Bellingham August 22 2009

On Saturday we all drove along Chuckanut Drive from southern Skagit County up to Bellingham. 

It was a beautiful sunny day, with amazing views of the San Juan Islands along the way.  We stopped first at Larabee State Park.  No pictures, but it was pretty.  Climbing on rocks and looking at tidepools at low tide, eating lunch, etc.

Then we drove into Bellingham proper, and visited Whatcom Falls Park, a city park dating back to the teens.  This arch is from the stone bridge over part of the falls, built by the WPA.

Here’s the water, coming from several directions:

and a couple views of the bridge itself:

A really beautiful and well-used park (including lots of teens and twenty-somethings jumping off a rock into a pool at a spot called “the Whirlpool” as well as miles and miles of trails.  We only explored one direction, and were there nearly 2 hours.  Definitely one to visit again.

 

But…after all the driving (Sharon also visited Fort Flagler State Park with the boys on Friday), we decided that since what they really want is playgrounds, two hours in the car probably isn’t necessary to accomplish that, especially several days in a row.  :)  By the way, Fort Flagler is the third part of the “Triangle of Fire” created at the end of the 19th Century to protect Admiralty Inlet (the others are the better-known Fort Worden outside Port Townsend, famous as the filming location for “An Officer and a Gentleman” in the 80s, and Fort Casey, where SPU has its conference center, on Whidbey Island.)

Anacortes August 20 2009

The boys and I drove up to Anacortes and the surrounding area last week.  One of the new places we discovered was Cap Sante Viewpoint,

which looks out over Fidalgo Bay to the east (picture with us), and Anacortes and its marina to the north and west (second picture).

We also drove through Washington Park on the western edge of Fidalgo Island and Anacortes; it’s really beautiful, though the pics don’t quite do it justice.  The kids were most interested in the playground at the NE corner of the park.  But right there was the following marker for some of the cable that serves the San Juan Islands (next 2 pictures):

  

Earlier in the day, the boys got to play on the amazing playground at Storvik Park, and here they are enjoying themselves:

  

We also made a stop at Deception Pass State Park, on the north end of Whidbey Island. 

We’ve discovered that’s a really great spot too, with a swimming lake, beaches, driftwood, etc.  (And constant flyovers from planes landing at Whidbey Naval Air Station).

Beach Trips Summer 09

Happy Boys on Whidbey Island

 

Backyard Waterslide

When it was really hot in July, I made a “waterslide” out of the slide using the hose and some duct tape :)  Braden loved it!  (You may have to tip your head to see the video.)

Braden ice skating

Braden tried ice skating earlier this summer at the nearby ice rink.  He had one good week and three challenging ones where he didn’t want to go out on the ice without Mom or Dad.  So…we’re going to try again when he’s older. :)

Kids’ Pictures

Drawing of the family by James:

Braden with his picture:

End of summer update

There’s been time to work,

time to play:

water play at home:

and trips to the beach:

lots of playground time:

and walks in the woods.

But now it’s time to get ready for school.

Braden will be going to preschool, thanks to getting potty-trained (mostly) in the past week or so.  James will be in a lower-elementary intensive support classroom at Edmonds Elementary School.  School starts on September 8!