Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

...it has been SO dreary in Seattle. It was a wet and muggy spring with no sunshine at all. So the hubby and I were super anxious to get out of Dodge to a place that might have some sunshine.

We chose the San Juan Islands - ok, the hubby chose the SJs and planned the whole trip.

First off, I would just like to say that islands are expensive. So, if you do plan an island vacation, prepare for island prices. We were warned ahead of time and planned accordingly. We only ate four meals out over three days - so we did pretty well. We stayed at a hostel, which would have been ok, except we booked a room with two twin beds.

Let me just say that once you are married, you should never sleep with your spouse on a twin bed. It is not fun nor romantic - it is cramped and you wake up with your hip hurting.

We left on Friday for the islands, well, just San Juan (Friday Harbor), and right away we had an activity. I did mention my hubby planned the trip? That means that EVERY moment is spent in ACTIVITY, unlike most vacations where the trip is spent in activity and spurts of inactivity.

No, not us - we were full tilt vacation. I came back sore - and not from hanging out on the twin bed.

So we took a kayak trip about an hour after we got onto the island. It was merely ok - our guide was a part-time organic farmer and had some interesting ideas about the world. However, we had to point out the baby seal that was nosing a buoy and were left to contemplate exactly what kind of fish were leaping out of the water (they were cute little things that reminded me of the "Kiss the Girl" scene in the Little Mermaid - except we were in a kayak with PFDs on).

So, the kayak trip ends (hubbster and guide talked about solar panels for an HOUR...) and we check into the hostel.

I won't even start with some Seattlelites we met there - it could be a REALLY long rant, so I will just say that these two families traveling together took over half the hostel. Seriously - if you are taking a joint family vacation, get a house or condo rental. This ensures privacy for the whole party and you will not have to constantly tell others that your kids are taking a nap or shunning people away from the one of the two kitchens or bathrooms. Those six people took over a kitchen and a bathroom - the rest of us (TEN adults total) were left with one kitchen and bathroom. These people -agh!

Like I said, I should just stop and move on.

So, after settling in the hostel, the hubby wanted to go to Lime Kiln State Park where visitors can view orca from the shores. Honestly, from any of the shores of SJ visitors can view orca (in the early summer months) - they are all over the place.

But we had been kayaking and I was hungry and not in the mood for bluffs and views. So...I got a little goofy.



I was trying to go for a summer on the beach in the Pacific Northwest shot. The Cote de Azur it is not - you wear fleece and hope the rock beach doesn't poke your bum too much. Gosh I am chubby...the cove is called Dead Man's Cove. I do not know why it is called that, but I was not really keen on hiking there.


As you can see from my expression, my thoughts were "Can we eat now?" and "It's kinda cold out here.".  I am often the subject of photos as hubbster only trusts himself with the camera.


Can we eat NOW?


I am off to look for fish and chips - it is really beautiful there, I was just not in the mood.

Then we went to eat at an overpriced pub. The fish and chips were merely ok - the salmon chowder much better. And then we planned out what to do the next say and that was Friday. The next will be SATURDAY - most exciting:)