Throwing Rocks

Being here in Washington for 2 months is great! It really feels like a vacation where you actually have time to see and do everything that you want to AND have time to relax. We planned out our site seeing schedule for the next 5 weeks (our last 5 weeks in Seattle). We started our planned site seeing adventures this past weekend.

Friday evening, Parker, Autumn and I picked Paul up from work and drove a few blocks over to Pike Place Market. It was awesome.

It started with a run in with a crazy lady (who was on something) that wanted to borrow our phone and promised she wouldn't steal it. She then continued to explain that the reason that she didn't have a phone was that she let someone borrow it and they took off running with it. Needless to say, we didn't let her hold the phone, but we did call a friend for her, with no luck.

I loved seeing all the vendors, the fresh fruit, the fresh flowers, paintings, jewelry, fresh fish (we were a little disappointed that no fish were being thrown), cuisines from all over the world, the first StarBucks, and all of the specialty shops and trinkets for sale. I loved the whole Marketplace atmosphere.
Saturday Morning we headed off to Whidbey Island via Deception Pass. Deception Pass is a bridge from the main land over to the North End of Whidbey Island. We were able to walk across the bridge and see the beautiful view of the Sound and some of the other islands. It was a beautiful day, although walking across the bridge was quite windy and cold. We hiked (there was a paved/dirt/gravel path that was fairly steep for carrying/pushing 2 kids) down to the beach to play for a while. It was quite rocky, but Parker didn't mind. All he wanted to do was throw rocks into the water anyway.

After the hike back up to the car, we drove down the length of the island, where we boarded the ferry (car and all). The ferry ride was pretty short, but just about perfect for the kids. We had plenty of time to get out and show Parker that we were riding on the water. I think he liked it, he just didn't want to get close to the edge.

We got off the ferry at Mukilteo Lighthouse Park. Yes, we saw a fully operational lighthouse. It was actually pretty cool to go in it and see how it worked, but the lighthouse itself wasn't all that grand in appearance (It was no Fairport Harbor, for any of you Ohio-ans out there). This Beach had a little more sand, but still a lot of rocks, so Parker enjoyed some good rock throwing once again (twice in one day). This Park is also known to be a great place for Kite Flying and since we happened (really just happened) to have a 'Thomas the Train' Kite in our trunk, we did a little kite flying. At first, we weren't sure if Thomas was going to fly, but apparently trains can ride the wind as well as the rails. After a few throws of the football, we ended our day and headed home in time for dinner.

After church on Sunday, we drove to the Seattle Temple. We sang 'I love to see the Temple' and took pictures. Paul decided that the Seattle Temple looks like a cross between the Provo Temple and the BYU Law School Building. I had to agree. The temple is such a peaceful place to be, even just on the grounds. Just behind the temple are some walking and nature trails. We walked through them and felt like we were in another world. It is a forest with nicely groomed trails, right in the middle of the city. It is a perfect place for pondering spiritual things after a temple visit.

On Monday, we relaxed quite a bit. We jumped on the trampoline, Paul helped with some yard work and Paul and Autumn had good naps. In the evening, we headed off to Richmond Beach (a nice beach about 30 minutes from our place). We had a peaceful evening on a blanket on the sand eating fruit salad, making sand castles and you guessed it, throwing rocks in the water. Happy Memorial Day!