Vacation 2010 San Juan Islands Washington State

Vacation 2010! After missing the last two years at our favorite vacation spot, we decided to head for the San Juan Islands in Northern Washington State. The trip started out a little rough. When we got up to finish loading the truck, the dome lights were flashing inside the vehicle. Uh oh….I know we didn’t have the doors open much the day before and I knew that it had been almost 6 years since we replaced the battery. It was on my list to do before winter.

Well now we had a problem. I knew we couldn’t go the entire trip worrying about the battery so we stopped on the way and got a new one. Once we got to the ferry and got in line, Jon and I pulled out the tools and changed it out.

Once we got to the rental house, we were unloading all the stuff and we seemed to be missing a bag of food? Very curious…..well it so happened there was too much food to fit into the ice chest and other usual containers so, some was put into a bag that looked just like a garbage bag. Yep, you guessed it. Someone, who shall remain nameless grabbed two bags of trash that needed to go out, when in reality there was only one bag of trash and one bag of food!

The weather was awesome, in the 60’s and 70’s every day with just a sprinkle of rain one day. We hiked and biked and drove all around Orcas Island. In fact on an Island that is no more than 20 miles across we logged over 200 miles on the truck.

The next problem came when we launched the boat for a day on the water to crab and fish. The little outboard started acting up again and seemed it was again starving for fuel. Bummer, we made the best of it and were able to motor around once I learned the trick to keeping the motor running. But the wind was blowing and the ocean was kicking up and the crabbing wasn’t very good so we chose to call it a day and put the boat back on the trailer.

We had a wonderful week and took lots of pictures, ate way too much and just goofed off! One day I took Cody and Lorelei on a hike to Turtle Back Mountain. I thought by looking on the map it was a mile or so up to the top and I wanted to find some vistas to photograph. So Cody and Lorelei willingly followed with no water or food thinking it would be a short hike…….well that’s the last time they will listen to me! It was just a little farther than I thought. We started the hike around 10:00 am and we got back to the truck at 2:00 p.m.! Oops……. We were tired and hungry and thirsty….so we headed into town for a late lunch.

We also had fun getting off the island. We convinced Lorelei that if we got up early and packed everything up we could make the 12:00 noon ferry. Jon and I surmised that if we got to the ferry landing by 10:30 a.m . we should have no trouble even though the pamphlet put out by the Washington State Ferry system says to get there 2 hours ahead of time. They always tell you that but hey, we know better right…. Well…….we pulled up at 10:35 to a LINE of vehicles and as we came up to the lady in charge she says “pull forward there for the 2:30 ferry” AHHHHH……so here it is that we are in line for the ferry that leaves in 4 HOURS.

So we sat and talked, we walked around, we ate lunch, we walked around and then we got on the ferry. We pulled into our house at 9:30 p.m. The truck had actually been driven 317 miles and it took 11 hours to do it. As we sat in line we heard that it wasn’t long before the 2:30 was full and they were starting to line cars up for the 5:00 ferry. Wow, I am glad we didn’t have to wait for that one.

Ok so the things my family learned on vacation.

1: Don’t rely on me to properly maintain the vehicle.

2: Don’t rely on me to properly maintain the outboard motor.

3: Don’t follow me on a hike.

4: Don’t listen to me when it’s time to calculate the ferry schedule.

Plus....I no longer have to take out the trash!

The group at Rosario Resort
Jon, Corina, me, Cody

Cody goes in for the  close up.

 View from atop Mt. Constitution at sunset with the full moon rising. Looking southeast towards the mainland.

 Molly the resident seal hanging out near the docks at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.

Waiting to catch the ferry at Friday Harbor. Cody, Lorelei, Corina, Jon

 Lorelei trying out the island transportation.

We took the boat up to Mountain Lake one day and had a great time.

A view from the "Turtle Back Mountain Hike"

Sunrise from Turtle Back Mountain

If you want to see more pictures from the trip, click HERE

Glynn Jr.

A follow up on our trip south......

Just a short follow up to my last entry. On our trip south last month we also stopped by what is touted to be the largest collection of old logging equipment in the world! What I found most fascinating was the huge wheels that they used to move logs around back when there was only horse and oxen power.

Lorelei gives some scale to one of the huge wheels.






And then a couple of more from Crater Lake




Other news around the place. The weather for the last month has been absolutely perfect! Not much rain and cool temperatures have made it very pleasant.
For the moment most everything is working as it should. The well system is back functioning as it should and hopefully will run trouble free for a while. Lorelei helped me do the front brakes and rotors on the Honda last weekend. One side is wearing too fast so I need to replace the calipers on that side. Small projects and lot's of going to yard sales have been our main weekend entertainment.

We have been eating fresh blueberries both from our plants and some purchased. The blackberries are ripening and the boys picked enough the other day for Lorelei to make a cobbler! The garden looks like we may eventually get some cucumbers and tomatoes. We have been eating good lettuce and a few peppers and carrots.

Adam came for a visit last weekend with his roommate Jon. Adam had been searching around Portland for a guitar for Cody and brought it with him.We met for lunch and then spent the rest of the day visiting.

Jon is on the annual bike trip with his youth group at the San Juan Islands in Washington this week. I think they took some 85 young people this year! Jon is a "small group leader" so he is in charge of several of the youth. Jon has worked very hard with everything from fund raising to working on putting bikes together for those that have none so they could go on this trip. He returns tomorrow.

Cody has just been hanging out and doing lots of reading!

In animal news we are trying to get rid of Queenie's fleas. We are getting close to giving her "the shave" similar to the one she got last year. We got our first egg from the new chickens yesterday so we will soon have more than we can eat. We have been watching the antics at the bird feeder recently where the mothers of the new fledglings are still feeding their "babies" that are now bigger than they are. It is quite comical to see one of these huge young birds flying around, eating and drinking on their own and then suddenly the mother flies up to it and starts cramming more food and water down it's throat. Ummmm can you say "helicopter parent"?

It's suppose to be HOT this weekend so we may have to head for the river to cool off.
That's about all for now.

Leave us a comment, we enjoy hearing from everyone.

Glynn Jr.

Crater Lake!

Last Saturday Lorelei, Cody and I headed south for a short weekend trip to southern Oregon. We stayed in Klamath Falls and visited Crater Lake on Sunday. This is an absolutely fascinating and beautiful place. In our nearly 3 hour visit we didn't even make it half way around the lake. We each had a camera and we had a great time taking a bunch of pictures.
Below are a few of Lorelei's shots.

At over 1,900 ft deep it is the deepest lake in the U.S.


The water is really that blue.



With no inlets and no outlets and being supplied only by snow melt it is thought to be the purest fresh water body of water in the world.

We had a great trip but it was too short. We hope to get down that way again.



Bye for now.
Glynn Jr.

Summer finally made it to Oregon.....

We had the coolest and wettest spring on record here in Oregon. This past week we finally had some temps into the 90's although it is suppose to cool off a bit for the weekend. The garden has finally perked up and the plants are enjoying the sunshine. We have been eating lots of fresh strawberries and raspberries. The blueberries are ripening and we have had a few cherries also.

We seem to be going through one of those phases here on the Pennington homestead where it seems that everything breaks at once. The lawn tractor has been giving me trouble and will need maintenance and a major overhaul of the mowing deck. Up in the pump house we had a pipe break. Thankfully the system worked as designed and shut the pump off before any major damage occurred but on investigation it was clear that we needed a new pressure tank. Also in the pump house one of the tanks that treats the well water is clogged and it looks like it will take some work to get it back on line.

Inside the house our clothes dryer needed repair AGAIN. Same problem with a faulty Kenmore design. Lorelei helped me pull it apart and replace the offending parts.
I replaced the faucet in our bathroom and we bought a nice one at a yard sale that will go in the boys.

This years allergy season has been a rough one. The late start of the warm weather has pushed the season well into July. Normally by the 4th we are starting to feel better but not this year. I seem to be particularly sensitive this year with Lorelei and Cody suffering also. The farmers are just now starting to harvest the wheat and grass seed, so another week or so and we should start to feel better.
We have taken a break from photography the past few weeks but I had to get out for an hour or so and get a few shots. Our place is awesome this time of year with flowers blooming everywhere.

Daisies up on the knoll near our campsite.


A Pacific Madrone leaf. These broadleaf evergreen's shed their old leaves and bark in the summer and grow new ones that stay green all through the winter.



A caterpillar I found.


I think this is a Chinese Lantern? Lorelei knows all the names.


I have no idea what this one is but they grow amidst the fields of Daisies. Maybe someone can identify?


A close up of the aforementioned mystery flower.


Ok, I should know this one but I don't and the resident expert is asleep.


In animal news, Queenie is doing well. The younger chickens have been assimilated with the two older ones and should start laying any time now. The bird houses outside in the grape arbor are full of babies. Lorelei and I sat outside last night watching the adult Wren's and Swallow's busily flying in and out trying to satisfy the ravenous youngsters. Whenever the adults leave there is a chorus of cheeps coming from the houses until the adults return with more food.

We haven't seen Adam for a few weeks. He is busy working. Jon is enjoying some time away from school and running. Cody has been doing lots of reading and playing Lego's.

That's about all for now.

Glynn Jr.