Evening Sendoff

For C’s last evening with us, we went to a tiny beach that is my new favorite on B.I.

C and the rest of our family discovered the deliciousness of roasting pineapple pieces over the fire, thanks to Uncle D and Auntie C.

Friend C, A, and cousin D.

In a calm little cove, the wake from the Bremerton ferry crossing through Rich Passage provides some excitement.

The last bit of sunset reflected in the glaciers on Mount Rainier. C, you were an absolute joy to spend these last few weeks with; generous, unfailingly kind and helpful, curious and whip-smart, you’ll enrich this world wherever you are.

Japanese Exchange Students, Boundy Farm

At this year’s annual Pioneer Day celebration at our lovely friends’ farm, we brought 11 strong and it didn’t crash the party–in fact, it barely made a splash.

D trying out the stilts…

A trying out the stilts and managing to look up for a picture!

Hot day, thirsty girls.

Our new Japanese exchange student M, still getting over jet lag and working through culture shock. We discovered later that she was freezing the entire time we were wilting and looking for shade–she’s used to much warmer weather on her southern Okinawan island.

K and C by the sheep pasture.

This was the welcome party at Battlepoint Park for the Japanese exchange students and their host families. We’ll be hosting M for some of the four weeks she’ll be here.

S and A conversing with newly-arrived Japanese students.

K and C conversing; C’s stay overlapped with M’s stay by two days and the house felt a little like an international hostel (on a B&B scale).

Day Trip to the Olympics: Hurricane Ridge

On our way, we stopped for brunch in Port Angeles at the Chestnut Cottage. Nana K and Grandpa R, the next time you’re here, we should make this part of your visit–comfortable, cheery, really good food.

This was our first trip up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic mountains–wow! It’s a really gorgeous drive, and once you reach the generous carpark and visitor’s center, the hiking trails are easily accessible. It’s not arduous hiking, since the road up takes you most of the way.

Apparently, there are mountain goats around Hurricane Ridge that can be fatally aggressive with their horns. The visitor’s center docent told me that what they want is salts, so if you have the option to take your sweaty t-shirt off and leave it to the goat, DO IT. Optionally, urinate to the side of the trail and scram. I came back and told the kids our action plan…so if a goat locks a narrow eye on us and keeps pace, S’s going to take off her cap and leave it for the goat and we’ll all run. If that fails, someone will pee on a rock and slowly back away and leave the wretched goat to its new salt lick. We told A he was the chosen one to keep us safe from goat-goring.

We saw a lot of habituated deer and breath-taking vistas, but no goats. We’ll be back, maybe in wintery weather with cross-country skis!

Sounders!

We went to our first Sounders game on July 19th, which was a friendly match against Tottenham Hotspur. It was a massively entertaining event, coming on the heels of the World Cup.

Lofty seats but still so much fun!

Clint Dempsey, World Cup 2014 fastest scorer, was playing! Back in June I watched this clip a few times and I might have shown it to my class to make an exultant point of my own…

Miscellaneous July

At the All-Comers Meet.

A and his beach house.

This was the first time we made s’mores with C; one of the American foods she took back with her to France was graham crackers so she could make them there. Also tucked into her bags: corn tortillas for making quesadillas and chai rooibos.

At the Pearl Django concert in the park.

Of course, the Public Market!

And at the great gross gum wall.

A and D tentatively practicing snorkeling–rocks and seaweed never looked so fascinating!

Sea stars, fog, Olympia

C and S finding sea stars at superlow tide at Point White Pier

On the grounds of the Washington State Capitol in Olympia

K and C inside the Capitol

C and S learning about the massive chandelier, the largest ever made by L.C. Tiffany.

A’s listening face in the Capitol–he was captivated by the guide’s presentation.

Several blocks from the Capitol itself is an old-fashioned ice cream and soda shop with that particular mouth-watering waffle-cone aroma and an opportunity to explain to C what “soft-serve” means.

One day, we boarded the ferry for Seattle around noon and found ourselves enveloped by fog. The kids told C how it was like Hokianga fog, dense and low and visible from the outside as something with a definite border, a cloud lying down for a nap near the water.

Fay Bainbridge Beach

Tasha went on a mad digging frenzy and kicked a ton of sand right into my bag. I emptied it before dumping the sand out and the contents of my purse reveal a proclivity for doubles: acetaminophen, lotion (one was nearly empty), gum, pens. No bandaids.

S. really wanted me to take a picture of her seaweed hairdo.

Kayaking Eagle Harbor and Crabs for Dinner

Today we spent several hours getting un coup de soleil (sunburn = a blow from the sun; isn’t that charming?) paddling tandem kayaks around the harbor. We saw a lot of birds, minnows, and crabs and the kids taught Tasha how to swim by letting her doggy paddle instincts take over several feet from shore.

The seven of us pushed off from the dock at Back of Beyond.

This afternoon, B’s colleague L brought us some fresh-caught-and-cooked crab–the season just opened on July 4th and already they have too much to eat. B washed off a wrench and cracked the shells and it made for a great summer dinner!

June into July

A in costume for his end-of-year 4th grade Greek play.

B and I went to our first Mariners game and found a lot of Yankees fans there too.

Overheard at Pike Place Market on 7/2/14:

* * *
Do you like radishes?
Yuh.
Did you ever have a white radish?
Hmmm.
* * *
Why are we stopping?
They’re taking a selfie!
Well, we’ll have to photobomb them.
* * *
Chew the fat.
* * *
Ugh. My breath tastes like peanut butter. And tacos.
* * *

It isn’t even a good selfie of us–and no photobomb in sight. 🙂

This was a salute by the fireboat as the ferry transported the body of a firefighter back home to B.I.

At the Bainbridge Island 4th of July parade.
(L to R: S, K, A, C)

We’ve had the end of school, AP training for me, a visit from Nana and Grandpa R, a visit from Auntie C and A and D, and now we have three weeks to spend with our lovely exchange student from Paris, C. Summer feels full-blown today.