After 5 years...they came back...and we toured again

Kelly and Candice flew into SEATAC on Thursday afternoon. We drove back to Ferndale and from that time on, we had such a great time. We caught up on friends we haven't seen. But our relationship just continues to grow. We ate fresh blueberries, blackberries, and peaches. We sampled the NW Dungeness crab. We saw sights. We laughed, we cried. We prayed. We had a great time and I wanted to celebrate some of the highlights of their trip...there really were so many pictures and memories made...can't wait until they are able to come back. Here goes:

Friday....

Friday Steve had the day off and we headed to Anacortes to take the ferry for our day long feels like it is 3 week vacation. It seems like whenever we need to have a break that feels longer...we head to San Juan Island. The ferry ride itself is worth the ride...then, we hit island time. Things slow down.

This is Roche Harbor...one of the harbors on the island that happens to have our favorite soup...clam bisque!!!!

A trip for Candice out here would be a loss if she couldn't pick blackberries from the "weeds" that grow everywhere out here....

Meet Mona, the shy camel who didn't want her picture taken...we found her on San Juan Island...we hadn't ever seen her before...

This one is coming into Friday Harbor....RELAXATION...began at that time!!!

I love when God gives us reminders of His care for us. In the same statue garden we found this statue...In His hands. He keeps this world in His hands which should be a reminder to us when the world seems like it is in complete upheaval with tornadoes, flooding, earthquakes, and all of the other disasters that frequent our news...wars and rumors of wars...He is in control!!!

Another view of the harbor...

This is the general store that is right across from the restaurant where we ate...

This is the boat that I have to say is our favorite picture...not the prettiest...but one of the most fun pictures...







Okay when they see this one on my blog, they may never come back which is NOT my intention. This is one of my favorites. We were wandering through a statue garden and found the visor family of statues. Since they won't use this one for their Christmas card, it has to be used....delete....um....nope!!!!

Saturday

On Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market in Bellingham. It is a cacophony of sound and smells. Flowers and fruit, purses and peppers, singers and wanna-be singers, the Hurdey Gurdey man on his hurdey gurdey...it was a fun day...

These were too pretty NOT to take a picture of them....

Later that night we went to the Bellingham Bay Harbor Cruise with all the crab you could eat!!!

Sunday

On Sunday, after church, we went to Bellingham Bay by Boulevard Park. It was low tide and we knew we would find all sorts of treasures awaiting us....

We found these guys just hanging onto the rocks until the water came back in...

Purple starfish...when we moved out here, I had never seen a live starfish. I was surprised that the first one I saw was orange. Thinking that this was their "normal" color, I was doubly surprised when we found purple and red...another gift from our Father. He has no desire to have us look at what He has created and say...oh another one of those. He delights in our delight of His creation...and on Sunday...we delighted.

We were not miles away. Steve picked this one up for a photo op...they are dry and rough...not at all slimy...

Clustered together, red and purple...

We turned over rocks and saw little crabs...lots of them. They were pretty hard to catch with the camera...

(Okay, this one posed because Kelly found him...on his back...um...not really breathing)

The rock formations that are by the ocean are amazing to me. As I look at His creation, I do have to say, I stand in awe so many times.

When we came to the bay, I wanted you to see what you would see if you weren't looking. God has special surprises for each day of our lives but we need to be willing to stop and look for the gifts that He has for us on a daily basis!

We had breakfast at our house (crab cake Benedict...mmmmm) and headed for Mt. Baker. We couldn't go to artist point because the road was never opened this spring due to 35 feet of snow... but we didn't want to miss more of God's creation on Sunday afternoon...so off we went to the mountain...

I think that I have more pictures of moss (even more than otters...see Monday activities) than anything else! I love the moss that grows on the old growth forests. Okay, I do love the trees in all seasons. I was having some difficulty with all of the fall color that we saw...seems like our summer has gone so fast...

The color came out along the babbling brook. We stopped at the camp ground on our way up to the peak. The red was so pretty against the blue back drop of the creek...

Another one of my fascinations out here are the waterfalls. The power always stops me and I can stand and look at them forever and wonder at the power of our God. This summer so many places have seen the power of God's hand in nature; for many it has not been an easy thing to see and experience with the floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and all of the disasters that people are facing.

This is Mt. Shuksan which is the backdrop for Picture Lake. This lake has the most awesome reflection of the surroundings. As believers, we need to be a reflection of His love to the world around us. He is powerful and awesome and He is our God!

Picture Lake. I know that you will see more than this picture in later blogs. Love it...

MONDAY

On Monday Steve had to work so Candice, Kelly and I went to the Vancouver Aquarium...amazing sights. This jelly fish and his friends put on quite a show. In looking at the various kinds of ... Jelly fish, fish, animals, and plant life...we were reminded of the uniqueness of God and His amazing creation.

I had explained on the way UP to the aquarium that my FAVORITE animal is the sea otter. I love watching them, love taking pictures, and just love standing by their inhabitant. SO?????? Why did I get grief from Candice and Kelly when they realized that I had taken 44 pictures of the little guy...one can only realize that they like to pick on me!!!!

Hannah was also fun to watch. She was throwing something up in the air and catching it...for quite a while...I have lots of pictures of her too...just not 44! I finally asked a zoo worker what was going on...Hannah likes to play with her food. She will throw it up for quite a while before she eats it. You see in the animal kingdom, even the dolphins like to play with their food. Think of this the next time you hear yourself say...don't play with your food. Maybe that is just the way God meant it to be!

Balooga whales were pretty amazing too. Not as many pictures but so much fun.

The highlight of the aquarium? The 4D movie that we experienced. 3D with water squirting us, snakes poking us in the back (ask Candice about this one), and chairs vibrating as a group of crabs went running across the screen!

Tuesday and the day the Gartners returned home....

Tuesday...The Gartners left...we had a great time but we had a couple more stops before they said good bye and went home to see their little monkeys whom they missed so much! We went to the Space Needle and went to the top. If you look closely...you can see it was pretty foggy but the view was still pretty amazing!!

What a blessing God has given us when family and friends come to see us. We loved reconnecting with them and had a blast!!!! We look forward to the next time they come. They already see other places where they would be able to spend more time....and by then...we will discover new places to take them. Love the friendships that God has given us.