7-9, Whidbey Island

Whidbey Island was our first home together.  It's where we first lived in the same state (NY doesn't count because we weren't a couple back then), where we lived  after we got married, where we first rented a house together, where we first bought a house together and where our first child was born.   It holds for us a lot of memories going back even further than our time in Silverdale.  

Our next Puget Sound adventure was to do another whirlwind tour:  drive from Edmonds to Mount Vernon, through Anacortes, over Deception Pass, through the base at Oak Harbor, down the island via the first house we rented in Coupeville, the bank I used to work at in Freeland, a winery Sven's friend owns in Langley, the house we owned in Clinton, then the ferry to Mukilteo and drive back to Edmonds.  I think we're putting as many miles on the trucks (and our butts) in Puget Sound as we did to GET here!  

I don't see Nina.  Do you see Nina?  She needed a little vitamin D to recover from whatever ails her in order to join us on this day.  LOL.....

More sibling love.... rivalry?.....love?

Can't you just hear the Sound of Freedom?

Coupeville is the town where we first lived when we moved to Whidbey.  I remember the bad phone connection I had when talking to mom and telling her about our new town.  "POOPVILLE?!!?" she said......"No, not POOPville-- COUPEville!"  Well, that name stuck.  Welcome to Poopville.

It was too late in the day for lunch, so I settled for a picture of the sign for one of our favorite restaurants in town.

Driving down the beach to Admiral's Cove where our rental house was.

Moving to Whidbey in '98 was quite a shock for me.  Compare this view with mental images of New Orleans.  Complete and total culture shock--- in the best way possible.

So many neat things to collect on the beach.

How in the heck did Nik convince a complete stranger to let him borrow his fishing pole within 5 minutes of arriving at the beach?!  This kid has a magnetic force field with all things fishing related.

Our first rental house in Coupeville.  Isn't is cute?!

Greenbank Farms

The bank I used to work for in Freeland.  Can you believe after 14 years I was able to walk in and still know several of the ladies in there?  It was so great to see them again, introduce Emalie and catch up a little bit.  Of all the the jobs I had, I enjoyed this one the most.  

We got a personal wine tasting at the winery that Sven's friend owns in Langley.  Sven knows this friend through work in Denver.  Craziest story:  this guys LIVES on Whidbey Island and COMMUTES to Denver.  No joke.  He's on a first name basis with the crew at Alaska Airlines because he's on the plane every 4 days.  After seeing his set-up on Whidbey, I almost get it.  Simply beautiful.  If you ever find yourself out that way, go for a tasting at Comforts of Whidbey in Langley.  You'll be happy you did-- we were!  (BTW-- don't you love the kids' pretend glasses?)

The first house we bought in Clinton.  The trees and shrubs grew and the facade got a 'salmon-colored' facelift, but it's essentially the same.  Boy, does that seem like forever ago.  I remember walking in and immediately feeling at home and knowing this is the house we were supposed to buy.  I remember Dad giving me his old Minolta and showing me how to use it.  I stood in the street photographing the house taking bad picture after bad picture because I had no idea how to use an SLR camera.  I remember bringing Nikolas home from the hospital-- so small and so new.  I remember standing in the kitchen the morning Sven was leaving for deployment-- not just leaving me behind this time, but a baby as well. And my last memory from this house is when Mom and Dad helped me move out of it a few months after that goodbye when Nikolas was only 6 months old.  It was such a lonely feeling to walk through the empty house alone and say goodbye.  It was the first time I'd moved out of a house while my husband was deployed, but it wouldn't be the last.  It's funny how, in hindsight, that each house after that became more of a stepping stone rather than a home.  Such is the life of a Navy wife.....

My means for getting to work in Seattle.  Planes, trains and automobiles.  Or, literally, bus, ferry, bus and/or automobile.  

I love the sounds you hear when boarding the ferry:  the clank of the bridge as you drive over it, the hum of the ferry's engine and the squawking of the sea gulls.

What a stroll down memory lane this tour of Whidbey has been!

7-8, Kitsap Peninsula

This day worked out surprisingly well.  Sven's mom had a job interview with a bakery in Kingston that morning.  The ferry connects Edmonds, where Nina, Chris and mom live, to Kingston on the Kitsap Peninsula.  Since mom had to go there that day, we decided to make that our day-trip destination and go visit our old places after her interview.  (Now, with a few weeks having passed, I'm happy to report that mom got the job!!)  We spent a very nice (but long!) day driving up and down and all around.  I'm amazed at how much we saw!  I remember when we moved to Silverdale and Sven called me from cruise (Nik and I made the move alone because Sven got called up to deploy with a month's notice).  I told him, "I love it here!  I never want to move!!"  Sad to say, that after dealing with back-to-back deployments, my view of Bremerton/Silverdale became tainted.  It wasn't because of the place, it was because of our lives at the time.  It was hard for all of us.  We just wanted Sven to come home so we could move away.  It was easier to move than to deal with another deployment.  That's when got sent to Maryland.  We didn't like MD at all, but we loved the fact that Sven was home every day (imagine that!).  So, this whirlwind tour of Kitsap brought back a lot of memories for us all.  Some good, but a lot that we'd rather forget.  But I do have to say, it's a lovely place!

Arriving on the ferry at Kingston.

Lunch at our favorite Thai place (yes, it was still there!).

Dyes Inlet in Silverdale with Mt. Rainier in the background.

Our old house in Silverdale.

I LOVE Debbie Macomber books.  They're heartwarming, lighthearted and pleasant to read.  I didn't start reading her books until moving to Colorado.  How ironic is it that she's my current favorite author but she only lived 20 minutes down the road from us when we were in Silverdale?  I know a good part of the reason I love her books is because of the series she bases in Seattle and Port Orchard ('Cedar Cove' for those of you who many know her work).  Sven patiently waited in the truck with a sleeping Emalie, so mom and I could go in and browse her yarn shop in Port Orchard.  (Aunt Emma would be so happy to know that I've been inspired to pick up my crochet hook again!)

A bald eagle on the fly.

The ships docked in Bremerton.

It was always so amazing to round the bend in the road and see ships so close.

The ferry from Seattle headed into Port Orchard.

Payback for Sven having to sit in the truck at the yarn shop was me having to watch them all eat donuts from Sluy's in Poulsbo.  They were favorites then and they're still favorites now.  They smelled good and I'm guessing they tasted even better.

The marina in Poulsbo.

Loading up to head back to Edmonds after a long day.  You rarely see a ferry this empty-- especially in the summer.

One last goodbye to a place full of memories.

7-8, Ferry Fun

One of the things we miss most about living in Puget Sound is the ferry rides.  There's nothing like pushing away from the shore and soaking in all the saltwater air and scenic vistas with the familiar hum of the engines below.  We were excited about our first ride in six years and also sharing the experience with Emalie.  I've divided this day into two post entries:  one for the ferry ride and one for the rest of the day we spent on the Kitsap Penninsula.  How about that-- another BEAUTIFUL day in Seattle!

Mt. Rainier to the south.  What a sight!

Does Nik look like he's in his element or what?!

He's not even caring that I'm taking his picture.  That hardly ever happens anymore!

Random stranger and his dog.  There's just something about this photo that I love.

Ahh.... a container ship!  If I dust off the cobwebs in my mind I could probably recall how many days I spent sailing on ships just like that.

Grandma and Nikolas.  So sweet.

Emalie is getting to that age where she will not cooperate for a photo-- especially a group one.   Oh well!

You've got to be fast and catch her on the fly!

So much to take in.

I think she's captivated with the ferry.

I know Grandma is!

Nik, too!

A ferry ride is even better when you spot other ferries on their routes.

Wow... I took a lot of pictures in a 30-minute ride, didn't I?  No wonder it's taking me so long to edit all my trip pics!  Stay tuned for the rest of our adventure on Kitsap!

7-7, Seattle

The nice thing about going back 'home' is the friends that remain there long after you've gone.  This is the case with one such friend (who, ironically, I became friends with as a child in Montana and we both found ourselves--with our own families-- in Seattle many years later).  We were all looking forward to a morning in the city together.  It's nice knowing that my children are friends with her children, too.  (Of course, the friendship is new with Emalie since this was their first meeting!  But, Nikolas used to play with them when he was younger.)  So, off we set early on a Monday morning to meet at the aquarium.   One definitive strike against Seattle:  the traffic.  It wasn't too bad this particular instance (for us, anyway), but I clearly remember the hours it used to take me to get to work downtown from Whidbey (my personal record:  4 hours....one way).  Also, I was pleased this morning to wake up to a nice Marine layer for 2 reasons, 1) how cool is it that there IS a marine layer ?! (after all, that means there's water nearby!), and 2) maybe the distraction of the sun the day before gave me a false impression of the region (although it's not as if we haven't lived here before....twice.....).  Anyway, rain or shine, it doesn't matter when you're reuniting with an old friend!

We noticed the cranes got a make-over in the 6 years since we've been gone. Oh, how we miss seeing ships and all the activity of a port.

My old stomping grounds.

Our crazy kids!

My friend, Chrystale, and I with our two girls.  Chrystale-- do you feel older having an older daughter or do I feel older  knowing how old I am to have such a young daughter?!?! LOL.....

Classic Seattle.  Love it!

Seattle has seagulls.  Denver has prairie dogs.  Huh.

Seafood above and seafood below.  These gulls have it made.

Iconic.  You CAN'T go there and not photograph this (even if it is just a bad cell phone pic).

The 'firsts' are always fun:  Emalie's 1st time at the market!

I'd never been to the original Starbucks.  It only seemed fitting that since we'd toured China and made it a mission to collect a Starbucks mug depicting each Chinese city, that we finally go see the original Starbucks in Seattle.  Are you kidding me?    There were as many people in line to get into the place as there were on the streets of China.  No thanks.  I know what the lattes taste like.  I'll just get one from around the corner!!

The marine layer is gone and the sun is out in full force again.  Oh, Seattle, how you tease me.....

The gum wall.  Cool but so gross!  Watch your step!

Huh.  Would you look at that?  Do you see the Ike life ring?  I sailed on that ship!  And there, in a waterfront antique store in Seattle hangs one of her life rings.  I could have easily plopped down the $100 just to own a piece of my own history.  My husband, however, could not.  So, on the wall in the antique store it remains.  Just kidding, Sven.... sort of.....  But I can easily talk smack about it now, you know why?  I'm sitting here typing this in Denver and where is my husband??  Seattle.  Yep, Seattle.  I guess that's a perk of working-- business trips.  Where does a stay-at-home mom get to go on business trips?  You guessed it-- the park (we have a 10' date, by the way).  WooHoo!  LOL.....I'm laughing.... I think I'm laughing.....