painted backgrounds for later projects.

It was a great day. I would love to have more days like this in the future.  Why is it so hard to set aside a day to just make art with friends?

Me and Miss G

Sweetheart G and I have an annual Mommy-Daughter adventure tradition.  This year's version started in Seattle.  We tromped all over town, went on a quest for chicken strips for lunch, toured the Seattle Art Museum, gathered supplies for our adventures the next day...

 

and then discovered that there was a Muppets exhibition at the Experience Music Project.  Oh, it was one of those sad facts of life. There wasn't the time (and there wasn't the money.. that is one expensive place!), but we ogled the various posters and thought lovely Jim Henson thoughts.  Then we had a special dinner together (it is awfully nice to be just the two of us), and met up with the fabulously fun Jen for a marvelous dessert.  Sweet G had this molten peanut butter cup cake thing with the most marvelous salty peanut butter ice cream.  Oh it was so nice!  Time with two of my favoritest people!

(A Mom Note here: before we met with Jen, I was given a "Do Not Talk About" list by Sweet G of forbidden topics.  Mom's are so embarrassing, dontcha know?)

The next morning we hustled out of the hotel for the ferry, and cruised on over to Victoria.  We pulled out our Top Pot donuts and breakfasted in style. 

The weather was beautiful, and we did our traditional "Walk All Over Creation" tour.

For the third year in a row, we saw Annie Oakley. (On alternate days she's a mermaid.)  We were more frugal than we have been in the past, but we still had a lovely time together.

In the evening, we settled down for some girl bonding time over really bad TV in our hotel room. (So bad I am forbidden from mentioning details.)

 

By this point in our trip, Sweet G and I had totally lost 
track of the days.  I think this was Saturday, or maybe
it was Sunday?  Nope it was Saturday.  We had the first half of the day to ourselves, and then we met up with Nay-nay and Grandma Betty.  With a second nine year old in tow, I receded into the background, but that's okay.  Really, I was honored I had my big girls attention for so long.

a bee addendum for our little e

While we were at Jade's house:

little e: "Mom, mom OH MOM!"

h.: "Yes babe."

little e: "Mom."

h.: "Yes babe. What is it?"

little e: "Mom!" pause "I found... a new dead bee!"

and of course that new dead bee followed us home.

Two forts, a good night's rest, and starting a new adventure

Big E had a plan for our trip from Oak Harbor to our evening's resting spot, our friend Jade's house.

He had read about a State Park that had been a military fort in the day.  He said, "I know just where I want to go.", so I folded up the maps and we ventured into the overcast morning.

When Fort Ebey was built, the planners used the existing trees for concealment.  They built brick chimneys around the trees to protect them, as they buried the concrete bunker.

You can walk all through the bunker, but both of the big guns are completely gone. It is part of a large forested park with adjacent camping grounds.

It was a beautiful misty day.  There were lots of lovely trails, and it was the perfect weather to explore without being hot.

And then as Big E looked around at the beauty before us, he said, "This isn't where I thought I was going."

So we tumbled back into the car, pulled out the map, and found Fort Casey.  This was where Big E has planned to go.

Fort Casey was huge. It is full of things to explore, climb into and on top of, and even has a beach to explore. Oh, and a lighthouse, it has one of those too.  But... time was not our ally.  As I passed a family eating a picnic lunch, and I had to fight down the urge to beg a sandwich, I realized it was past lunch time and we had miles to go before we slept.

There was much heel dragging, but the march of time (and the growling of our stomachs) made us realize it was time to go.  We waved goodbye to Fort Casey and promised to come back soon.

We had lunch at a wonderful little Greek restaurant in Oak Harbor, and then hit the road in earnest.

The drive to Jade's house was... complicated.  My directions referred to roads by route numbers, but all the signage was with street names, oh and the interchanges had been reworked. There were loud voices, and "words", and vomit.. and well.. just be glad you missed it and that I'd stopped taking photos.  

It was somewhat of a miracle when we pulled into Jade's driveway only about 15 minutes after our revised arrival time. (I'd called from Fort Casey to say we'd be there for dinner, not tea-time).  Ahhhh... a home, not a hotel, and home cooked dinner on the table with Jamaican soft drinks and beer.  Sigh.  Good times, man.  Big E and I stayed up way too late talking with Jade.  This was our second home cooked dinner on this trip, and the second one cooked by the man in the family. I looked meaningfully at Big E, but he steadfastly ignored the hint.  

The next morning saw us all refreshed and prepared to do battle with the Washington State highway system, but (as is often the way when you've girded yourself for battle) our commute into Seattle was painless.  Poof. We were there blinking at the ease of our trip and wondering when the other shoe would drop.  

Big E and Little e dropped Sweetheart G and I off at our hotel, and proceeded to get the heck out of Dodge while our traffic mojo was working.  Little e was asleep before Big E hit I-5.  They had an easy and uneventful trip to Portland.  Sweet G and I dropped off our bags, and wandered out to see what trouble we could get into.

On the third day, I changed allegiances, and found a new love

After reading this post's title, 

you knew this was going to be about donuts, right?

Just take a moment to take this thing of beauty in.

Know what this is?

Its a cruller.

Oh not just any cruller.

It is the best cruller I've had in about 20 years.

The outside was delicate, yet crispy.

The glaze was the thin shell it is meant to be;

perfection without being too sweet.

The inside was eggy, airy, moist, and just melted on 

the tongue.

Ohhhh..... 

Rocket Donut.  You are my new, most favoritest 

donut shop.  Look at the flavors...

My divine cruller, I now learn, only had 150 calories.

Oh the tragedy!  I could have had another!

What? Oh, sorry... I was lost in a donut daze...

Umm.. ya. Moving past breakfast...

We drove south from Bellingham to La Conner.  

Big E and I had stopped in La Conner on our way back 

from Bellingham in January, and we were both 

looking forward to bringing the girls along to explore 

further. We had a great time in their

  local history museum, but were then dismayed to 

learn that the quilt museum was closed for the day.  

Coping in the way of seasoned travelers, we realized 

we'd have to come back again another time.

We lunched at the local brewery/pub, walked up 

and down main street, and ate lovely ice cream 

cones before piling back into the car for the next 

part of our journey.

When we were first planning this trip, we'd wanted to spend the night in La Conner, but we couldn't find a hotel or inn that would accept children. So we'd found a really affordable hotel on Whidbey Island.  We drove on little country roads from La Conner to the highway that leads to Oak Harbor, the home of our hotel.  Big E took the girls for a swim, and I decided to take a long walk.

I knew Oak Harbor had a quilt shop, but none of our maps were to scale, so I took about a 3 mile jaunt to find the shop closed by the time I arrived.  Still, I was in desperate need for some exercise and some solitude, so all was good.  

the food of my dreams, with a side of bacon please

I woke up on the second day of Road Trip 2009 

dreaming about oatmeal.  Mr Warhamster had 

recommended a cafe to us in nearby Fairhaven, 

and there it was.. the hot cereal of my dreams. 

To totally gild the lily, I ordered a side of bacon for 

my oatmeal.  Oh and fruit... and coffee.. Perfection!

This was the fruit plate each of the girls were 

given.  Sweetheart G quickly transformed her plate 

into a vampire cyclops.  

Fueled by anthropomorphic food, we began our 

exploration of the area.  We returned to 

Bellingham for a fabric shop, lunch, a visit to the 

gaming store, and a long walk to a second fabric store.

The weather was perfect, sunny with a bit of wind.

Since I'd already spent solo time scouting out the area, 

I knew I wanted to finish our exploring time with

the boardwalk that is part of trail between 

Bellingham and Fairhaven.

 

Little e and Sweetheart G spent over an hour sorting 

little rocks and bits of sea glass.  Big E climbed rocks, 

wandered, and took photos.  Then we walked a bit 

on the trail.

There was a short case of the sister syndrome known 

as "Don't touch me/Don't touch my shadow."  

But really, what's picking a fight with your sister when 

there are rocks to hop on?  

We finished this second day of our summer vacation 

trip with a sushi dinner. (Mango+sushi= oh my!) 

We did sing a certain song to a certain someone, 

but for the most part we're saving that bit of partying 

for next week. (Right Big E?)