Crabbing - A fun experience

We had fun crabbing with a group of friends over the weekend at Bainbridge Island here in Washington State.   We have never tried crabbing before and the kids were so excited especially my eldest daughter, because she love to eat crabs.

So, from Seattle we took a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island and from there it took us 10 minutes to reach Suquamish Tribal Port.   The day before the crabbing day, we bought crab trap, and other stuff necessary for the crabbing and of course our 1 day pass license.   You need to get a license for crabbing or fishing, and you can get those online or as for us we got it from Dicks sporting goods.  The day that we did crabbing was the last day of crabbing in WA.

Everyone was so excited to start and the kids was ecstatic to see the first catch.   We had our coolers, and chairs set up in the flatform.   The weather was gorgeous during that time and it was perfect to sit around and wait while enjoying the sunshine!  After just a few minutes, someone had their first catched, pictures was taken and everyone has to take a look.  The pressure was on with the rest of the guys, to have their first catch.   By the way, each person is allowed to catch 5 crabs and that includes the kids.  After hours and hours of waiting, we grew tired and the kids gets restless, so we let them play down at the lake side while the women chit chat.

Around 3:00 o'clock and the guys still have 5 crabs on their cooler, we decided to pack up a little bit and call it a day.   I think since it was the last day of crabbing, the number of crabs got saturated or the crabs just get smarter not to get enticed with those smelly fish and chicken because they know that it is a trap!

At the end of the day, my husband caught 7 crabs,  we were a little (just a little) dissapointed because we were hoping to catch a lot.  Greedy me :-) But I was thinking of sharing it with friends who were not able to make it.   Crabs are so expensive and I am sure a lot of people will appreciate it if I could share some of our catch.

We catched the 5:30 ferry to Seattle and ate a little snack at the ferry then everyone headed home respectively.   I boiled our crabs that night and cooked it the next day, because I was so tired.   Some of our friends have them for dinner that night.  It was so good and the best thing is the experienced of doing it.  We plan to do it again next year, but we will combine it with other activities or do it somewhere nearby.   Going to Bainbridge Island just to do crabbing is not worth it because you have to spend money on the ferry ride and gas.

All in all, it was a good experienced for grown up and kids alike!

Cool Park this Summer

Greenlake Park is one of the coolest park here in Seattle.  The place has big playground for the kids to enjoy,  it is situated beside the lake where the kids and grown ups could  take a splash in the water to cool off, a big area of luscious green grass to just spread your blanket and enjoy a bountiful of picnic basket or play freebies with friends.   Surrounding the lake is a jogging, walking or running path or you can ride your bike or roller blades or skate board.

Last weekend, we went out late in the afternoon since I worked the previous night, so I have to get some zzzz during the day.   The weather was on the 80's and we don't want it to go on waste, we want to do just like everyone else does, go outside  and enjoy the sunshine, so we head out to Greenlake park.    The kids got to play,  me and my husband takes turn  doing our laps around the lake.

The place was packed with people though, but I still love the whole scene!  When I was doing brisk walking (because I don't felt like jogging), it was so relaxed because a lot of people are walking and chatting all the way.  My husband shared the same feeling when he was jogging around.

The downside in this place is parking, the parking lot is so small, but side parking are available and small other parking lots are scattered around the lake.

This was an old shot taken last month when the place was still cold and the ducks where still have a place to enjoy the lake.

Skagit Tulips Festival

Almost every year we go to Skagit Tulips Festival here in Washington State.   This event is considered a tourist destination here in the Northwest.   You could see acres and acres of different types of Tulips, Daffodils and other type of flowers, but of course majority of which is Tulips.  To know more about their schedule you can visit their website at Skagit Tulips Festival.  Another famous thing they have is their Garage Sale, this is a miles and miles of garage sale in Skagit Valley.  I have not been to one, but I heard that it was pretty awesome.

Last weekend, we decided to visit them back, usually we visited Tulip Town, but this time we considered another place which is Roozengaarde garden.  It was beautiful as usual and they have a garden layout rather than just one big fields of Tulips.   Unfortunately, my husband forgot his camera, that is why we were not able to get some pictures.  But I guess on the other hand it was a good thing because for the first time we were able to enjoy the surroundings, the hotdogs, coffee and of course the flowers without making a fuss of taking pictures here and there.

Classic Cars and America History

My husband has been asking me for a while to go to LeMay Museum in Tacoma where it houses hundreds of classic cars from early 1900.   The oldest we found so far is 1903!  It was old but it was a beauty and will not be disappointed when you see it.

Here are some of the pictures he took, I have to choose only a few because he took tons of pictures, when I say tons, he took pictures of all the cars I guess aside from the accessories of each cars that fascinate him.

Their collections is very impressive, I felt like I was transported in time !  One thing I love about this classic cars, is how the manufacturers give so much attention to details.   The restoration quality is very impressive too.  I was trying to imagine how it feels to be driving one of these !  Just my wishful thinking :-) What can I do, I can't help it, they are beautiful!

LeMay Museum is in Tacoma, WA.  Entrance fee is $14 for adult and $8 for children and kids below 4 is free.   Since we are AAA member we were able to get 10% discount.

 

Our Trip to Olympic Peninsula - Lake Quinult Lodge

After hours and hours of driving, we finally arrived at our final destination, Lake Quinult Lodge.   This rustic lodge was built in 1926, with seven types of rooms.   Their rooms are spacious, with lake side view, no TV and no phones.  They have sauna, pool and game room. The back lawn is beautiful, wide space of green grass, with Gazebo and lounge chairs.   Most of all, the sunset is stunning! 

Very peaceful, I could spend the whole day sitting here, just watching the lake, enjoying the sun with a good book in hand.  That's what I call real vacation!

We arrived a few minutes late to catch the stunning color of sunset.  This is the best we got, but I still love it.

We had a light dinner at their Roosevelt  Restaurant, with an overlooking view of the lake, and humming birds flying on the window.   The ambiance of the restaurant is very relaxing, I like it a lot.

After a night of rest, we had breakfast and started exploring the place.   We tried one of their hiking trails, which is only .6 miles.  The trail is kid friendly and has small bridges and falls along the way.   Which is nice, otherwise we could not make it back, with Andi complaining how hard it is to walk farther :-)

We checked out the World Largest Sitka Spruce Tree.  It stand 191 feet tall, 17 feet in diameter and 55 feet, 7 inches in circumference.

We were not able to see the largest Douglas Fir Tree though as the kids were hungry and tired.   We ate lunch and headed back home.   Downside on this place, no other place to eat but the restaurant inside the lodge.

All, in all this place is beautiful!