The most wonderful aunts of all!

Sunset ferry from Orcas Island back to Anacortes

Life is not measured by the breaths we take,

but by the moments and places that take our breath away.

Our great aunts Rita and Colleen, hereinafter referred to not as just great but wonderful aunts, visited the great Pacific Northwest (PNW) last week. We showed them around the Emerald City - Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, Pike Place Market, Fremont Troll, Theo's Chocolate factory, Ballard farmer's market and Hiram Chittenden Locks, and Green Lake park - and then we went to one of our favorite PNW getaways, Orcas Island.

family pic at the Pike Place Market

Orcas Island is a gem. We stayed at the Lieber Haven (faithful dwelling) resort, four little cottages along Obstruction bay and home of Kittie and Dave Baxter. Dave is an animated guy who left home when he was a young boy and became an apprentice in a shipyard in California. He never learned to read but learned how to work with his hands and build things. He's built many wooden boats, including the Lieber Schwan (faithful swan), a beautiful schooner that he lived on for 22 years before settling down on Orcas Island, and continues to fix up an old tug boat and old cars on the island. He showed Seth and Rita a few of his old cars, including a '65 Ford Mustang, a 1913 wooden Model T, a Model A, and an indy racer from 1914! I think we may have to clear out some garage space as Seth was pretty excited about the hotrod mustang. I told him he has to clean up the work bench first...
Theo enjoyed throwing rocks (surprise, surprise) and I enjoyed long walks along the beach with Mommy searching for seaglass.

Petting the goats at the farmer's market

We spent Saturday wandering around the island, checking out the pet parade and the local farmer's market. This island is full of nature-loving, laid back artist types and retirees and the farmer's market was a wonderful place to see this in action (and a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the over-commercialized Pike Place Market). They had animals for the kids to pet, including goats, sheep, miniature ponies and rabbits, local farmers selling vegetables, as well as local artisans selling knits, seaglass jewelry and pottery. We had a picnic lunch at Orcas Island Pottery where there were dozens of picnic tables that weren't for eating but were covered with beautiful bowls, platters, plates and so much more! We put out our blanket and enjoyed the view on the 100-foot bluff overlooking President's Channel. Theo LOVED the 3 story tree house with bunk beds and swings!

Rosario mansion

On Sunday, we stopped by the Rosario resort, the old estate of former Seattle Mayor and shipbuilder, Robert Moran. The mansion was built in the early 1900s and overlooks the water with magnificent views. He owned 7,000 acres of land on Orcas Island and due to his love of nature and early influences from preservationist John Muir and President Roosevelt, he donated half of it to Washington State to become the first state park in 1911. He suffered from premature heart disease due to the stress of running his shipbuilding business and was told he only had a few years to live so he moved to Orcas Island at age 45 and to his (and his doctor's) surprise, he lived to be 86! He said, "Orcas island... a wonderful place in which to forget one's troubles and worries and get back to nature in her happiest moods. A delightful place in which to regain health - physical, mental and spiritual." I couldn't have said it better myself! We enjoyed visiting the museum inside the mansion, which features a 1900 Steinway grand piano, stained glass attributed to Tiffany and Co., a 2-story Aeolian pipe organ, and original furnishings and fixtures with old photographs from the early 1900s.

Rita, Colleen, Theo, Daddy, Mommy and me

Then, we headed back to the ferry dock where our Eclipse Whale Watching tour was scheduled to depart, only we discovered that our reservation was for Saturday and not Sunday. Oops! The wonderful family run operation was very accommodating and wonderful and able to squeeze all 6 of us on and were we glad they did because we saw a family of transient orca whales - 2 females, 2 calves and a large male. We also saw sea lions, seals and a few bald eagles.

Top of Mount Constitution

On our way home, we stopped by Eastsound so the ladies could do some retail therapy while they men threw rocks down by the beach. We ate at Hogstone, a farm-to-table, local, organic wood fire pizza place where we sat outside on picnic tables and enjoyed some local beverages. After dinner, the clouds disappeared and the sky was blue and so we decided to drive up to the top of Mount Constitution in Moran State Park. We climbed to the top of the lookout tower, built by the Civil Conservation Corps in the 1930s - one of FDR's greatest programs after the war. We had great views of the islands but the big mountains were hiding in the clouds.

On Monday, we hung out at the resort and did a short hike in Obstruction State Park down to a bay and saw a few starfish and sea anemones (and a raccoon!) We packed up and hurried to the ferry just in time for the sunset sail. We got home late but it was an adventure packed trip with the wonderful aunts! We had such a wonderful time - we hope they come visit us again soon.

The wonderful aunts also had a mini-adventure of their own and took the Edmond's ferry to Kingston on the Olympic Peninsula and drove along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Angeles. They explored the Olympic National Park and Dungeness Spit before returning to Seattle via the Bainbridge Island ferry and then catching the Amtrak train up to Vancouver, BC. They enjoyed the views along the Salish Sea and saw dozens of Bald Eagles and a famous seahawk (any NFL fans?). Unfortunately, they only had 24 hours in the cosmopolitan city before having to head back to Mount Vernon to meet up with us so we could spend our relaxing weekend on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands. They got a taste of the beautiful PNW and we hope they return.

Lots of photos from the week:

Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum