Something Old, Something New

This past weekend one of my very best friends, Lani, and her husband, Aaron, came to visit me!  It took me almost the whole first day they were here to realize part of my California world was in my Washington world.  I was so happy to see them, and have an "excuse" to go exploring!

Shining sun & a yummy breakfast!

On Friday Lani, Aaron, Megan and I headed out to the west end of the peninsula.  I had seen signs a few weeks ago for Cape Flattery, the "most Northwestern point of the continental United States."  I'd also heard some great things about that area.  After making a delicious and filling breakfast of Chocolate Chip Pancakes we packed a picnic basket of snacks and piled into my car.

Surfer Beach, Beach Babes

We decided that on the way to Cape Flattery we would stop wherever looked interesting.  The first place we stopped at was an unmarked beach that had some amazing views and seemed to be a popular surf spot.  There were about 10 surfers in the short waves; usually I am envious of surfers being out on the water, but not that day!  The water seemed too cold, and some surfers even had wet suit head coverings!  Brrrrrrr!  After collecting some driftwood, rocks, shells, and pictures we climbed back into the car and continued west.

The Ascent

As we drove along Highway 112 we kept seeing places where one or two cars could fit, parked just off the side of the road.  I announced to the car that the next one we came to I was going to pull over so we could check out more of the coast line.  I couldn't have made this announcement at a better time because the next pull-out was an amazing little spot!  There were tide pools where we spotted some hermit crabs and there were also two sets of large rocks that were calling our names to go climb them.  Megan made it up first and coached me up behind her.  From the top of the rocks we had an uninterrupted view of the floating objects we pretended were otters, the strait across to Vancouver Island, and two container ships cruising by. After Megan was done pretending she was Ariel singing "Part of Your World" (the waves crashing on the rocks beckoned the song, really...) we climbed down, avoided the incoming tide that was surrounding the rocks we had used to climb up, and headed over the to "cave" Lani had found.  After a little bit more water-evading we were surrounded by boulders, but could see through some small openings to the waves.  Magical.

After a few hours of driving, laughing, chatting, and snacking we made it to Cape Flattery.  When we got to the parking lot for the trail we looked around for some clue as to how long the hike down and back was going to be.  None of the signs said anything.  Ever fearless and friendly Lani asked a guy in the parking lot who told us it was 3/4 of a mile down there, parts of the trail were really muddy, and it was a steep climb coming back up.  Well, we were already there, so why not make the last bit of the trek?  I am so glad we did!  First of all, the trail was a little bit muddy, but not the kind that tries to suck off your shoes or anything.  Second of all, at least half of the trail was boardwalk or had wooden stepping stones.  There were lookout points along the way that provided some amazing views.  The vegetation reminded me of a mix between the coastline in California near Monterey and the parts of Alaska that I saw.  There were caves the water crashed into.  I wondered what those caves will look like, or how big they'll be, in 100 or 1000 years from now.  The sun was already starting to set and if the clouds had parted a little more it would have created quite the show.  Aaron was nice enough to drive home.  After a taco and cake dinner we all hit the hay pretty early to get ready for another day of exploration.

Saturday Lani, Aaron, and I left in the opposite direction on the peninsula out to Port Townsend.  That day we just relaxed, ate a delicious lunch, window shopped, and had coffee at a cozy place that serves fair trade coffee and offers raw milk for their drinks.  After walking around a little bit more we went home and Lani and I got ready to go out and dance to Deadwood Revival, the bluegrass band I saw on Halloween.  Lani, Megan, some more AmeriCorps girls, and I danced and had a great time.  Sunday morning brought the departure of Lani and Aaron.  I so enjoyed their visit and getting to spend some time with these long time friends.


Today there was no school so I got to sleep in and relax a bit.  I went to the Tribal Center with Megan to sort out some of the materials we have and to try and figure out how to best utilize our time and tangible resources so the kids get the most out of both.  Tomorrow brings a time to test out our talk.  The wind and rain are blowing hard outside tonight, but I am cozy inside listening to the soundtrack of my house (Alexi Murdoch from the "Away We Go" soundtrack) and Megan's infectious laughter.  Yep, life is still really, really great.