A Trip to Tillicum Village at Blake Island

One thing I learned in England was how to be a tourist in your own town. No, it's not corny...and I don't know why people have that perception. Even if you don't live in a tourist destination, it's still cool to get out and do the museums and historical sites and restaurants. Of course, when you have company in town, you really have no excuse except to get out there and show 'em what makes your town special. 

I had been thinking that the boys would enjoy this Argosy Cruise to Blake Island to see how the Tillicum Indians lived ever since we first heard about it back in June when Mike's parents were here and we did the Argosy Locks Cruise. With Mom here, it seemed like the perfect time to do it!

Our second Argosy cruise and our second truly excellent
tour guide. They really do train these guys well.

On board the Good Time II.

Looking back at Seattle from our boat, far out in Elliot Bay in the Puget Sound.
What a gorgeous day!

Ollie using his binoculars! 

Mom and I, sheltered from the wind and enjoying the boat ride together.

After about an hour boat ride to Blake Island, we de-boarded
and were promptly welcomed with steaming mugs of
littleneck clams in hot broth. The boys had fun dropping their
clam shells on the ground.

Inside the lodge, salmon was being cooked in the traditional Tillicum way.

Can you even imagine how good this smelled? Probably not, but it was
amazing. We got in line for our meal and show.

The lodge was full of native art. Here's just one example.

The dinner buffet was delicious...There was smoked salmon, venison stew, green beans, rice, salad, and a delicious apple pie dessert. While we ate, the lights went down low and we watched a great little show--part multi-media, part live acting--about the native people of the Northwest and the Tillicum people in particular. I captured just a little of the show on video...

After the show, we had about a half an hour to explore the island before
we re-boarded Good Time II for the return trip to Pier 54 in Seattle's waterfront
district. 

The boys threw rocks in the water. Mt. Ranier is visible on this clear day
waaaaay off in the distance. A gorgeous day! 

Vashon Island: A Day Trip Gem

Last night, my friend Dawn flew in from Cali and is going to be staying with us for the next couple of weeks.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

We kicked off her visit with a bang. Seriously, she hadn't even been here for 12 hours (her flight got in late last night) before we were off on our first jaunt. :)

She had made a lunch date to meet up with a business associate who lives in this area; they have worked together for a couple of years but had never met face to face. He told us about Vashon Island, where he was going to be vacationing with his wife and some family friends and we agreed to meet him there. 

What a find! I did not know about Vashon Island. I'm definitely still learning about all the neat places to visit around here. Vashon is a great spot to know about because it's just a 30-minute drive + a 20-minute ferry ride from our house. Much closer than some of the other island destinations we've explored: Whidbey Island, Orcas Island, and San Juan Island. 

Waiting for the ferry.

From the ferry terminal in Fauntleroy.

After we landed in Vashon, we dropped Dawn off at
the town hardware store / diner (she said it was awesome
and we really must try it). The boys and I went to a
coffee and sandwich shop a few doors down called
Cafe Luna. Not bad. A bit overpriced, but great food.

Tuna melt, baby!

We ate outdoors. The weather was gorgeous!

After lunch, we found the public beach which wasn't completely deserted,
but wasn't crowded either. Lots of driftwood, seaweed, sand, and clam
and mussel shells. The tide was out. I love that smell.

Merrit wanted to harvest and eat some of the seaweed. I talked him out of it.

Just exploring the edge of this small harbor off the Puget Sound.

Later we discovered a tidal pool. The boys stripped down
to their underwear and played in the lightly flowing, nice
and warm water. They looked for hermit crabs, collected
seaweed, and poured water with a plastic cup someone else
had left behind.

Hours of fun.

I just sat on a piece of driftwood and caught some rays. 

No sunscreen or bathing suits. No towels or changes of clothes.
....But we did just fine....

Ollie on a hermit crab hunt.

Driftwood. Interesting.

Old tree. Weird.

Dawn sent us a text that she was done with her meeting, so I stripped the
boys down at the car and they went "commando" for the rest of the day.
Ollie's underwear dried out pretty quick on my side mirror. 

After we picked up Dawn, we stopped at a country
store / coffee shop for some cold drinks. This place was
super cute and quaint. Dawn and I had cold green tea
with coconut milk. Awesomely refreshing!

Vashon island is known for being sort of crunchy,
hippie, alternative. Love the check out gal's shirt.

The shop where we stopped. Neat spot.

We drove to the lighthouse on Maury Island, which is connected to
Vashon Island by a skinny spit of land (or maybe a bridge?). We had
to hike down a little trail to get to the lighthouse.

"This way, boys!"

Mt. Ranier in the distance, across the Puget Sound.

Other people have made driftwood forts for us to explore. This one was
really cute with its "No Trespassing" sign. :)

Drip and Donger. BFF.

In another fort.

My cutie-pie boys!

The lighthouse. Isn't it adorable? Worth the trip.

Believe it or not, from the time we left the lighthouse
on Maury Island to the time we were sipping this margarita
was about 1.5 hours. We hiked from the lighthouse to the car,
drove to the other side of the island, got on the ferry (PERFECT timing!
We pulled up just as they were loading it!), crossed the sound,
drove through Seattle, across Lake Washington, picked up
Mike from work, hit a Salvadorian restaurant, and ordered drinks ---
all in just over an hour! Awesome.

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!!