We spent some time walking around by the ferry and playing Frisbee in the waiting lot (after the cars loaded onto the ferry before us we had plenty of space to run around). Allison immediately found the dogs in the cars just in front of and behind us, and luckily, they were very friendly.
There's a nice beach and walking trail near the ferry. Allison tossed sand in her hair saying she was going underneath a sand waterfall.
On the ferry we were able to walk out on deck and see the scenery. They'd had the decks blocked off on our previous ferry from Clinton. The kids enjoyed seeing the ferry's wake and watching for other boats.
There were absolutely lovely views of Mt Baker and the surrounding San Juan islands
We were super hungry by the time we got to the island. Getting food and drink ended up proving challenging. Thanks to Covid there was no indoor dining, and most takeout was only open for dinner. Parking was also difficult to come by. Eventually we found a place, but Oscar forgot to get drinks and the lines were big, so I walked over to a nearby convenience store where there were very few chilled drinks that weren't alcoholic. Had I wanted chilled alcoholic drinks, though, there was an abundant supply for such a tiny food mart.
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| Once we were fed and watered we drove up to the top of Mount Constitution for some gorgeous views. There's a tower to a view from even a bit higher, but it was closed for Covid. |
From there we picked up some ice cream down by Cascade Lake then took a small hike to Cascade Falls. Here are the kids at Rustic Falls on our way down.
Tyler and I went up one side of the falls while Oscar and Allison took the other trying to figure out exactly how to get down to the base. Tyler liked this tree nook he found.
I picked up Tyler and basically tossed him over the stream so he could get over to the other side and pose for this picture with Oscar and Allison.
I hadn't intended to join them since I didn't want to get my shoes wet, but then I discovered this log bridge.
The kids liked tossing rocks into the waterfall
Not the most impressive waterfall, especially in the summer, but it made for a good adventure with the kids. The hike was short and it was fun for them to get that close to the falls without being in any sort of danger. The worst that could have happened is their shoes might have gotten wet.
Allison wanted to see the tree nook on our way out, and Tyler wanted to pose in it again.
I'd brought sand and water toys so the kids could go swimming in the lake, but they weren't up for it. We had briefly seen a playground on our drive to Mt Constitution, and even though we had no idea what sort of equipment would be there or if it would be open, the kids wanted to go back to it. There was a small playground, which they played on for a little bit, but then they just wanted to roll down the little hill Oscar and I had been sitting on.
Oscar's stiff imitation of Tyler rolling down the hill is hilarious!
After they were done rolling they made silly slow motion and time lapse videos of themselves and then watched them.
It was nearly 5pm at that point, so we gave in and let the kids have their tablets. Oscar and I drove up to north beach to see a little more scenery.
We also explored the island and found the YMCA Camp Orkilla
and found some orcas.
At that point we decided to get some dinner. We ordered pizza, but there was a 45 minute wait for it, so I decided to go for a walk. Oscar stayed with the kids in the car while they played on their Kindles until Tyler said he had to go to the bathroom "right now!" Thankfully I'd just used some public bathrooms on my walk and could tell them where to go. They were close to this crane statue, which both Oscar and I took a picture of at completely separate times.
I also found this labyrinth walk at a local church
And found some scenic views of Indian Island
I passed this mermaid cutout on my way back to the family. After we ate I took Allison down to pose with it while the boys waited in line for ice cream. She's all about mermaids these days.
Mmm! Ice cream!
From there we drove down to get in line for the ferry. Had the ferry been on time we would have still arrived home after midnight. But the ferry was running tremendously late. I hopped into bed at 2:56am. The man in the booth told us it was running about 90 minutes late, but it ended up being closer to two hours. We had the kids put away their Kindles, took them to the bathroom at the terminal, then wrapped them up in blankets and told them to go to sleep at 9:45pm. Oscar was able to get about an hour of sleep before boarding, but I couldn't sleep. I rarely sleep outside of my comfort zone, like on an airplane or in a car, and I couldn't sleep at all with all the anxiety wondering when our ferry would finally arrive.
Allison slept alright, only rousing briefly when the car finally moved to board, but she fell back to sleep almost instantly. Tyler, however woke up distressed just after we had boarded the ferry around 12:30am. I ran back to comfort him and offered to hold him in the front seat with me. He fell back asleep in my arms within about 10 minutes. I cuddled him for the entire ride. It was equal parts lovely and uncomfortable 😂 (lovely because I got to cradle my baby boy for the first time in years and uncomfortable because he's much bigger than he was as a baby).
Once we got to Anacortes we put Tyler back in his booster seat (which he had no trouble transitioning into), and I got about 30 minutes of sleep on the drive home. It was 2:56am by the time we got into bed at home, and Allison, who'd slept better than the rest of us, woke me up at 7:45am.
Stacy what a fabulous day you and Oscar had with the children and the pictures were fabulous. I love the fact that you were all able to go hiking and the waterfalls were awesome so the kids could play in the water. What a wonderful adventure. Love you sweet daughter
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