Last Day: Pike's Place Market and Impromptu Pre-Flight Canoeing

Yesterday was Delores and Clyde's last day with us. We had a super great time with them while they were here with us!  It was fun to show them around our new city. It being the last day here and them having not seen Pike's Place Market, we knew we'd have to fit that in! Mike had to go back to work, so it was just Delores, Clyde, the boys and I. We had a drizzly, true-to-form Seattle afternoon, but we shook off the chill with a lunch of soup and hot tea at a great little oyster shack we finally rambled into after about an hour of wandering around trying to figure out what we were in the mood for! Here are the highlights-in-pictures from our day at the market:

Here we are! The famous Pike's Place Market.

The flower stands, a must-see.

Most of these bouquets are just $10.

Delores, who loves flowers more than maybe anything else--except Jesus,
and her kids, and her grandkids, and her church. :)

The variety of fruits and vegetables is pretty much
astounding. We spotted donut peaches, and champagne
grapes, and multiple varieties of cherries (I've only ever
eaten Bing). All sorts of mushrooms, too. Amazing.

Cute.

Drizzly photo op!

The fish monger invited the boys to touch this
fish's eyeball. Ewww. They both did it. Double ewww.

Merrit tried to talk us into buying lobster tails.
Not today, buddy.

  

It's cherry season!

Close up of peonies. Smells fab.

Close up of salmon. Smells not fishy at all.

The famous Pike Place Fish Co, where they throw the fish. Delores bought
some seasoning mix and I bought two pounds of shrimp for our dinner.

Ollie could get a summer job here in about 10 years. :)

The boys putting coins into the biggest piggy bank ever.

Say cheese. (We did see some great goat's cheese for sale,
but I didn't get it. Next time...)

I'm combating the drizzle with the yellow trench I bought in England!

Warming up and waiting for our steaming bowls of soup.
Everyone but me ordered New England style clam chowder and French bread.

Don't mind Ollie's grubby little fingers; he's trying to steal my mini mussels!
This is what I had. OMGosh, it was so good. It was a really garlicky seafood
soup of clam broth with pieces of salmon and small mussels, topped with
a crisp cracker and a lemon aioli.  Came with French bread on the side. Wow.

We left the market, took a too-circuitous route through Seattle (darn that GPS, but on the up side, we did get to drive past the Mariner's stadium twice), and hung out at home for the rest of the afternoon. Clyde and Delores packed their bags for the flight and I went to pick up Mike at about 5pm. We cooked up some shrimp and sausages for dinner and ate well.

At about 7:30, with an hour to kill before our guests had to leave for the airport, I shoo'ed Mike and his parents out the door, convincing them that they had time for a quick canoe ride. With some rainy days and our busy schedule, Clyde and Delores had not even been out in our canoe! And besides the lake looked AMAZING. It was perfectly still, reflecting the trees and sky like a mirror. The HAD to get out there.

And they did. Yep, they squeezed every last ounce of fun out of this trip, I do believe!

I took this pic from the deck of our house, as the canoers get set to launch.

Shed sneakers.

Paddling back to shore.

By the time they rowed back into shore, it was almost
8:30, getting to be dusk, and time to head for Sea-Tac
International Airport.

Bon voyage, Nanny and Papa! Thanks for visiting; we love you!!

Our Two-Day Trip to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island: PART 2

We woke up on Monday morning in time to keep our 8:15 breakfast date in the B&B's dining room. We were the only guests, which was kind of nice. No awkward small talk. :)

A fruit and yogurt trifle to start.

Fresh-made blueberry muffins. Hot coffee and tea.

A paper-thin crustless quiche, sausages, and oranges. Absolutely delicious!

After a good nigh's sleep and an awesome breakfast, we were ready for a day
of exploring San Juan Island!

We packed up our car, checked out of the Argyle House, and spent the rest of the day driving around the island, which takes about 20 minutes to drive end-to-end and includes at least one (maybe more than one?) national park. First we ended up at Roche Harbor, where we walked the marina, ate hot donuts, played bocce ball, and shopped a bit.

The Marina at Roche Harbor.

Roche Harbor. There was also a sea plane dock. Very cool.

My handsome hubby.

Merrit spied a jellyfish.

For Sale! It could be yours for the low, low price
of six million dollars!

Ollie explores one of two very old lime kilns.

We all played bocce ball for about an hour by the
lime kilns. Merrit skunked everyone!

Delores and I suspected Mike was sort of making up the rules as he went along.

The historic Hotel De Haro overlooks gorgeous gardens to the marina beyond.

The hotel's gardens.

After a low-key couple of hours in Roche Harbor, we hopped back in the car and headed to the other side of the island. We ended up at the English Camp, a spot where British soldiers were encamped in the mid 1800s; on the opposite side of the island is the American Camp (we didn't make it there), where the U.S. soldiers maintained a presence.

In 1859 the United States and Great Britain nearly went to war over possession of the island, the crisis ignited by the death of a British-owned pig in what is now called the Pig War. Twelve years later (ah, diplomacy at work!) the British troops left the island after the Treaty of Washington was signed, designating the island as a U.S. territory.

Today, the English camp is maintained as an historical site. We had fun traipsing around the old outbuildings, through the English garden, and along the beach.

Merrit discovered that he could hide among the horsetail.

And Ollie quickly followed suit.

One of the restored buildings at the old English Camp.

Inside, the boys had fun climbing the ladder.

The old barracks, now a Ranger Station and museum.

Peaceful.

A butterfly in the English garden.

Delores with blue delphiniums.

Peonies, lavender, and delphiniums were all in bloom in the garden.

Mike, the boys, and I hiked to the top of the hill to get a bird's eye view of the
entire camp and small, quiet harbor.

A really gorgeous, quiet spot.

Aw, we love those Brits!

Fun and games with dad.

He's a trusting sort.

We ran into this super friendly kid from Minnesota
who told us all about how to catch crabs at the beach.
Here Mike and Ollie flip over rocks.

The crab hunter!

A bit mucky, but still fun.

Mike's a big kid at heart. In the background,
our friendly guide from Minnesota!!

Not intentionally, but perhaps fittingly, we ended up eating out that night at a proper English pub! In all the time Mike and I have been back in the U.S. since having left England, we haven't really found a restaurant that promised to serve English food that could deliver. This place was SPOT ON, right down to the mushy peas and HP Sauce!

Mike, Clyde, and Merrit all ordered fish and chips. Delores had shepherd's
pie, and I ordered baked oysters. With Guinness, of course.

Between oysters, mussels, and fried cod, we have eaten some fantastic
local seafood while at Friday Harbor.

The good stuff!

Thanks for a great weekend in the San Juans, honey!!

I told Mike that if the ceilings in this pub were about eight feet lower, it would 
have definitely felt like we were back in England!

In the queue for 2:45 ferry to Anacortes. What a lovely two days we've had!