Relaxing on vacation is not ‘Merican

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Yesterday was quite an adventurous day. Wifey decided to take the day off and relax. She claims that relaxing is part of being on vacation. I claim that is Bravo Sierra. I can relax at work if I need, like the rest of ‘Merica. So I had the entire morning and afternoon to run amuck on my own. I decided to go for the big hike here, to the peak of Mt Constitution. We had already been to the peak to enjoy the view, but that was by way of car, via 6 miles of switchback mountain roads. I made it up and down safely using the loop. I stopped for pictures all along the way and met some great people during the day. At the end, including a few side trips, it was about 9 miles.
Little Summit:20140710-084901-31741485.jpgThe first couple miles were almost straight uphill, using an old path created for telephone poles/line back when you used to have to crank it. After that it was gradually uphill, and the downhill was quite steep.
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Safely down and packed up I headed back for dinner. After dinner we decided to head BACK to the park for an after dinner stroll. the sun stays out until at least 10pm, and is back up around 5am. So we went and did a stroll around Cascade Lake. I fell into the water trying to show off, that made Wifey laugh. Making her laugh is most of what I live for, so it was more than worth the wet foot, sock, shoe, leg, and pants. Chalk up another 4.5 miles for the day by the time I got to bed. Wonder what today has in store for me? Hopefully whatever it is, it starts with french toast.
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Transition Day on Orcas Island

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Today was the morning we had to get out of our home on the cliff. We could not get into our next place until 4ish, so we were homeless for a while. We did what any good homeless couple would do, got in our rental car, drove to the State Park, and wandered around in the woods. That’s right, not much indoor stuff to do here, except sleep. It appears that half of the population here also sleeps outside too, but I can’t quite get wifey onboard with that. We said goodbye to all the critters that lived in the bushes and trees, then made our way back to Moran State Park early this morning. We decided to do one of the medium length hiking loops, around Mountain Lake. It was recommended to us by a pack of lesbians the other day, so we thought that hike HAD to be good. We hiked around the gorgeous lake, took some pics, climbed some trees, and chatted like a couple on a first date…basically making fun off our loser friends back home. Most of my favorite activities.
After the hike we made our way back into town for some lunch. After lunch we ran into a lady from Vancouver with a Bernese Mountain Dog. It almost made me miss home. Hi Charlie, if you are reading this.

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Whale Watching is not Pointing out fat chicks

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Another amazing day in the outdoor wonderland of Orcas Island. Today was mainly whale watching day. Normally that is when me and my mean friends point and laugh at fat chicks. We departed on a boat docked about 100 yards from our door, very convenient. This is out current home from the water. 20140707-221042-79842943.jpgWe went out with Captain Dick and saw Orca whales, seals, sea lions, and lots of bald eagles. It was glorious. We apparently saw what is possibly the oldest whale in the world. They call her Granny and she is 103 years young. She still gets around like a whale half her age. After that we had a delicious dinner of fresh fish and then drove to the state park on the island, Moran State Park. We were scoping out activities for later this week. Estimating drive time, etc… the sun does not go down until 10pm, so we had time to spare. We ended up staying in the park meandering around until sundown. We drove to the peak, Mt Constitution, spectacular, and then on the drive back down stopped for a quick hike out to some waterfalls. This is from the peak, I hope to hike to this later in the week. 20140707-221420-80060877.jpgThen it was home and rest. Tomorrow we have to pack up and leave this little home on the water. We are spending the next few nights in another location. It is only a couple miles away, but that is our punishment for waiting too long to book somewhere to stay.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood

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It was a busy day. Now I am typing on a phone. This sucks, I remember why I don’t use these often. Today was great. First full day on the island. It has the best of everything outdoors. This morning we went on on a several mile hike to the peak of turtleback mountain. Beautiful 360 degree views. Obviously we found some geocaches along the way. After that we went kayaking to a cove that is only accessible by “human powered watercraft”. Essentially canoe or kayak. It was amazingly gorgeous and serene. Only regret is not having a camera, but it felt unsafe. In hindsight I should have brought it in a dry bag. I would have hated to loose the equivalent of a compact car in a sea-mishap. We might go back there.
Sushi for dinner and now hammock in the breeze. I got a free sushi roll because a coked out surfer loved my current response to “how you doing?” The truth is that it doesn’t get any better than being me.
We also realized today that the current topic of conversation for young couples meeting each other is morphing. No longer is it “where did you meet”, “where you from”, “where did you go to school”…It is now “what site did you meet on?” match.com seems to be winning, yuk.

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Slacktivism at it’s finest

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I had plans to go for a nice hike on Sunday with my pals Josh and Cinnamon (still not a peeler). The general consensus was that Charlie the Dog should come, after all it was 2014-06-22-Free-Charlie-Sunday-5hiking, climbing mountains, not going to be too hot, maybe we should bring him. Wifey had put her foot down that Charlie’s season was over. I could not do much to argue that fact…but decided to argue anyway. We were going to be in the woods, in the shade, he could get in the water anytime he wanted, the weather was going to be cool for the end of June. I had excuse after excuse, but I don’t think Wifey was budging, justifiably so. The most amazing thing happened, the Internet became aware of the situation and people from all around the globe 2014-06-22-Free-Charlie-Sunday-2united in support of Charlie the Dog. It was amazing, the response was overwhelming. So much so that Wifey had to buckle under the pressure of all the eyes around the world tuned in to her decision. She both has all my respect for allowing Charlie out to play, and none of my respect for crumbling like a stale cracker (meant in both the snack treat and racist way).

It goes without saying that we had a great time, found a handful of geocaches, laughed, did some shirtless wrestling and tackling, and almost died of dehydration. To sum up, another amazing day to be alive and be me. HERE are a few pictures from the hiking trip and the Slacktivism campaign that took over the world this weekend.

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