Where Did You Go March?

So I really like to edit my pictures in Piknik but it takes a really long time and I have a ton of pictures to show off. Canada, Ruby Beach, Bill the Squirrel, Boogie Bike and other things. Get ready.

I went to Vancouver, BC for a week. I spent 90% of my time working and the other 10% in the hotel so these might not be the most interesting photos.

The mountains are amazing. I was on my way to Chilliwack when I took this picture.

I was outside the beautiful Chilliwach Wendy's when I took this photo.

Oh, and lets not forget the Chilliwack Walmart.

Chilliwack in my rear view.

I can't really remember where this was but the sky was steal gray on one side and amazing blue over here.

The view from my hotel room. It turned into a neon panoramic at night.

Another view from my hotel room.

I do not understand the price of gas. Why was this gas 114 dollars? Was it?

Obviously.

Obviously again.

Coming home into America. Welcomed into the red, white and blue arms of the ultra rude border guards.

This is what I came home to.

Yesterday (Sunday), Casey and I took a little road trip to the Pacific Coast via Forks, WA. I found this creature rising from the depths of Cresent Lake. I tried to run away but it ended up getting in the car and driving me around for the rest of the day.

Ok, so I became friends with the creature. The lake was very blue. Not sure why.

Next stop was Forks, WA. We were immediately plunged into a deep dark depression due to the melancholy of this famous town. Not only was it raining and kind of ugly as towns go, but there were several Twilight themed stores. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Twilight saga but I am not sure how many Twilight stores the world needs. Kinda like Disney stores. Not necessary.

Here I am realizing that if the Cullens did come to Forks, they would turn around and go elsewhere.

We stopped at the first beach and were pleased to discover Ruby Beach. Casey told me that some of the first people to "settle" the Olympic Peninsula thought it was evil. You can see why. Ruby Beach was very beautiful but very violent. I had never seen water like it.

But we made it pretty.

I tried to take pictures of the water but it was impossible to actually capture what it was like.

And it was insane how quickly the water came in. Casey wasn't looking so I yelled to him at the right time.

Muscles cling to the rocks all over the place. I was careful not to fall.

These are Giant Green Anemones, all closed up. They were on a giant rock. Tons of them.

Not sure what this one is called. But it is a white anemone.

And these are pink anemones.

And this is another Giant Green Anemone.

The little, tiny white stick in the mouth of the cave, to the left, is Casey.

One More!

Russell and Other Things!

Russell is in town!! He is taking a very proactive approach to being left alone when Casey and I are busy with our respective day time activities. I think he might have more Seattle friends than I do...

Here is Russell, texting instead of talking to me.

This is disgusting. This morning we headed down to the local QFC to get breakfast makings. When we discovered this "food" we knew we had found what we were looking for. Just completely disgusting.

All the best breakfast beverages. Coffee, orange juice and single malt scotch.

I don't have an explanation for this.

Mikey likes to have "Dookles time."

I found these mushrooms outside of my apartment. I fed them to Dookles and she turned into an elephant. I haven't looked through the mushroom book yet, but I would like to know what they are.

And I am off to Vancouver, BC tomorrow.

The Olympic Peninsula

I had the good fortune to be sent to the Olympic Peninsula this week. The trip involved ferries, creepy hotels and views of mountains. There were some other things but those were the highlights. Here are some pictures.

I started on Tuesday morning by missing the ferry to Bainbridge Island. So I waited around for next one playing solitaire on my phone.

Although it was pretty cold on the ferry, I stood outside in the sun. It was a beautiful morning.

If you look carefully at this picture, you can see Rainier looming in the background.

Next stop was Sequim. As you can see from this picture, Sequim is a mixture of awesome mountains and JC Penney.

I slept at a semi-creepy hotel in Port Townsend, WA (to which I arrived after dark). When I left in the morning I discovered this adorable town (I am talking about Port Townsend). Outside of my door was this sign. Lots of old signs painted on buildings in this town.

This is another picture of Port Townsend. At about 6:30am. The only things awake in this town were sea gulls and windswept hobos. I am not sure which frightens me more.

This is the beach by the ferry in Kingston, WA. I got there a little early so I wandered around on this public beach. No starfish. Stupid beach. I mean everyone talks about these starfish. Where are they? Is this some kind of joke? Oh and the ferry is in the background.

And this is the ferry docking. They are so efficient.

Finally here I am saying good bye to the Olympic Peninsula. Although all I have to do is go outside and look west and there it is.

Idaho! And Other Things

So I went to Idaho last week. Coeur d'Alene to be exact. Which is nice but hard to spell and even more awkward to pronounce in this the land of NON-phonetic place names. It is pronounced COOR DULANE as a lovely man in Spokane (pronounced SPO-CAN) helped me to understand. I was nervous since people kept telling me that I was going to the victim of a hate crime, but everything worked out. I had some good beer and I survived. So did Dookles although by bed was the opposite of unscathed. Scathed perhaps? In addition, I had my truck tagged in the great state of Washington which makes me awesome. Oh and there are daffodils everywhere.

Everyone loves a "Welcome to Idaho" sign. Right?

On this particular highway there was no place to pull off and bask in the beauty of the day so I settled for taking a picture through my windshield. Really captures the moment.


I was able to enjoy some local libations at Coeur d'Alene Brewing Company in downtown CD'A (as the locals put it). Don't worry Mom and Dad, I did not finish the beer in this picture. And Mom, I was very safe, I parked very close to the brewery.


I think these photos are pretty self explanatory. I am not sure if I should be but I am proud that I figured out the process and got my truck tagged here. Now what do I do with the Maryland tags? Eat them?

Where I would normally pick all of the daffodils that I see I am convinced that these "city" daffodils are saturated in hobo pee. So I leave them for all to enjoy. Actually, I bought some at Whole Foods. Certified Hobo-Pee Free.

This is a photo of the Lenin Statue in Fremont in the side view mirror of my truck. Don't worry Mom, I am at a stop light. Stopped. If you look really hard you can see Lenin standing there.

And finally a picture from outside of Casey's brewery. It was sunny and this blue color was so pretty. iPhone, although great, can't really capture this kind of nuance so you will just have to imagine it is there. The nuance that is. I am headed to western Washington next week so I will post some pictures of towns such as Sequim (pronounced SQUIM) and Port Angeles (of Twilight fame). After that, Vancouver and Victoria Island. Exciting.