camping with my little family : part 3

Here are the last of my favorite memories from our camping in Lopez Island and Ensign Ranch.  We look forward to more camping trips to new places in the near future, maybe even one more before the baby is born.  (Am I crazy for wanting to camp while in the last weeks of pregnancy?!! We'll stay close to home, just in case...)

One of my favorite parts was riding the ferry.  One day we walked on for free and explored Friday Harbor.  It was fun and we had some really good ice cream there.  I can still taste the lemon pie flavor I got... it had graham crackers in it...  So good!

Our final destination was Ensign Ranch where we met up with the cousins.  We loved having friends to hang out with this time.  However, it was infested with mosquitoes so I didn't even think of bringing out my camera... too busy swatting the air.  We were by a river that was very similar to the one from my childhood camping days - you know, the days I compare all future camping trips to.  It was a great spot but was a lot further from home than we realized.  We look forward to trying out their slip n slide and their horse rides sometime.

I can't wait for our next camping adventures.
We all loved it so I am sure it won't be long before we go again!

camping with my little family : part 2

such a beautiful morning to wake up to, we had pancakes with fresh strawberries, yum

Man, Odlin park did not disappoint!  We loved camping near the water and we had no idea it was going to be so beautiful the next morning.  I could watch these two play for days.  It will be even more fun when I am not so uncomfortable and can get out there with them.  

After this perfect morning I decided we need to have more regular weekend days like this with picnics  at near by beaches.  I'm currently searching for some good beaches in the Seattle area.  Any suggestions?

camping with my little family : part 1

I have always loved camping. So, of course when I married a "mountain man" I was very happy with the bright prospect of our future camping adventures together. We have had many of those already but now its just different and better.

 Here's why: We now have a child to introduce nature to, we live in a house - which makes it easier and realistic to have and store our equipment in, we have a car which makes for easy and convenient accessibility and we are very close to a great many campsites as we live right among trees and mountains. I'd say for the first time in a long time we actually get to enjoy camping to its fullest.

waiting for the ferry to Lopez Island, exploring with Dad

we didn't have reservations so we took a chance and scored a beautiful spot

so happy to be relaxing in the great outdoors

We had a wonderful weekend of camping together.  The first nights we camped at Lopez Island at a place called Odlin park.  We had to go there first since the name is so close to our son's.  It was so beautiful and we will most definitely be visiting again.

sea legs

We're home from our voyage up the coast of North America.  It was fun, wonderfully long, and beautiful. We joined Zack's parent's, brother and sister-in-law for a 7 day cruise to New England and Canada up the coast from New York City.  The trip was made possible by and in memory of Zack's grandparents that recently passed away.  It was a lovely way to remember them and celebrate their lives together.

It was so nice to pack up our things, take a cab to the dock and then board.  We have never had such an easy time traveling.  (Usually it takes an hour to get the rental car and get back to the house, time to load the car and then time to inch our way through traffic and out of the city.  Then the same when we get back home plus time to find an open parking spot on the street somewhere...  It is not fun to travel living here.)  It was so great to sale away from our city/home and to return conveniently home again.  It felt like we were gone for ages and that was the best part.  Now I can say, I have "sea legs". 

I'm sure you can imagine that my husband photographer and I got tons of photos of the vacation but I'll share just few pictures.  I made and brought along a travel journal to add to throughout the voyage and I will be sharing that later in the week.  So, for now, here are a few highlights with minimal words...

Departing New York, New York, USA

 

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

 

Portland, Maine, USA

 

St. John, New Brunswick, Canada

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

 

 
*  The overall review of the cruise: It was nice.  While it took a few hours to get used to the movement of the sea we all got used to it eventually.  Now we're dealing with some post cruise dizziness but its going away more and more every day since we got back.  We sailed on the Carnival Glory.  The ship was nice but sort of old and the cruise seemed tailored a bit more for an older crowd, like our parent's ages.  The entertainment, food, activities and accommodations were plenty good for me, a first time cruiser.  Now that we're home, I look forward to going on another cruise one day, maybe an Alaskan, Caribbean or even the Norwegian cruise?

//  Have you been on a cruise?  Which would you recommend?