Taking the Kayaks to Hood Canal

Well, for the long Memorial Day weekend, Andrew and I decided to take our new kayaks out for a longer spin. Hood Canal seemed to offer all we needed: close enough, good kayaking without being too subject to wild changes in weather and tides and our SUPER SECRET camping place. The key to camping in the Northwest is trying to camp without being surrounded by lots of people in generic campgrounds. Our SUPER SECRET spot had served us well last summer, but could we count on it for a holiday weekend? So with our stuff loaded into the beast of burden RAV 4 (above), we hit the road.

Well, luck was on our side and our SUPER SECRET spot was totally empty yet again. At first, we wondered if our SUPER SECRET spot was secret because it wasn't supposed to used for camping. Although this may be partially true, we believe that there is a technicality in place which gives us the go ahead. So pitch our tent we did. And we hit the open water for a nice afternoon paddle around Gamble Bay.


Above is my Banana Boat. I love it. Below is Andrew trying to surf with his Green Machine. Our second day of paddling was marred a bit by early morning rain showers. There is nothing worse than waking up to rain on your tent (see Long Beach camping entry). Luckily, we didn't have to waste too much time in the local coffee shop before rain became a sprinkle or less. So off to Quilcene and Dabob Bays we went. It was a perfect day for paddling, except for a profound lack of sunshine. The bad weather seemed to deter the less hardy souls from hitting the water, so we were basically all alone to watch the bald eagles, peer at the star fish and the sea lions. I, garbed only in a wet suit, limited by exposure to the water. Andrew, geared up in a dry suit, enjoyed some extracurricular time floating and frolicking in the water. However, his head and hands were not covered by anything and did take a hit with the cold water (about 50 degrees).


A good time was had by all. Further excursions are in the works. Stay tuned for details...

Camping on the Long Beach Pennisula

I am recently returned from a weekend trip to the Long Beach Pennisula. Camping, beach walking, fire building and seafood eating were the primary agenda. In attendance on the trip were: myself and Andrew, Andrew's friends Laura and Issac, Phil (with Abby the dog) and Phil's friend Natasha (with Achilles the dog).

Saturday was a great day for driving on the beach, throwing the football, walking through Long Beach and...of course...paying a visit to Jake the Alligator Man at Marsh's Free Museum. As the only one in our party with an intimate knowledge of the important sites of the greater Long Beach area, I felt compelled to steer my friends towards Jake. A trip to Long Beach is not complete without a stop at Marsh's Free Museum.

Saturday night was our "Meat Fest" ---oysters (raw at first, then cooked once we realized that it is easier to open them when cooked), crab, hamburger, veggie burgers and sausage. Plus veggies. It was a whole lot of food.

Unfortunately, our fun and frivolity did not carry over into Sunday morning due to the torrential rains that plastered our campsite. C'est la vie. Next time: yurts.

Pea Patch, the sequel

As many of you know, last year I got myself a Pea Patch, which is essentially a 7' x 30' strip of dirt that the city of Kirkland leases out on a yearly basis so condo dwellers like myself can have a piece of dirt to play in. Despite the ups and downs, I have decided to do it again, but this year I have the knowledge of my 1 year experience to guide me.

Last year I learned:
1) No matter how optimistic you are in May when you buy the little plants, you will never, ever be able to grow a hot weather plant like canteloupe in Seattle. There is a reason the ones you buy in the store are all from Texas or farther south.
2) Tomato plants, no matter how small to start, quickly grow and need support. It is best to anticipate this by providing a cage at the beginning rather than creating an elaborate network of bamboo stakes and twine.
3) Raccoons are bandits who will steal your corn. I know this now, but don't yet know what to do about it.

There have already been some improvements made this year with the creation of planter boxes to help with soil and water retention. The first crops of lettuce, carrots and bush beans have been planted. Also we have dedicated an entire box to strawberries and have planted those. Now we watch and wait....

My trip to Mexico with Andrew

Day 1: We meet cousin to Yellow #1

After an uneventful night on the Sleep Number bed (highly recommend it) at the Radisson LAX, we arrive in Los Cabos International Airport, Mexico. Task #1: Get bags. Task #2: Get rental car. After running the gauntlet of people trying to help you find transportation, we find the Alamo van and hop in. Our rental car turns out to be a not so distant cousin to Yellow #1, a Nissan Tsuru. After being instructed on the location of the spare tire and the appropriate notations about the bird poop pre-existing on the car, we climb in. Having such a beast of burden at our disposal was both frightening and relieving. Frightening because it made noises, had red lights that came on and off for no reason and generally didn’t inspire confidence. On the other hand, the overall value of the car was quite low and therefore, my overall liability was low too.

So off we drive to La Paz, our first stop, roughly 120km. To say that it was desolate out there doesn’t begin to describe how little there is actually living in southern Baja. It doesn’t rain and nothing grows, even the cactus look pathetic. It is hot and sunny. If your car breaks down, there is no shoulder to pull off on and you will likely find yourself in a bed of cactus hoping there is not a rattlesnake looking for your shade. I tried not to dwell on this.

So we arrive in La Paz and with minimal difficulty find our hotel, Posada Luna Sol. That night we had a great dinner at La Costa and then had a nice walk along the malecon (boardwalk). The seafood is good and the margaritas are strong. Not a bad start to the trip.

Day 2: Mixing with the locals
Deciding wisely not to book ourselves up with activities, we take a casual stroll for breakfast and then wander around with the locals, through neighborhood markets and stores. There was nothing really touristy about most of La Paz and it was nice to see a more authentic slice of Mexican life. That afternoon, we head to Playa Tecolote for more good grub and some beach time. Again, we are happy to find that we can count the number of gringos on the beach with one hand. Apparently, this is where the locals some to play at the beach. We had a great time watching people, walking the beach and cooling off in the water.

It should be noted that by this time we have discovered the downside to our hotel, which is actually very charming when removed from its environment. Our particular neighborhood has roosters and we were certainly within range of them every morning. We both tried earplugs which helped only a little, as roosters are one of the noisiest animals ever.

Day 3: Out to Sea

Up with the dawn (and the roosters) we are picked up and shuttled out to the boat that will be our transportation for the day. Andrew and I, plus 5 other gringos, have signed up for a day of fun on the water. First stop, Los Isolotes, for snorkeling with the sea lions. All I can say is that the water is so cold you have to wear wet suits and that swimming with sea lions takes some guts and practice. Andrew and I lasted about 20 minutes in the water. Then it was off to Las Candalerias for kayaking around a bay. That was much better. The kayaking was easy, but the scenery was beautiful. And, I was warm. On our way back to land, we were fortunate to encounter HUNDREDS of dolphins swimming together. It was great fun to watch them jump and swim with our boat. As if that weren’t enough, we also ran across a humpback whale inclined to do tricks for us---spouting and jumping. Both of these things made the whole trip worthwhile.

The evening was a little mellow, as I was down, likely picking up a local bug from Jorge’s calamari, which was lunch on the boat. Although dinner was not good for me, ice cream was and by bedtime things had settled down.

Day 4: Gringo Down

Well, unfortunately, the bug that I had the night before hit Andrew hard in the morning. He was down. The good and bad of this was that today was a travel day—off to Cabo. When we could keep our hotel room no longer, I piled our belongings and Andrew into the car and hit the road again. Andrew more or less survived to Todos Santos, a very cute, artsy town on the Pacific side of Baja. If you are ever in Todos Santos, I recommend a stop at the Caffe Todos Santos, but come hungry as the portions are GIGANTIC.

That afternoon, we made it into Cabo and Hotel Solmar, our home base for the next 3 days. It really was lovely, but I don’t think I will ever get used to hotels where the bellhop must take your bag. I pack light enough to carry it myself, thank you very much. That night Andrew was still in bad shape, so I got my first room service experience as we ordered fruit, oatmeal (for him) and French fries (for me).

Day 5: Gringo Still Down

Andrew would perk up for a bit in the morning and then crash hard in the afternoon. Lesson to be learned here: never leave the country without a bottle of Cipro in your bag. This was a pool day for me as a soaked up all the rays my sunscreened with SPF 30 body would take. Even after 5 days in Mexico, I was still being called "white girl" by Mexicans and Americans alike. In the evening, we walked into Cabo and took in the scene. It is definitely a happening American place to be. We ate seafood and I drank a very strong margarita for dinner. Andrew faded fast that evening.

Day 6: San Jose, Gringo Still Down

Well, Andrew, true to form, was a little better in the morning so we went into San Jose Los Cabos, which is substantially cuter than Cabo San Lucas. We shopped and ate ice cream. By the time we returned to the hotel, Andrew was down for good and looking very PATHETIC. It wasn’t pretty. With nothing to do to help him after stocking him up with 7-up, I went to the pool and watched the waves

Day 7: A long trip home

Andrew, still improved in the morning, and I headed for the airport to catch our noon flight home. It didn’t leave until about 3:30pm. That is an awfully long time in an airport. By the time we left, Andrew was sagging again and it was a long, pathetic, painful trip home. We had a good time, but we were very glad to be home.

There are a few lessons learned from this trip:
1) Bring drugs, high powered ones are better.
2) Lonely Planet guides will not steer you wrong for good food.
3) You can have too much sun, too many margaritas and too much spicy foods. It is good to be home.

To get Andrew's take on our adventures, you can check out his blog at: andrewwhitaker.blogspot.com

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