An Afternoon in Poulsbo

July 22nd, 2020   

Wednesday. I'm thinking Jacob must have requested the day off or else we wouldn't have had made a trip to Poulsbo in the middle of the week. And to that I say, awesome! because I love spontaneity. It sure kills monotony.

An unhurried morning (the way I strive to always live; a life without haste).  We had bbq, brisket, somewhere in Tacoma. I don't remember much about it only that the fries were tasty. However, I am grateful for the opportunity to enjoy a meal out.

I love that sky! and in mid-July ... ah! just perfect weather.

Made it to Sluys Bakery in Poulsbo. It's a cute little Norwegian town, also referred to as "Little Norway".

I'm sure I've talked about this place before in previous posts. Of course, they also sell donuts and a very delicious pull apart bread that I failed to take a picture of. Whenever we're here we always have the hardest time picking out which desserts to get. 

There are coffee shops, ice cream shops, and a candy store. Plenty of delicious treats to choose from. Even though we got pastries Jacob and Riley also got ice cream. I was in the mood for coffee which I had half a donut with.

Afterwards we walked over to the marina which is just behind the shops and enjoyed the view. There's just something about the sight of water that attracts me, pulls me to it. 

Wouldn't it be nice to live in one of those houses across the water? I hope they know how blessed they are to live there. I would love to wake up to this view.

If you continue driving past Poulsbo you will drive into Bainbridge Island. From there you can get the ferry to Seattle.

There was still time for the ferry to arrive, so we went trail walking. I sure love to walk and living in WA makes walking such a pleasant experience especially if cloudy weather doesn't bother you. 

Here we are at another marina. 

Besides my love for cloudy weather picture taking, I also love to take pictures of flowers.

All flowers (even weeds) are so pretty. They do paint the world so beautifully. If only their blooms lasted longer than just a couple of weeks. Too bad they fade/die so quickly. Thankful God made them though. 

And now we wait for the ferry. Good thing I had a book with me. This was a cozy read. I enjoyed it!

Ferry rides are the best. 

I like to walk about among

the beautiful things found in nature.

The people who seem to be the most content live in the present and take their pleasure seriously.

On a Day Drive to the Kitsap Area

 April 18, 2020

Waking up to rain is the best way to help me get started especially on a Saturday. Sometimes it is hard to get out of bed, because I like to just lay in bed while I listen to the rain falling on top of the house. But, I couldn't linger in bed too long because we had plans to spend the day out in the Kitsap area. 

The Narrows Bridge is a cool sight to see. Some people have spotted Orca's in this area but we never did. Kinda bummed about it. 

We got Red Robin take-out in Silverdale and ate it in the car. 

After we ate our burgers, we drove to Poulsbo and stopped by Sluy's Bakery. They have a great selection of pastries. This bakery gets so busy. Most weekends the line gets quite long. One has to sometimes wait outside in line. 

I would usually get a raised glazed donut, a coconut crunch stick and sometimes an apple walnut cinnamon roll with cream cheese. I once got a pull apart. It is raised donut dough cut and rolled in cinnamon sugar then baked in a pan and glazed. Oh boy, it is SO darn delicious!

We got our donuts then walked over to the marina. It's such a pretty view, isn't it? I love the smell too. Whenever we spend time out by the water, I make sure to take it all in ... because life is fleeting. I want to remember this beautiful scenery for ever. 

There's pretty flowers all around. Flowers add so much beauty to a place, don't they?

Riley is always climbing on things. 

After we spent some time in Poulsbo we then drove to Port Gamble which really isn't that far. It was only a 17 minute drive. Port Gamble is an unincorporated community on the northwestern shore of the Kitsap Peninsula. These small towns are so peaceful and charming. 

Well, it was bound to happen. Riley climbed this tree and kind of got stuck so he jumped off from an awkward place and he ended up hurting his left arm. I guess that's the risk one takes when you climb things, you will eventually get hurt. Live and learn I guess.   

He was fine. He just got a few scrapes and a small bruise. 

Saw this cute wedding chapel, St. Paul's Church.

We drove back down to Bainbridge Island where we took the ferry into Seattle. The Puget Sound is truly a unique and gorgeous area. 

It was a pleasant chilly day. I love being out in this type of weather. Of course, I dress appropriately for this weather. That being said, I truly enjoy feeling the cold wind on my face. It is very stimulating. After being outdoors on a cold day, going back home is extra nice because I can get into something cozy and enjoy a good movie. I appreciate my home more when I've spent time outdoors.

Don't leave your good times to chance ...

plan out your weekend to get the most out of life.

Beginning of Summer - June 2019

 Slowly dimming days

The month of June is a very pleasant one. The days are still chilly and there's constant rain. We also get to enjoy more of each day since daylight lasts longer. One of the greatest things about WA are its parks. So many pine trees, ferns, ponds, lakes and the Puget Sound. It's rare where one can't find beautiful scenery at a park/trails. Because of the cloudy skies and how much rain we get here ferns and moss grow in such great abundance. I love it. I think moss looks cool but apparently I'm told that moss is a nuisance when it grows in your lawn. I like it because it makes things look aged and to me that's cozy sometimes. 

Here we are at Marymoor Park in Sammamish. 

I often look up parks/trails and choose the ones that have wooden walkways, bridges and lots of shade. To me, it makes the experience more fun. 

We also came upon a tall tree where a colony of  Great Blue Herons use for roosting and nesting. It was quite a sight and boy are they loud. I did take a few pictures of it but given that the tree was very tall I couldn't get a picture of this large awesome bird. That was a first for us ... it was pretty neat.

A favorite .... A ferry ride.

Whenever we plan a trip to Bremerton we usually stop at Poulsbo to get pastries at Sluy's bakery then we drive 28 minutes to Bremerton then board the ferry to Seattle.  

You know what we like to do to break out of the monotony? We will drive quite a distance to eat at a restaurant that we also have about ten minutes from our home. We do this so we can enjoy a nice drive out and still know that the food we're going to eat is good. It just makes things fun. This is something we enjoy doing. There are times though when we're out and eat somewhere completely new but half the time these places are hit and miss when it comes to quality food.

I love the Puget Sound, it's gorgeous! This is another best thing WA has to offer ...  also their restaurants. This is how I would categorize what's nice about living in WA:

the cloudy rainy (mild summer) weather, 

parks/trails, 

Puget Sound/Lakes, 

and restaurants. But this is where the best (or good) things about WA end. 

We sometimes hang out inside the ferry but when we get a good spot, like if we are one of the last ones to drive onto the ferry or if we are directed to the side of the ferry then we like to hang out in the car and admire the Puget Sound up close. In this case we were the last car in our lane so we opened the lift gate and sat in the back of my Tahoe.

The beauty of the environment God designed for us to live in has the power to move us to tears and give us a sense of joy and appreciation of life. 

God created the world for us to enjoy.

Fort Casey State Park

March 2019

Waking up early is such a chore for me. Anytime before 8:00 am is too early for me so it takes me a while to finally get out of bed. Well, I finally did, got ready and started our day. We drove North to Whidbey Island. Waited in line to pay and waited in line for the ferry, good thing I brought a book to read.

January 2019 I began reading Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson and it took me just under three months to finish it. I really enjoyed the book and definitely got my interests up in reading more of our American history. There's so many things to be proud of as an American and we also have to continue to grow and learn from past mistakes.
Reading this book also increased my vocabulary. There's a lot of words in this book that I hadn't heard before. I had to look them up so I could understand the sentence I was reading. This is why it took me so long to finish this book and not really because it's 586 pages long.

The beauty of the Puget Sound never seizes to amaze me ... every single time!

We have yet to see an orca pod swim by and we're constantly out by the Puget throughout the year. Maybe one day we'll get lucky.

Still pretty chilly in March. It's always windy when you're on the ferry.

We like to visit military forts. We like reading and learning about the history of each one and exposing Riley to our country's history is very important to us and should be to every proud American.

Beautiful views.

Fort Casey, Fort Worden and Fort Flagler together were known as the "Triangle of Fire," a trio of strategically placed fortifications defending the entrance to the Puget Sound at the turn of the 20th Century. 
Constructed in the late 1800s, Fort Casey was equipped for defense and used as a training facility up to the mid-1940s. The fort houses a pair of rare 10-inch disappearing guns. While the guns were the height of technology in the early 1900s, improvements in warships and the advent of airplanes soon rendered them obsolete. Two additional 3-inch mounted guns are also on display in their original emplacements. You can explore these batteries to your heart’s content.

Riley is always asking his dad to play some kind of game. What better game to play than tag when there's large grassy areas.

As we were walking towards the lighthouse we came across three deer grazing. So cute!

Pretty

The store in the lighthouse had this kitty tapestry which I thought was precious and relatable to how I choose to tackle my household chores. I never tackle more than two chores a day. This way I have something to do each day.

                    Every good and perfect moment is a gift to you from God.