CLOSED

Rainy morning, so we all slept late. First order of business today was an emergency trip to Walmart in Aberdeen because the Taylor’s coffee maker pooped out. They have been traveling with the same coffee maker for twenty years so you can understand the emergency. They just don’t make coffee makers like that anymore, hope the new one lasts as long.

After lunch they decided to visit the Cranberry Museum only to find that it closed early on Sunday. And it’s only open Thursday through Sunday so we missed that one. Next, they decided to visit the Gray Harbor Lighthouse in Newport, Washington. It’s Washington’s tallest at 107 feet.  It was also closed today, and won’t open again until Tuesday when we will already be in Oregon. See picture.

Lastly, they tried to visit the Newport Maritime Heritage Center, but it was closed until Tuesday as well. Bad Luck all around.

The best thing about today was our dinner. The humans stopped at an oyster shack and bought fresh oysters and clams for dinner. Warren grilled the oysters on the charcoal grill and made a delicious fettuccine with clam sauce for dinner. My Kathe made garlic bread and Pineapple Martinis and the day was complete. This is a picture of our site #17. So quiet and dark at night.

GRAYLAND

Yes, it’s been a gray day for us. A five hour drive over 200 miles with traffic through Seattle and Tacoma. We even had a little rain on the way. All of us were really happy when we finally pulled into Grayland State Park. 

This park is so remote, it’s over 19 miles to the nearest supermarket. It’s quiet and beautiful. Our sites are great, we backed up into the trees and everything is so green. It’s still overcast and wet, but we are so close to the ocean that it’s probably fog. We’re looking forward to our four days here in the peace and quiet. 

After we got set up, Kathe and Jim took a walk through the trees to the beach. There are several hikes marked as beach trails from the campground. They took a long walk to the ocean which was at very low tide. No one in the water but the sea birds. 

I guess I spoke too soon about the quiet. Right now we are experiencing a very loud thunderstorm. Going to curl up in my bed for the night.

LANGLEY

Before I tell you about today I need to tell you about last night here at the campsite. I finished writing the blog and the humans started playing  a card game. All of a sudden there was the loudest noise I have ever heard and it sounded like it was right on top of us.  Forget what I said yesterday about the sound of freedom. This was the sound of doom. 

For the next three hours the Navy was practicing carrier landings. The Navy flies EA-18G Growlers, and they are LOUD! We all went outside to watch what was going on and they were flying so low that we could almost see the pilot. Back and forth they flew, over and over again.  It was scary and beautiful at the same time. It was like having an air show in our backyard. 

After a good nights sleep, Jim and Kathy T went for a bike ride in Deception Park. They came home frozen stiff. Later in the morning the humans decided to drive to the town of Langley at the  south end of the island. Langley is a waterfront city, known as “The Village by the Sea”. There are a lot of galleries, shops and restaurants in town and it’s a popular destination for whale watching.

This evening it’s very quiet and all the humans have left for a seafood dinner at Anthony’s in Anacortes. If my Kathe has the crab for dinner I know there will be no leftovers for me.

THE SOUND OF FREEDOM

No, that’s not when Kathe drops my leash and I take off. I mean the sounds of all the fighter planes taking off here on the island. Whidbey Island is the home of the Oak Grove Navel Air Station. We hear the jets blasting over us all day long. We call that “the sound of freedom.”

Today it’s so foggy and cold that no one wants to do anything or go anywhere. Kathy T took a solo bike ride this morning to the beach but return quickly because she was so cold. My humans have pretty much been sitting around doing nothing at all for me to write about. If you ask me I think all that hiking yesterday might be the issue.

As for myself I had a trip to the Best Friends Clinic this afternoon because I have an infection in my drivers side eyeball. I must have gotten a scratch from a pine needle or weed on one of my walks. I do bump into things sometimes like that. The nice lady vets gave me lots of pats and cuddles before they gave me some eyedrops to use for the next 10 days. We shall see how that goes!

Here’s a picture of the sunset last night. I won’t bore you with another picture of yours truly. 

UNDER THE BRIDGE

Late this morning my humans left for a hike in the Deception Pass State Park which is right across the street from our RV Park. Luckily, Jim purchased an annual Washington State Discover Pass so we can go into every State Park here for free. Once they were in the Park they started to look for some places to hike. The Ranger wasn’t very helpful and told them just to use the QR code to find a hike. Right! Anyway, they found some wooden signs for a couple hikes the old fashioned way. 

First, they hiked straight uphill along a cliff that led to the Bay Bridge. The Bridge Trail was a pretty easy half mile up and under the Deception Bay Bridge. The second hike wasn’t very well marked and they ended up at the shoreline and watched some people trying to catch salmon. Since that wasn’t the hike they were looking for they started back up the path to the parking lot. Then they found the trail that they wanted, the North Beach Trail. That was a rough one. It was a forest trail that passed through old-growth Douglas fir trees. It was a great hike but there were lots of roots and rocks which made it slow going. They were high above the ocean along a cliff the whole way. Beautiful.

After lunch they took a drive to the historic seaside town of Coupeville. It’s a tiny village, one of Washington’s oldest towns known for its scenic waterfront. Of course there were some little quirky shops for the tourists that my humans enjoyed. The movie Practical Magic was filmed in Coupeville, and many of the shops have merchandise with that in mind.

When they returned, my Kathe noticed that I had an infection in my eye, so it’s off to the veterinary clinic tomorrow for me.  When they asked Kathe to have my medical records sent by email to them tonight, little did they know that my records are 168 pages long. After all I’ve been going to the same vet for almost 20 years!

WHIDBEY ISLAND

Driving again today. It was an easy, short drive on Highway 20 except for all the roundabouts. When you are as big as we are and towing a car behind yourself, it’s really difficult to get in the correct lane in a roundabout. I think we had 4 or 5 of them on the route this morning. A little nerve racking when there are two big coaches traveling together through the circle. 

We are here at North Whidby Island RV Park. A bit of confusion here when we arrived. They were making a repair to the water line and there was no water at any of the sites. Warren and Kathy were to park next to us but something was wrong with the power at the post. They were moved to a different site way across the park from us. After a few hours the water was restored and power in the site next to us was repaired. The Taylor’s decided to stay where they were since they were all settled in.

Most of the day was spent relaxing. Kathe worked on her needlepoint, Jim worked on the computer and I took a well deserved nap. This evening they all piled into Warrens car and went to dinner at the Shrimp Shack, just over the Deception Pass Bridge. They stopped to take this picture just before the sunset.

FISHING NOT CATCHING

That’s an old joke. They call it fishing, they don’t call it catching. And that’s what they tried to do today. It took a while to get things together for today’s fishing expedition. First, trying to get fishing licenses after the women at the gas station, the only place in town to get a license, said she couldn’t help them until 2:00. Then trying to purchase the license on line which was challenging for some and not so challenging for others. Ok now, licenses in hand,  gear packed, chairs loaded, and let’s not forget lunch. 

They set off for Baker Lake where the cut throat trout are plentiful. It was a 17 mile drive through lots of beautiful trees. Only once they got to that lake there was no access and no place to park. Next,  they drove another 13 miles in the opposite direction to check out Vogler Lake. Only to find out that that one was a catch and release only lake. Back in the car for another 11 mile drive to Shannon Lake outside of the town of Concrete. Then there was an 8 mile drive on a one lane gravel road to find the beautiful lake with Mt. Baker in the background. Unfortunately, this  lake was  not accessible without climbing down a very rocky path to the lake shoreline.

Once they carried all the stuff down the steep embankment to the rocky shore they started fishing. Hours later, still no fish. The only bite all day was a mosquito on Warren’s face.

So, tonight it’s steak and potatoes for dinner! The cocktail is a pineapple martini.