Our trip to Olympic Peninsula - Forks, Lake Crescent & Hurricane Ridge

The kids could not stop talking about Game Farm in Sequim, where they enjoyed feeding the animals.   From Sequim we had lunch at Port Angeles, and on our way to Forks we stop by for picture taking at Lake Crescent.   I was wondering why it was called Lake Crescent, it does not resemble the crescent shape? Of course I could help myself Googling it, click Lake Crescent for more information from Wikepedia if you are curious as I am.

Here are the two versions of Lake Crescent, black and white and the colored one.   This was just taken on the side of the road on our way to Forks.  I am pretty sure there are some nice places where the kids could play and swim during summer.  That would probably be part of the agenda on the next trip here. 

Here is me standing in front of the sign like an idiot.   But I guess this is a common sight to cars passing by in this highway.  They must have seen thousand of people having their pictures taken here because we are curious what Forks is like.   Stephanie Myers make it sound so interesting or maybe the characters in her book did.   One thing for sure, this place get a little sunshine, when we were driving along the highway the sunshine just come and go!  It was gloomy,foggy and drizzling.   No wonder Stephanie though that it will be a good place for vampires to live.

The people here tried their very best to attract more tourist by putting signs related to Twilight.   We even saw a sign that says "Twilight Firewood for sale"!  That was a bit funny, but people got to do what they got to do to sell firewood.

We thought Hurricane Ridge is open, so why not drive up in the mountain and see the magnificent view?  I thought the drive will never end, we were just going up and up and up.   The deers venturing along the road makes the drive a bit interesting.  And finally we were almost at the top, and for the first time in my life I feared of falling.   I felt this weird sensation at the pit of my stomach, that I want to get out of the car and just walk my way to the top.  I don't have any problem with heights ever, but here I don't even want to look outside my window!   The weirdest thing is that, I could not even see how high we are from the edge of the road, but I could totally feel it.  

Once we parked and settled down at the top I totally relaxed.   The view is amazing !   I was in total awe, it takes my breath away.

Surprisingly, the temperature is not that cold, we are not even wearing a jacket!   And of course when you see snow, you could not help yourself doing snow ball fight.   Here is Andi ready to charge !  

We did not stay too long, because there is nothing else to do.  The visitor center is close and we did not brought the kids sled.   Yes, they have a place where kids could do sledding!  They even have a variety of slopes from small to the biggest one.   It could have been fun!

Next stop, Lake Quinult.

Our Trip to Olympic Peninsula

Spring break is here and we decided to spend a couple of days exploring the Olympic Peninsula.   We left on a Monday morning; board a Ferry from Redmond to Kingston.   Good thing there was no long waiting time in the ferry.   We planned to be there for the 9:40 boarding time.  Boarding the ferry, you have to be there at least 20 minutes before departure.  We paid $27 for 2 adults and 1 youth, children under 5 is free.   You can buy your ticket in advance or check the ferry schedule at www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries.   Crossing time is approximately 30 minutes. 

From Kingston, we drove to Olympic Game Farm in Sequim.   At the gate we paid  $35 for entrance fee, again children under 5 is free.  We bought a loaf of bread for $2 to be used to feed the animals.   We were glad that we bought bread because that makes the experience unforgettable.   You drive around the farm in your vehicle, you are allowed to open your windows, but they have strict rules that everyone should stay inside their vehicles at all times.   While driving around the farm, you can see a lot of animals on the road, a lot of Peacocks, and other type of birds.   Lamas and Yak are swarming the road; sometimes you have to stop because you cannot pass through.   They approach your vehicle and nozzle on your window hoping to get some bread.  They love it when you feed them with wheat bread.   At first, it’s kind of freaky because you don’t know what they will do or can do, but once you tried it, they are fun!   This farm has good number of Timber Wolves.  Their African Lions both male and female are huge and looks well fed.   You can see Bunnies and other types of small animals in every corner.   They also have a lot of Kodiak Bears and Black Bears.  

The moment we entered another portion of the farm, we were ambush with a flock of American Bison!  I think these animals become used to people feeding them bread, that once they saw a car approaching they swarm the car hoping to get food.  It was kind of scary at the same time fun.  It was new and one of a kind experience to the kids and of course for us grown ups as well.

This is the picture of the car right in front of us!

When we paid the entrance fee, we felt like it was so steep, but after the drive around, we told ourselves, it was all worth it!

You can check their website for more info; Olympic Game Farm

I highly recommend this place for the whole family; it was a lot of fun!  

Next stop, Port Angeles and Forks !  Here we come Twilight :-)

Cherry Blossom @ University of Washington

Over the weekend, we went to University of Washington to check out the Cherry Blossom inside the campus and to check the University Belt.   Once we entered the campus we drove around to see the different buildings and other facilities.   It was huge, and I love the architecture, landscape and open concept design of the buildings.  The Cherry trees are planted around the middle ground.   The place was packed with people visiting and I guess students who were just hanging out.  We went there on a Sunday, yet the place was packed.   The weather was really nice, I think that is why a lot of people wanted to enjoy the place before the rain wash it on the next few days.

The girls was just having fun :-)

This was taken in the huge open space in front of the University's library.

On the main entrance or rather the front yard of the University is a fountain, were people just sit and enjoyed the sun.   Walking around the campus or just sitting in the grass is very relaxing.   The place is beautiful, it make’s me want go back to college!

If you are visiting Seattle, this place is worth visiting.  It is near other beautiful places in Seattle like the Japanese Garden, Arboretum, Woodland Park Zoo, then you can drop by Space Needle, Pike Market, the first Starbucks and other famous places in down town Seattle.

The Good Daughter - Book Review

The Good Daughter is the first book of Jane Porter that I have ever read.   I love to read books in different genres, depending on my mood.  Jane Porter is the award- winning author of The Good Woman, Flirting with Forty and several other novels.

The Good Daughter is a story of a woman who is approaching forty and single.   She came from a good catholic family and a teacher in a catholic school.   They have an ideal family who live by their catholic values, support each other through thick and thin.  They are also like other families who have its ups and downs.  She is fraught with her mother’s advance cancer stage, a brother and sister in-law who just lost a baby, a sister who is trying to keep her marriage going and a twin sister who is in Africa and a black ship in the family.     To top it all, she has to deal with one of her students who was troubled and thinks that her life might be in danger.  She dealt with all these and the fact that she is turning Forty and no family of her own with no boyfriend, only a career and her love of teaching.

Then she met someone who is the least person who would fit and approved by her family.  This someone does not want commitment, relationship and most of all marriage.  

 The story of this book is very distinctive for me, because it depicts the life of an ordinary person who strives with her personal problems, and yet she was there to support, listen and help her family.  She has a big heart, opens her arms to everybody who needs her.   She is strong, compassionate, a good listener, a confidante, who always finds good in people.   And of course she loves to read!  

Beauty in simple things

Another amazing picture from Allan!  Can you imagine a simple thing as an eraser that we used and neglect everyday?   He was able to see beauty in this simple things.  

There are so many things in life that we tend to ignore and does not appreciate until time comes that we need them.   Then we look for them and appreciate their importance no matter how mundane it is.  

I think it is time to show the people around us how important they are to us, that we appreciate them, that we love them.   Value all the things that you have and be grateful that you have all those things no matter how small, no matter how insignificant they are.   Appreciate and be thankful !