Deception Pass Part Three of our Sunday Journey

Okay and Wow!! Here is part three of our long day out.

After a yummy lunch at the Greek Island Restaurant in Anacortes, we headed to Deception Pass. Deception Pass Bridge was built in 1935. The 976ft span of bridge connects Whidbey Island to a tiny Pass Island, and then to Fidalgo Island. Boats can be seen on either side of the bridge waiting for the current to slow or change direction so they may pass. I read that the current is equivalent to class 2 and 3 rapids.

Those of you who know me best know my fear of heights, but I have decided to no more live with this fear and to only challenge myself. So today I walked across the bridge. At first I was very terrified and then just in awe of the beauty of this area. It is truly a breathtaking spot to be.

Deception Bridge, you see you can't see the first part of the bridge, that is the Deception part.




Views from the first part of the bridge. It connects to a very small island and is the shorter of the two bridges.







Okay, so seriously, am I going to walk over that?



I am DOING IT!! I am at the middle of the bridge on the longest side.



The other side, Whidbey Island.





We then followed The Hintons to our next location. They took us to a beach, I think near Cranberry Lake, to see the pebbles and the Bridge from a different view.

Deception Bridge



Time for more camera time!



The Likes Family



The girls.



The longest side of Deception Bridge.



Mrs. Kitty then told the girls about wishing rocks. Wishing rocks are rocks that have white or black circles all the way around them. You then find them, throw them over your shoulder and make a wish. We found so many, hope all of our wishes come true!



After a wonderful time with the Hintons it was time to say goodbye. We Likes decided to drive the length of Whidbey Island to catch the ferry back to Mukilteo, which is very close to Everett and home!

It was our first ferry ride. The girls were cold, they left their jackets in the car below, but enjoyed the snack bar very much.

This is what the ferry looked like that we were riding on.



The girls freezing and saying, "Mom, lets get a snack!".



To add to the excitement, got home and Molly lost a tooth! Tooth fairy comes tonight.

This is all for this weekend and I am just tired rereading this blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Roozengaarde Part Two of Sunday's Journey

Well at part two of our journey we found ourselves at Roozengaarde. It was a very good thing we had local friends with us, because we would have never found our way around! The crowds were getting thick at this point but it was still so beautiful. I have never seen so many different types of tulips!

Roozengaarde was established in 1985 by the Roozen family and Washington Bulb Company, Inc. The Roozen family business of growing Tulips, Daffodils and Irises is the largest in the world, covering Skagit Valley with more than 1200 acres of field blooms and 15 acres of greenhouses. They have a walk thru garden with all the varieties that they sell.

Poor Little JuJu can't decide if she loves Evan or not. This time she loves him and wants a hug and he says no way!



But she finally gets one and is so very happy!



The girls in front of an authentic windmill.



This is a funny picture because JuJu wanted to be in the picture and then when she got there turned around and started to cry.



I just love this of JuJu. She was turning circles in the garden.



What is a photographer to do, but play around. Enjoy.

Tip Toe Thru The Tulips Part One

Well, this has been quite the day! We did many, many things. So I will be splitting it into at least two parts.

We started the day off nice and early, so we could beat the crowds, and heading to Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. This area of Washington, near Mt. Vernon and Anacortes, North of Seattle is home to the largest crops of Tulips in the world, even out grow Norway.

I have to say it was very beautiful driving amongst all the daffodils and tulips. Made me want to just lay in the middle of the field and stare at the blue sky all day.

We found a field with just the perfect tulips and decided to stop.

JuJu was lucky number one to face the camera! Isn't she cute in her tutu.



Hunter was next to strike a pose.



Talk about tip toeing.



The beautiful Likes' girls.





Just me playing around with my camera.



JuJu, she was watching the girls and Evan play with a cat. She was so tired!



JuJu trying to make her way thru the fields. She really didn't like to get dirty at all.



Miss. Molly



Absolutely Beautiful!



What is in this thing?



Gracie loved the smell of the tulips.



JuJu



Our baby is turning 17 months tomorrow! Here are her 15 month pics. I know a little behind.









Okay Mom!! I am outta here!

Gray Whale Tour out of Everett, WA

Well today was a very exciting day for the Likes family. We all got to see Gray Whale for the first time ever and no we weren't at Sea World. We saw five different whales today and boy were they ever show offs.

Here is an interesting fact:

What part if a Gray Whale weighs 1000-3000lbs and represents at least 5% of their entire body surface area?


THEIR TONGUE! That is amazing.

Another tidbit for your nursing mamas. Baby calf will drink mother's milk that is 53% fat, Human milk contains 2% fat. Talk about butter milk!

These beauties are 45ft long and weigh 30-40 tons! They can live up to 80 years and are in this area for only a short time before taking a vacation to Baja, MX for some Tequila and seafood nachos.


So of course we have to start our trip off with a snack.



One of the boats at the Everett Station.



Beautiful big girl Molly.



California Sea Lions




Don't you just wish you could lay around soaking up the sun.



What a perfect day to sail!



A Gray Whale showing us his fluke. This one is #49 Patch.



Okay so it is hard to see. But this guy was up in 6ft of water!!! You can see his dorsal fin sticking out of the water.



More of Patch showing us his beautiful back, rounding his way to the top and then diving deep into the water.



This is my favorite picture. Gray Whales have two blow holes, right next to each other, and when they come up for air and exhale, the spray creates a heart. It is just amazing to hear, but the smell of whale breath is another thing. Imagine a really bad fart.



Travis and JuJu giving us a pose from the lower deck of the boat.



Just to cute not to include.



More Fluking. It is said to be good luck.



My little run run.



Gracie giving us a big "Cheese".



This is Patch again, I hear he is a local here and likes the boat. But you can see why they call him patch. The white spot on his back is some sort of fungus that irritates the poor guys skin!



More of the Grey Whale rounding his huge back looking for some yummy ghost shrimp.



Overall we had a great time. Molly enjoyed it so much, Gracie loved the root beer and sitting inside the boat, while Hunter was very tired and JuJu kept us on our toes for sure. We were able to see five whales, California Sea Lions, Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Common Murre, Tufted Puffin, Rhinoceros Auklet(a bird with a horn on its beak) and much more sea life than I can remember right now. Two of the whales were swimming together, taking turns coming up and down. It was really just so neat. And when I say just five whales, I mean we saw them almost none stop for over two- three hours! They kind of just circled us, definitely something I will always remember.

We plan to see the Orcas soon. The pictures should be AMAZING from that trip. The Orcas like to breach (Jump out of the water) and sky hop(stick their heads up like a bobber). I can't wait!!!