The Monday AFTER Vacation

Looking at the Puget Sound from Bainbridge Island

We are back. Home sweet home. Back to the regular schedule. Responsibilities to be met, chores to be done, catching up required.

But first, shall we have tea?

Grab a cup and enjoy while I share a few things about the last week.

Let's pretend you are right with me, seated and facing me across the little patio table. It only has one chair, but that's ok. I'll pull one out of the house.

So, you ask, how was vacation?

~ We spent lots of time driving. Many miles. But we had AC and snacks. It was all good.

~ At the beach, we lazed our way from favorite spot to the next favorite spot. Ocean Shores beaches (two separate stops) equaled lunch, lounging in our chairs, putting up the kite, and wading in the water. Brown Point Beach by the marina provided plenty of wind, surf, and curiosity. What were those pelicans, seals, and seagulls feasting on anyway? Pacific Beach was our napping spot, though the wind was picking up and we were slightly sandblasted. It was all perfect. We just went from place to place, doing whatever sounded good.

~ I had ice cream. Good ice cream. Twice. (If you knew Kevin as I know Kevin, the hubby, you would see that indulging in ice cream two times in one week is amazing!)

~ I filled up my camera memory card. It wasn't empty to begin with, but I really added some photos. I didn't realize it was that close until I clicked the very last photo standing on a beach on Bainbridge Island. That left no spots for ferry shots.

~ We went to Bainbridge Island. It was our first trip. I researched it in advance. Could we find anything? NO. We were completely lost the entire time. Though we now know the tiny, single car backroads, we were unable to actually follow the roads to any place significant. We did manage to find the ferry dock at the end of the day. That was because we found our restaurant, which overlooked the harbor, after stopping for directions. We could see the ferry coming in from our table. I should add that we did stumble across a delicious ice cream spot, Mora.

I felt eyes upon me when we tried to take a beach nap. Someone was watching us. Very closely.

~ We did not find any public beach on Bainbridge Island. I'm sure there are some. But not easily discovered or located. No signs. Google maps did not assist in this area. At all.

~ Lunch on the Bainbridge Island day was not on the island, but just outside of Bremerton. Scenic View State Park is lovely with a very accessible beach. This little gem is right outside Seabeck, Washington. It's very rocky though, so water shoes are a necessity.

~ We purchased some snacks at Trader Joe's. We forgot the chocolate covered almonds. They no longer even remotely resemble almonds. The chocolate part is easy to see, but is now shaped like the bottom of the bag.

~ Road crews were blasting rocks on the top of Snoqualmie Pass. They do this on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. We hit two of those days when traffic was stopped both directions. One evening traffic was already moving by the time we got there, though it was crowded and we had to drive slowly for many miles until the vehicle crowd stretched out. The second evening we hit it perfectly and had to stop and wait. I got out my beach chair and watercolor paints and enjoyed myself. Many travelers were out playing around, tossing softballs, chatting with friends, and jumping the barrier to find a private tree or bush. Sneaky as they appeared, we still knew where they were headed.

~ We spent the days between our trips doing little projects at home. For me, that meant writing responsibilities.

If I had snorkel gear, I could figure out what they were catching.

~ Oh, the first day of vacation was salsa day. We helped my sister, brother-in-law, mom, and dad, can way too many jars of homemade salsa. Mmmm. Hot, spicy, sweaty work. The fruits of our labor should be ready to sample in six weeks.

~ We met my parents, sister, and brother-in-law at the theater to see Mr. Holmes. It was very good. Dumbledore, nope, Gandalf played Sherlock Holmes. Dad, you are still right about that. For a moment there, my sister and I both confused our favorite heroes and movies.

~ The last day of vacation we got up early, as the temps were supposed to be in the triple digits, and went for a motorcycle ride. It was actually cold on our way up Chinook Pass. We looped behind and came home on Highway 12. That was where we hit the heat. Nothing less refreshing than leaving the delightful cool forest fragrance to swelter in the sauna heat of high summer.

~ The cats did not like us much during vacation. We were not here often enough for them.

~ Having iced coffee with my honey was and is one of my favorite treats.

~ The garden survived just fine, though I am still behind in garden chores.

Scenic View State Park Beach

That's our vacation in a nutshell. I did not get good clam chowder at any time. That was one of my goals. Next time, clam chowder goes to the top of the list of vacation necessities.

How about you? Have you had any vacation time this summer? I'd love to hear.