A Fun Trip South

Sallad and Grace invited us to their home back in the end of June. The evening of the 26th to be exact. I meant to blog about it and ran out of time, so this is another "catch up" most if you don't mind! Click on the photos for larger views.

Grace set a beautiful table and planned a yummy meal. Everything was homemade and perfect. There were shish-kabobs that Sallad grilled, corn on the cob, potato salad, green salad with raspberries in it and warmed crusty bread. Not only did we eat all this great food, there was homemade strawberry lemonade. Look at the big jug of it in the photo, doesn't it look so good! Strawberry shortcake was for dessert.

The Mr. and I stayed at Mom J's house that night. The next day was a lot of fun. We went canoeing in Bellevue and it was definitely the highlight of my day. We rented the canoes for an hour and set out to find a fun place to take them. Grace, Shawn and I were in one canoe, Shawns girls and Dillon in another, and The Mr., Sallad and Mom J in another. We ended up going through a dark passageway under a bridge, which led us down some sort of a canal and it was so beautiful. The trees hung down on either side and water lilies (2 links) bloomed on the water. I didn't take my camera for fear it would get wet and be ruined, but I wish I had at least taken our old one. We saw several Great Blue Herons up close, a huge bald eagle, turtles, as well as ducks and ducklings.

I took these photos of Bellevue by holding the camera on the roof of the car as we were driving.

During out time in that area, we also went to an outdoor mall- Redmond Town Center. It was fun to look around, and the only thing we bought was a Tully's espresso milkshake. They are just about the best espresso milkshakes I have ever had. Cold Stone was right beside Tully's so the younger ones bought icecream. If you have a minute, look at the flavors. If that doesn't make you drool, nothing will! You can have any mix ins you want but my favorite is Mud Pie Mojo- coffee icecream, peanut butter, Oreos, slivered almonds and chocolate fudge with whipped cream. Yum.

During the same trip, we also visited the Kirkland Library, Kirkland waterfront and drove through downtown Bellevue, as you will see in the pictures.

These next two photos were taken at Terra Bite. You pay for the espresso or snacks in a locked box, paying what you want and when you want. They will also cheerfully serve anyone who cannot pay.

A weird duck we saw at the Kirkland waterfront. You have got to click on the picture and look close. This was one weird duck. After a lot of searching, I came across a website with birds somewhat similar to this. The fluff on it's head is called a "crest" and they are usually domestic birds. Looks like this guy is living the wild life now, hanging out with the crew in Kirkland! Look at the album for more pics of him.

The Photo album:

June 26-27/07 A Trip to the Kirkland Area