New Treasures

If you've been following this blog since it originated, you've probably come to recognize a lot of our favorite places: the boardwalk, Whatcom Falls, Hovander Park, and maybe a few others. I'm happy to report that we've added some absolutely gorgeous new finds to that list. Check 'em out:

Teddy Bear Cove:

A couple of months ago, I worked a half day in the morning and had the afternoon free. We've only hiked one trail in the Chuckanut Mountains (see Fragrance Lake trail pics and blogs from last summer and from Carly's visit), but have heard rumors of a whole collection of trails to check out in that area (south side of B'ham). I hopped online and looked for a short trail I could take on with the girls before dinner time. Teddy Bear Cove sounded like a quickie, so the dogs and I piled in the Jeep (obviously, before it pooped out) and headed to the trail head.

After a twenty minute hike through the woods, we arrived at a tucked away section of coastline with stunning views. As we walked toward the water, True was the first to notice the abundance of tide pools and starfish. I hadn't checked a tide schedule; we simply lucked out. If you hit this spot at low tide, there are hundreds, seriously hundreds, of purple starfish. I didn't get many photos that day, as the camera battery died. The following weekend, however, I went back with Mike and the girls. Unfortunately, the tide schedule we used was incorrect, and we weren't able to see the tide pools.

The good news for all y'all is that we went there recently while Mike's family was here visiting. In the meantime, we charged our camera battery and got our hands on an accurate tide schedule. That blog should be posted shortly, and I'm sure we'll share some pics of the starfish. :)

Kayaking:

Before we ever moved out here, we knew we'd want to try our hand at kayaking. It took us a while to discover it, but Bellingham has a great place called the Community Boating Center. It's aim is to make kayaking and sailing affordable and available to everyone. Sounds good to me! They have free days once in a while, and, so far, we've taken advantage of two of them. They load up a bunch of tandem kayaks and take you out in the bay with an instructor/guide. Of course, Mike and I both fell in love with the sport and are now giddy over the idea of eventually owning enough equipment, gear, and know-how to truly call kayaking a shared hobby. We hope to take a wet-exit course soon to work on that know-how part.

Locust Beach:

Without a vehicle, our opportunities for adventure have drastically decreased. Fortunately, a couple of our friends, Rich and Dana, were kind enough to offer to not only take us out for some beach romping, but the dogs too. We packed four people and three dogs into their Jeep and drove over to Locust Beach. Rich and Dana had been telling us about it, and it sounded unreal. They kept talking about how you can literally walk a mile or more out into the bay at low tide. I thought they must be exaggerating. Turns out, they weren't.

We spent something like three hours out in the bay that day, walking and walking and walking. It was perfect. Rich and Dana also had a surprise in store for us: The Jungle Hut. Though I took a handful of pictures of said surprise, there's no way I can post them online. It wouldn't be fair for me to ruin the surprise for you, dear friends. So, if you want to see The Jungle Hut, which you do- trust me, you're going to have to experience it live. It's good stuff, and a photo just won't do.

So, yeah, some pretty awesome new finds, eh?

More to come...

-T.K.