Rest and Relaxation

During spring break, we headed up to the Pacific Northwest. We love it up there and we were so excited for our vacation. The first day we hung around downtown Seattle and ate at the famous Pikes Place Brewery. Everything was organic and bought from the Pikes Place Market below the restaurant. I would love to be able to shop for all my ingredients in an open, organic market like Pikes Place.

The next day we headed over to Whidbey Island. (I've been wanting to visit Whidbey Island since I saw the movie "Double Jeopardy") We LOVED it there. In order to get to Whidbey Island we had to drive our car onto a ferry and cross the Pudget Sound. Once on dry land we went on a couple of hikes and explored the island. I had done my research (of course) and found a wonderful farm on the island which had a winery and is famous for their loganberry pie, which is why I wanted to go there. We stopped by and had a piece of pie ala mode and then were on our way to northern Washington.

Hiking down to the beach on Whidbey Island

Last year when we were up in Washington we stayed at a wonderful resort in Blaine. We loved it so much that we decided to stay two nights up there and just relax. We enjoyed the spa, walking along the ocean, and the peace and quiet. Our room had a balcony which was wonderful for the sunsets and watching the playful seals show off.

After resting in Blaine, we headed up to Vancouver. While we were in Vancouver we rented bikes and rode around Staley Park. It was a beutiful park in the middle of Vancouver. We ended up riding around the whole park which was a 11 mile ride, but the scenery was so beautiful we didn't even notice how far we had gone. The last day in Vancouver, we headed up North of the city and went to the Capilano suspension bridge and tree trails. The bridge was 230 feet above the river and swung back and forth while you walked to the other side. In the middle of the bridge, Jordan says to me, "Have I ever told you that I don't really like heights" (Of course, I had no idea since we've done many things that have been above the ground and he's never mentioned it before. =) ) I just had to laugh...there was no turning back now. Once we got across the bridge we hiked some trails and walked on the tree trails which were elevated bridges suspended from the tops of the trees. We had so much fun and enjoyed our time in Vancouver.

Before we went home, we wanted to check out the tulips in Skagit county, which were not blooming yet. I thought we might have better luck this year than last year just because it was later in the season, but no such luck. The only flowers blooming were the daffodils.

I had heard a lot about the Ballard locks in Seattle and Jordan's dad suggested us go check them out. After a while driving, we finally found them and even got to see some boats go through the locks. It was amazing to see the locks at work. Of course we had to have fish n' chips before we left Seattle, so we found a restaurant by the locks and then headed to the airport. We had such a wonderful vacation. We had a perfect amount of rest/relaxation and toursist activities. As many of you know, I like touristie things and Jordan likes to go on vacation and relax. We found a good compromise and had a nice time!

We are now ready for the home stretch and the countdown is ON!