Boats, Sunshine, Orcas, and Salmon Buffet

What a day Wednesday was!  We had thrown around lots of different ideas, but when it came down to it Rachel and Al decided they wanted to go on the all day San Juan Cruise.  It was a fabulous day!  We got on the boat at 9:30am, drove around looking at seals and birds while the Captain connected with all the other whale watching boats to find out where the whales were. 

The corner table we inhabited off and on throughout the day.

Rachel began our morning by showing us her brilliance...okay, I'll give her a break, it was only 10 in the morning... ;)

Both boys were quite enthralled with the boat!

My little captain--he stole the hearts of the crew.

Seals and Cormorants

 It was around lunch time when the Captain learned there were two pods just north of the San Juan Island so instead of going to Friday Harbor first, we went there instead.  We ate lunch on the way so the boys wouldn't be crabby when we found the Orcas.  And boy did we find them!  At first they were quite a ways away.

But then there were some right off the stern of the boat.  Unfortunately my timing with my pictures was all off since it kind of surprised me that they were right there.  There was also this lady right next to me who literally started screaming!  I could hardly believe my ears.

The captain said there were two pods in the area.  He also said it was the best day he had experienced yet this summer.

Brandon really got in to watching for the whales and didn't understand after we left that we were finished seeing them.

"Trying" to take a nap--Brandon was a little too wiggly I think.

Making our way in to Friday Harbor.  The boy on the right was completely fascinated with Micah and got all the other kids to come take a look at him while he was taking a nap in the stroller. 

Getting off the boat in Friday Harbor for an hour and a half.

The picture I took while thinking how much Bryan would have loved the day with us.

After wandering around for a bit we got a snack and headed to a grassy area so Brandon could stretch his legs for a couple minutes.

Micah even got in on the fun.

Earlier in the morning, Rachel had asked one of the crew members if we could go up and see the captain, but the captain said he had his hands full at that point and we should wait until the ride home.  Brandon asked probably every half hour if it was time to go see the captain yet.

Unfortunately, the bridge didn't have a BIG wheel--he was a little disappointed but still loved being up there.

Micah started fussing just as the captain was getting on the radio so I took him outside and this random guy asked if he could take our picture for us. 

And then it was time for the all-you-can-eat salmon and chicken buffet.  Let's just say it was SCRUMPTIOUS!

 Since we were a little ahead of schedule, the water was relatively calm and tide was in, the captain said he wanted to show us something.  This little island is parallel to Chuckanut Drive and I've seen it hundreds of times, but never knew there was a treasure in the middle of it.

The sandstone was been worn into various shapes and uncovered...

30,000 year old Palm tree fossils.  Do you see it?  It's the thing with all the little lines parallel to each other going up.

There's another one in the upper right had corner of this little "cave".

And here's another.

What a day we had!  It was such a blast and we were all pretty "knackered" (as Rachel said) by the end of it, but very pleased with all that we had seen.

Thursday morning Sally brought Rachel to the Bellingham airport to catch the shuttle to Seatac and I took Al up to Vancouver Airport.  The boys and I were so completely shot by the time we got home two hours after dropping him off that we slept and did absolutely nothing the rest of the day. 

There's only so many weeks in a row you can go, go, go before you have to stop, stop, stop.  (We've been reading Thomas books, can you tell?)  Here's to a "hopefully" slower week.

Blessings on your week.