An Exciting Day in the San Juans

Napper and Cheerful came up to go out on the boat with us and warm clear weather was in the forecast. It was a perfect day for a visit to the San Juans and we hopped in the boat nice and early and headed out towards one of our favorite islands - James Island. However, we were met with something new on our way there which made us quickly change plans. Check it out!

Hmm, looks a little like a cloud up ahead!

BAM! Um... hello? Anyone out there? Please don't hit us if you are! The fog got so thick, SO quick.


As you can see, it was a little scary so we turned back to where we had last seen blue skies.


The visibility slowly got better, but Napper pointed out that it was actually following us! Thankfully it couldn't keep up with us even though it was traveling in the same direction. It was such a good feeling when we finally got out of the fog!


Once we were out of the fog we felt so relieved to see the blue skies again, and I am sure the captain of this boat was as well! When we were in the fog and had slowed to a crawl, a white fishing boat went speeding past us going the opposite direction. They were a safe distance away from us, but I don't know what they were thinking. With such low visibility I think it was irresponsible, it sure surprised us and I am so thankful we were kept safe. Hopefully they had radar.


The wall of fog.


The tip of Mt. Baker showing over the top.


Since our plans for a visit to James Island were put aside, we decided to make another visit to Lopez Island. Here are Cheerful and Napper in front of Fisherman's Bay.

And us. :)


On our way home, I shot these photos of boats and homes around the bay. It is a beautiful Island.








We decided to go to Friday Harbor for dinner and the water was beautiful!


When we were just about to the harbor, we were alerted by the red Bay Watch boat that we needed to slow way down and stay away because the whales were in the area! We would have totally missed seeing them if they wouldn't have alerted us, as they were quite far away. This is at max zoom and all I caught were splashes and blows. I have one photo with a fluke in it, but it's pretty blurry. There is proof of four Orcas in this photo, but there were many more spotted than four, as I'm fairly certain I saw a lot more than that at once. The Orca Network doesn't have the sighting up yet, and I figure that is on purpose, but here are photos of the Orcas on the 20th. Here are the pictures a local tour boat took of Orcas that day, but in a different area of the San Juans.


Schooner Zodiac


Victoria Clipper III




I love the different tones of the far away islands.


The Little One is all cozy for his nap on the way home.


The harbor seal haul out on the Semiahmoo breakwater.




I like the flock of birds caught mid flight in the background.




Semiahmoo marina and Canadian mountains to the left, Blaine marina to the right and do you see the air balloons?




The lighting was so pretty as we pulled into the marina.




Now THAT'S a piece of driftwood if I've ever seen one! It makes for a beautiful photo opportunity, especially with the water so glassy.

The Little One Visits The Northwest WA Fair

We had a lovely day and it was a lovely chance to meet up with some cousins and go to the NW WA Fair in Lynden! It was fun introducing The Little One to all the animals, even though he had no clue what was really going on.

Little piggies- a few in the stall and a few on The Little One.


These crazy eight ponies can run very fast and this is one of the most exciting things to watch! See this video from last year.












The whole gang watching the horse show. Can anyone think of a good blog nickname for Bri's little brother? He is sadly lacking one!


Looking confused. "Now tell me again, what's the point of all these horses running around?"


A fun age - old enough to be interested in what's going on!


I love Bri's dimple!


New to us this year were the chariot races, which were a blast to watch. My favorite was the two horse race, shown in the video below, but the four horse races were fun too.




There were lots of neat booths to look through and I did a little shopping. I bought The Little One his first Schleich animal - a Clydesdale foal, since the draft horses are my favorite.


A John Deere tractor painted pink for breast cancer awareness.


Boys love dump trucks! It was amazing to see that he knew what to do with it as soon as he saw it. He got right down in the grass and started driving it around and collecting rocks to fill up the back.




This little calf was in the nursery and had just been born that morning.


These piglets had been born the Thursday before. They were so cute! There were more piglets than teats so there was a boy in the pen offering a bottle to whoever got left out, that is why you see the two piglets heading off in the other direction. It was amazing to see the size difference between some of these piglets, some were easily twice the weight of their siblings. There were 13 gilts (females) and 3 boars (males.)

Let us know if you want to go to the fair next year! It's a fun fair with lots of great exhibits, rides, shows and tons of animal barns to walk through. We missed out, but on the same day we were at the fair, they made a new world record for most people on a hay ride with 639. They more than doubled the last record at 239 people. They also made a new record for attendance with 43,138 visitors on the Saturday we were there. A lot of people for a small town fair!

A Visit to Lopez Island

We were so happy to have our cousin Brooke come out and visit us once again. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water. In the morning it was a little cool, but later in the day the sun burned the clouds away and it was one of the nicest days we could have asked for! We decided to head over to Lopez Island and visit their Farmers Market, which is always entertaining and definitely yummy. It was fun to show Brooke one of our favorite little places to visit.

If you are headed out on a boat, make sure not to forget a hat for your baby or he will end up wearing pants on his head with the legs tied in a knot! At least I had extra pants with me lol.


Do you see the two reef-net fishing boats on the right? Someone stands up high on the ladder and directs the others as to when there are salmon in the net. The San Juan islands are home to the only reef-netting operations in the world, as it is a technique started by the Lummi People. If you are interested in seeing how reef-netting works, click here for a video showing the process.


One of several old reef-net boats discarded on the spit at the mouth of Fisherman's Bay on Lopez island.


A driftwood stringer on sale at the farmer's market.


Our lunch of choice - Cosmic Crepes to the far left of this photo. They also serve gluten-free crepes!


The little one relaxing in the shade under the umbrella of a picnic table. He is almost too big for this elephant onesie - one of the first things I ever bought for him.


Almost everything at the market is local, including these colorful skeins of yarn. They sell honey, jams, hot sauces, vegetables, flowers, seafood, beef, lamb, photography, jewelry, housewares, music, clothing and crafts.


Bass banjo, accordion and mandolin join the singers voice, entertaining us with old fishing songs and folk songs.


Fisherman's Village is home to many old buildings like this one. Each one has a history, one of them is an old lighthouse building from up in Canada somewhere and has been turned into a gourmet chocolate factory.


Fisherman's Bay


Broad-Leafed Peavine




Brooke


Mom J


This is Lady Washington in the waters near Semiahmoo. It was the busy Blaine Saturday of Drayton Harbor Days, and Lady Washington along with her traveling companion Hawaiian Chieftain were reenacting a battle. You can actually go on a sunset sail and they shoot off the cannon too, which I think would be so much fun to do once The Little One is old enough to appreciate it.


Two tall ships with a couple of local boats thrown in the mix.


I think this shot looks neat in black and white, almost looks like an old photo if it wasn't for the modern sailboat in the background.

Well, If you're ever in the area in early August, make sure to check out Drayton Harbor Days, it's a lot of fun! Lopez Island is also accessible by ferry, so don't feel like it is out of your reach, go for a visit someday! You won't regret it.