Hood Canal

We had a great time over the Memorial Day weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Tantillo. They treated us to a getaway in Brinnon, Wa where we stayed in an historic 1920's house right on the Hood Canal. We had to take the ferry out of Edmonds to get over there which is always fun. We just missed the ferry so we had to wait in the rain for a while for the next one. Lucky for us that was basically the only rain we had all weekend so we're not complaining. We've had some soggy Memorial Days in the past and we were really hoping this would not be another one to add to the list.  Our first stop once we got to the Kitsap Penninsula was in Port Townsend. We found a 50's style diner to have lunch and then we had some ice cream for dessert. We were off to a great start...

Then we drove over to the Olympic Game Farm near Sequim, Washington. We bought a loaf of bread to feed the animals and we drove our car through the park and the animals walked right up to us to eat the bread. Best part of the adventure was this enormous buffalo that drooled all over my dad's arm. Mom felt so sorry for him that she bought him a "I got drooled on at the Olympic Park" t-shirt. We saw buffalo, elk, peacocks, bears, wolves, llamas, deer, zeebra, moose, and a few more that I can't remember. It was a lot of fun and Michael was very entertained. We considered it a success because he made it all the way through without throwing up from the awful smells.

Next we headed to our beach house and unloaded and admired the adorable house and outside surroundings. Then we hit a local spot for dinner, The Halfway House. We all loved our dinner - chicken fried steak, fish and chips, oysters, shrimp salad, and a cheeseburger for Michael, of course. Then some of us had delicious home made pie for dessert. We stayed up late and played a couple rounds of Farkle because grandpa insisted and then we all went to bed. Great day!

Saturday morning mom made us fried eggs and toast and then it was time to go hiking! There are about 25 waterfalls on the Kitsap Peninsula so we decided to try 2 of them. The first one didn't turn out to be much of a hike be it was beautiful and we took a bunch of amazing pictures. The second hike was a 3/4 mile hike to the most beautiful waterfall I think I've ever seen. Why fly to Hawaii when you can hike to waterfalls right here at home? It was a great time and it felt good to get some exercise and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. Still no rain so we were all feeling very relieved.

Next it was time for the Shrimp Festival which was taking place right in our backyard in Brinnon. We were starving so anything would have tasted really good. Turned out there wasn't much of a shrimp selection at any of the food trucks. Mom got shrimp and grits which everyone decided was probably the best. My lamb gyro was amazing and everyone else loved their blackened shrimp and Hawaiian donuts. We couldn't leave until walked around all the booths. We sat in some comfy chairs, tried on some jewelry and scarves and sampled some more food and then we decided to try the spinning ride that made mom dizzy and made us all want to throw up. Enough is enough and the clouds were starting to roll in so we decided to say good-bye to the shrimp fest and relax for a few hours back at the house.

It doesn't take us long to build up another appetite and soon it was time to decide on dinner. Grandma would have been happy back at the Halfway House but dad put his foot down and decided we needed to try something new. We ate a late dinner at the Ajax Cafe back near Port Townsend. The meal was amazing and everyone enjoyed their dishes....and desserts, of course. This restaurant was unique in so many ways. The table settings were eclectic and mismatched and there were hats of every kind hanging all over the walls. After dinner we tried on a few hats and snapped a couple of photos and shared a few laughs. Another fun day ended back at the house with a round of Uno and Farkle just so grandpa could have his revenge from his loss the night before.

The next day we took a drive to Fort Worden which is an old fort that was built to protect the Puget Sound before WW1. Now it's used by families for camping and large groups for summer camps and stuff. It was a lot of fun and I got some cool pictures in some of the old ammunition rooms. For dinner that night we decided to go home and bbq some Copper River salmon that we bought at a local grocery store. Dad cooked it to perfection and it was so yummy. Dad also built us an amazing camp fire so we had smores for dessert around the fire and watched the eagles fly above us and the seals swimming in the water. What an amazing and beautiful place we get to live in. The clouds were hovering the hills across the canal and it was absolutely beautiful. Washington is the most beautiful state in the country and if you don't believe us you should come and visit and see for yourself!

It was a great weekend and one that our family will never forget. We missed Tanner, who had to stay in Sammamish to work and we missed Bonnie, who is still in Boston on her mission. It seemed really empty without them. We heard from Bonnie on Monday via email and we met Tanner for lunch when we got back to Sammamish so it ended up great. Thanks grandma and grandpa for a wonderful trip!!