Being Responsible, continued

We enjoyed a sunny ferry ride over to Orcas Island. Kye thought the ferry was really cool and ran around the deck looking at seagulls flying over the 'big puddle', as he called it.

On the island, we camped at Moran State Park on Cascade Lake. It was pretty and very quiet camping. We were lucky to have good weather for most of the time, only one day of rain. Kye enjoyed throwing rocks in the lake and running around on the trails with sticks.

One day, we hiked the short walk to Cascade Falls, in the background here.

Then we took another short hike to a secluded beach called Obstruction Point Beach. Kye fell asleep in the pack on the way in and remained napping on the beach for a little while. It must've been a great setting for a nap: water lapping up on a pebble beach and warm sun.

Brandon did one bike ride out of camp up Mt. Constitution on one of our first days there but wasn't that impressed. He thought he must've missed the proper trail. So, on another day, he decided to park at the top of Mt. Constitution and ride down (hoping to find the best way down), and then back up again. 

[Kye and I from the top of Mt. Constitution]

[B enjoyed this ride a bit more, but it was short.]

Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling that well the whole trip and so opted not to ride my bike. It sounds like I didn't miss incredible riding so that's okay.

We ate two amazing meals while on the island, worth mentioning. If you go to Orcas Island, be sure to enjoy a meal at The Kitchen, described as 'fast, asian food'. It was fast and high quality, with super fresh ingredients and amazing flavors. We heard there was a pizza and open mic night at Doe Bay, so we went there and had some of the best pizza I've ever had in an incredibly beautiful setting.

 [Kale pesto with crimini mushrooms and asiago cheese; pickled onions and gruyere cheese; 

Manny's  Pale Ale and milk on tap :)]

Being Responsible

We deliberated about going to Moab or Fruita for spring break, but in the end, decided we needed to stay closer to home and save the money we'd spend on fuel. It was the 'responsible' thing to do...we're not really all that into being responsible but figured we should try it.

So, for the first weekend of spring break, we headed to Vantage for some climbing and camping with friends. It was warm and sunny, which was nice. The wind and blowing dirt, however, were not so nice. We arranged to meet with Isabel and her family, and then we invited some other people to join, so it was really cool to have a group of friends together climbing and watching the kiddos.

 [Kye and Isaac throwing dirt on themselves...]

[Aunty Carly reading to Kye at the crag]

[Anne in blue, climbing; Isabel on belay]

The most convenient crag in Washington for climbing with kiddos is the Feathers. While not my favorite (see the crowds above), it was quite easy to climb two or three routes and then head back to camp within a 2-minute walk.

After a couple of days in the desert sun, we packed up and headed for home. A night at home and then we loaded the truck and camper to go to Orcas Island for a few days of camping and biking.