Grab a tall glass of ice water because this is a long post...
Day 3 we went to see the Kinsol Trestle bridge
It was a short hike there
It was a pretty amazing sight seeing the huge wooden train bridge
It was also a really cool place to take pictures
Is this not the cutest thing you have seen all day?
Thanks for the family picture Amanda!
Hello up there
Henry connected with nature while we were there
The ferns everywhere were so pretty
Aubrey meditating in the forest
The kids loved this dog
Walking back
The kids having some freezies after lunch
After lunch we went to Bamerton Provincial Park
We hiked in and spent the whole afternoon at the beach
The highlight of the beach for the kids (and maybe the adults too) was all of the crabs
There were lots of these little crabs everywhere
We set up camp on this sand bar and watched the tide lower
Looks like this seal got some lunch
Grandpa Bullock's roommate from before he was married has retired and now lives on Vancouver Island. He met us out there and showed us how to find clams and handle the big crabs
One of the clams
These big crabs were pretty intimidating
Watching him handle the big crabs helped me develop the courage to hold the little one
It didn't take long for Nixon to do the same
(this one might have been dead)
And eventually Lyza and Mason had no problems with it
It was really cute listening to Mason talk about the barnacles
Henry was a superstar and was so happy and pleasant
We saw lots of live sand dollars
It was fun to play in the ocean for hours
Nixon and I developed a system where he would chase a sea gull and I would get pictures of it taking off and flying
That evening we just spent time together at the cabin, which included ballet lessons from Aubrey
And more appearances from the deer
On Tuesday we all went out to Victoria for the day. We started the day visiting China town
The really narrow alley ways made us think that we could be Spider Men
Don't worry, her neck isn't broken. That is a fashion pose ;)
The paper lanterns were cool
Too bad we didn't have room in the van to bring this home
After touring China town and some of the other down town shops and markets, we went to the Breakwater sea wall
For those of us who were not raised near the ocean, a breakwaters are structures constructed near the costs as part of coastal management or to protect an anchorage from the effects of both weather and longshore drift. Wikipedia.
For those of us who were not raised near the ocean, a breakwaters are structures constructed near the costs as part of coastal management or to protect an anchorage from the effects of both weather and longshore drift. Wikipedia.
This little boat has so much character
Picture of the big kids on the breakwater
There was a little lighthouse at the end
There were also people fishing off of the end
The lighthouse
We climbed down and played closer to the water
The water around there was pretty busy
Kim finally caught up to us and we got to get some pictures together
The breakwater was a fun area to epxlore
After that we went down to the fisherman's wharf
We got lunch down there
Fresh fish and chips
I felt like spoiling the kids so I waited in line and surprised them with ice cream
The ice cream couldn't keep them away from the park though
We all left the wharf and went to a different park
Henry and I were having so much fun in the swing
Nixon was getting his work out in pushing this thing
Mason climbing
This zip line was lots of fun
After the park we went to a nearby petting zoo
There were wild peacocks (they did not belong to the petting zoo) roaming all around
There were lots of fun animals
Lots of goats to pet and brush
I think Hayley was a little overwhelmed at this point
Some goats would even stand on people (not even the zoo employees)
Goats are not the most attractive looking animals
Alpacas on the other hand...
Mason (and all the other kids) really liked the ponies
We were all afraid to walk past this peacock because the pathway was fairly narrow and he was looking right at us
And look at those claws. I am not sure if peacocks get aggressive toward humans but didn't want to find out
But what a beautiful creature
Guinea pigs
I am not sure how Lyza got all of these goats lined up to pet
Right as the zoo closed was the coolest part. They do a goat run to get the goats into their area for the evening
Right outside of the zoo there is this super cool tree so we had to get pictures of the kids on it
Lyza was so brave sitting out at the end of the branch
Not!
The next day we did activities as individual families
On our way out of the cabin we stopped for gas and saw this lady who was walking around with a parrot on her shoulder. We stopped her and asked her a million questions. It was super fun!
Our fist stop was Fort Rod Hill to check out a Fort Rod Hill, a 19th century coastal artillery fort and an adjacent lighthouse, Fisgard Lighthouse
The big weapons were really neat
A real cannon
Can you find Nixon?
There were also cool underground bunkers to explore
This soldier recruited us into her troop
Nixon made a fine soldier
Meanwhile Mason was checking out huge guns and trees
This was really fun. There were working cranks to turn the whole gun and to raise and lower it
This is the lighthouse we were working towards
We eventually made it (as I am writing this blog post Mason just pointed to the lighthouse in this picture and said "the temple! I want to go again ;)
We were able to go inside and explore and learn about the lighthouse
There were big wheels to turn electronic ships on screen
These binoculars to get a better look at the coastline
Henry felt at one with the sea
The spiral staircase was really cool
The big kids posing on the coast
Happy boy!
After the fort and the lighthouse we drove into Victoria to go to the bug zoo. We got stuck in traffic and couldn't figure out what was going on. I got the bright idea to get off the road we were on and find an alternate route and beat the traffic. We maneuvered and found ourselves stuck in traffic again. Only this time we could see why...the road was raised up so a ship could go through! We don't see that in North Idaho very often ;)
We drove by the parliament building but did not visit it
Then we got to the bug zoo
The fist thing we (the grownups) got to do was hold a live tarantula (with its venom in)
Kim and I both can't believe she did it
There were lots of cool creepy crawlies for the kids to look at
And to hold, like this cockroach
And these huge bugs
Henry was exhausted (and it was really hot in there)
There were HUGE walking sticks
The kids also got to hold them
This thing was also really big
It was so big that Mason needed help supporting it
The giant millipede was a big hit
The bug zoo was lots of fun!
It must have inspired the kids because when we got home they went straight outside and hunted for grasshoppers
Did I mention how good Aubrey was with Henry?
I went out at dusk that evening with Grandpa (it was a man date) and Wes and Jo and hiked up Old Baldy Mountain (right by the cabin) and got some really nice views of our surroundings
Next up: our last two days of the reunion, and if I am really productive, our drive back to Post Falls
Take care!
Lots of great pictures. Looks like you guys had a wonderful time!
ReplyDelete