From Bellingham WA to Victoria BC in one amazing day!

Keep sharp - there's a surprise treat at the end...

One must always begin a cruise at the essential starting point. We began our day at the Fairhaven Terminal in Bellingham at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday 9/27/09. Thank you to my darling cousin, Darleen, who encouraged us to go on a wonderful mini-vacation to Victoria BC.

Our trip was with San Juan Cruises.We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In fact, we preferred it to the faster trip on a clipper from Seattle because it was less crowded and included a delicious dinner.

The day was absolutely stunning. Not a cloud in the sky! The water sparkled all day long. Oh, what a beautiful place to live! We appreciate the many wonders of this area.

My sister, Britt, would love the people in Victoria because they offer to take your picture without you having to ask! I was taking Warren's and a lovely lady stepped right up to take ours. This street is next to the terminal and there's a quaint B&B behind us.

Later, another gentleman offered to take our picture. He cracked me up because he was a Canadian wearing a Canuck t-shirt and was drinking a Canada Dry soda. I mean, how much more Canadian could he be? This mosaic orca was the best we thought we'd see...but, wait for it...

The captain of our boat recommended this restaurant on the waterfront. So, we decided to take his advice - good for us! It was delicious, the people watching opportunities never ended, and the marina was gorgeous! Only one problem......our view was slightly obscured by the trash cans!

We visited the Maritime Museum and I even climbed up into the crow's nest. Unfortunately, Warren was on the ground floor and I was afraid I'd bean him if the camera was tossed his direction.

After a fun day exploring Victoria, including a trip into a shop selling 66 varieties of Gelato, it was time to come back to the boat. We had to go through customs, but as mentioned before, we sure preferred this company. We waltzed past the crowds returning to Seattle. The boat even left 15 minutes early, which as it turned out, was fortunate for us!

Warren & I were waiting for dinner. Before our table was called to go fill up at the buffet, the captain announced that he thought the J-Pod orcas were ahead of us.

It's hard to see the dorsal fin, but if you look toward the land, slightly right of midline, it is there! We were so excited!!!!

You can now see the obvious. We were in their midst for the better part of 20 minutes. It was so incredible!

I took this and the next picture from my table inside the boat. That's how close the orcas were.

Wow! Words cannot describe...

And finally, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset. How much better could a day be?

Wet & Wild on the Tieton

One week & a day ago, the day before Labor Day, eight intrepid souls set out to conquer the rapids of the mighty Tieton. Devon, Warren, Arianna, Tim, Britt, Laura, David, & Eric stepped out of their car and were deluged by the crazy rainstorm overhead. Marianne & Mark served as documentarians, capturing the wild adventure on film.

After slipping into our really cold wetsuits - slipping? No! After struggling into our superbly cold wetsuits. it was time to put on our raincoats!

Next came the safety gear - helmets & life vests. Britt tried to make hers fashionable by tucking the head pillow underneath, but it just made her look like she had a hunchback.

Doesn't she look excited??

After the safety lecture, we hefted the raft into the river and set off with our guide. They had reluctantly agreed to let all 8 of us ride on one raft, which actually made us very fast! It was really fun to be in this adventure together. A raft load of Cougs with a Huskie guide...hmmm. He was a good sport and only ran us into 3 trees & a big wall.

We had a lot of fun trying to spot our paparazzi. They had actually been shooting photos of another boatload of smiling waving people & later found out we were in #9. After that, they kept up with us.

Because we were such a heavy raft, we starting bumping into other rafts. We then decided we needed to win the race - not that any of the other rafters knew they were even in a race! We would have won except we had to stop along the way for someone who drank an entire Sprite beforehand, if you know what I mean!

We came to the end of the rafting trip and then began another freezing adventure: the bus trip back to the loading area. BRRRRRR! Everyone was shivering - even Tim & Eric, who never get cold!!

The final challenge: getting the d**n wetsuit off. Oh...my...word...Talk about crazy difficult! We decided to pass up the steak dinner under the trees for a warmer option - The Olive Garden. After a leisurely dinner, Britt, Mark, & David headed home. The rest of us stayed at the Oxford Suites. The older of us went to bed exhausted - immediately. The younger amongst us spent some time in the hot tub before winding down. The next morning, we had breakfast together and then headed off to our respective homelands: Laura & Eric to Pullman; Ari, Tim, & Mom to Renton to get her car; Warren & Devon to Arlington. This trip was great fun for our family! Next year we hope to raft the Wenatchee, the White Salmon (it has a waterfall!), and the Tieton again.

We're #9!! Go Cougs!

So - we attended the Apple Cup.  As many of you know, I am the one & only member of the "Last 5 Minutes Sports Club", wherein one never bothers to watch anything but the last 5 minutes and any subsequent overtimes.  Well, once again, it proved to be the only way to really enjoy a game. The last 5 + double overtimes of this Apple Cup were nail biters for sure!!  We were pleased to be on the winning side and hope it bodes for a better season next year.

Butch's new statue was unveiled on Saturday.  It stands on the site of the old cougar cage, where the last real live Butch lived until his death in 1978.

 

The new CUB is really beautiful!  It's so nice to have the Bookie & CUB in one place.