The San Juans...

Ben and I decided a little get-away was needed, and thanks to the invitation from our friends, Doug & Sadie, the willingness of my parents to watch Tucker for the weekend, we got just that. We headed west to the San Juan Islands for an extended weekend adventure. :)

I've included a map of where exactly the San Juan Islands are, since I'm sure many of you may not know... A lot of people hear islands, and automatically think of a paradise; so those of you picturing clear blue water, white sand beaches, and 90 degree weather, think Washington State Islands. :) Anyway, while they are beautiful, there was no swimming suit wearing the entire weekend.

(I can still remember the first time Ben & I went to the Oregon coast, when we were dating,he was so excited and got all dressed in his swimming trunks and flip flops, since he is used to the beautiful Gulf beaches that are hot and sunny and not windy and rainy... anyway he was shocked when I showed up in my sweatshirt and Jeans-- to go to the BEACH!!! I personally love the northwest beaches, I think that they are gorgeous, and for those of you who have seen the movie,'Goonies', you know why.):)

*this post might get a little long, in fact, I'm sure it will-just a fair warning*
Anyway, back to the islands...we headed over to Seattle Friday night and stayed the night there before heading on the Ferry the next morning to the San Juan's. It was SO much fun. We had the best weekend. It was strange with out Tucker, and I really missed him, but it was SO nice just being the two of us. It was like we were newlyweds again and all giddy (I mean, Ben on monkey bars, and giving each other piggy back rides, I think that we digressed to being 12 years old kids again) :) But we had a blast!

Strolling around Lake Union in Seattle.

Saturday morning we woke up early to catch the morning Ferry. It was about an hour and a half long drive North to catch the Ferry, and then about another hour and a half long Ferry ride into Fridays Harbor (the main town on San Juan Island).

I love boat rides, and I love the water, so this is definitely my kind of trip.

We stayed at a beautiful resort. The boys, being the competitive men that they are, were immediately drawn to the chess table in the lobby. They thought that this was the coolest thing about our resort...

...until we got to our room, and it was amazing, and they found this gem of a jetted tub in our bathroom. Of course, they had to see if they could BOTH fit, isn't that what any two grown men would do??? (by the look on Doug's face, it was a tight squeeze) :)

This was mine & Sadie's favorite part of our resort... we had some great times just sitting on our deck chatting.

The Southwest side of the island, is knows for its whales. We headed on over after hearing that some people had been spotting them off this coast. We didn't see any whales, but we had a good time hiking around and exploring.

Always the adventurous twosome.

The cute little lighthouse was at the end of our little hike along the shore. It was just beautiful.

What you can't see in this picture is that they are on two separate island rocks. There is water all around them and in between them. That football never left their sight all weekend long, and had to be retrieved from many crazy places.

Usually when we're all four together, the coupling goes like this: Sadie & Taraka and Ben & Doug. I did manage to steal him away for a few seconds to snap this picture along our hike.

Mo-Peds...need I say more. We rented them for the day. It was so much fun and totally made me wish I had one. I could just strap Tucker to my back or something. It was a blast! I loved it and it was the perfect way to see the entire island.

Stopping off for a little snack and some rock-skipping. (favorite past-time #2 after throwing the football)

Out of all four of us, Doug was the only one to come away with a scratch. And a big scratch it was, all along his leg, side and shoulder. Doug was the last person I thought this would come from,I thought for sure it was going to be one of us other three. :) Poor guy, it really looked liked it hurt.

This is in the cute little town on the north side of the island, Roche Harbor, that is basically just a resort, and a boat harbor, and some cute little shops. We stopped there for lunch.

And finally, we had to say good-bye to San Juan Island. We got some ice-cream in Fridays Harbor as we awaited the arrival of our Ferry to take us back to the mainland. It was a sad day. We will miss you San Juan's...until next time...

Can't wait 'til next year, Doug & Sadie! We Heart you guys!