Sunny and I met Jessica at the Folklife Festival. We started listening to a violinist – which Jessica is learning. The liars club was a bust, but we had fun listening to an eclectic mix of music. No dancing, however. The weather was perfect.

The food here was delicious. I had the miscommunication burger which was awesome. Also a good selection of beer and wine.

A few miles off I-90 is the quiet Beckler River Campground. Sunny and I were looking for a campground on a river that is far enough off the road where we wouldn’t hear traffic. At our last campground on I-90, we were right off the freeway. The scenery was gorgeous, but we wanted something more secluded. Beckler River did not disappoint.

We ate watermelon riverside in our comfy chairs. I kept my beer cold in the river. Our campfire was fun.

Sunny and I just returned from our Caribbean Cruise, we had an incredible time! We cruised on Holland America from Fort Lauderdale to St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, Tortola, and the Bahamas. From Tortola we took a excursion to Virgin Gorda, which was my favorite island. We visited eight islands! The ship is an engineering marvel, it is huge! I got lost a few times.

St. Lucia was a really interesting island. Two tall volcanos tower over a small bay. Some of my favorite photos were taken here. In Barbados Sunny and I were able to sneak onto a private beach. But of all the islands, Virgin Gorda was my favorite. Huge rocks are scattered around the beach forming secluded pools.

Click here to see more photos from our cruise…

Sunny and I visited the Woodland Park zoo with Charlie and Sadie. I loved the new penguin exhibit and Charlie liked the dark reptile rooms. We even had birds eating out of our hands. The weather was good, but cold.

And picnics! The photos enclosed in this post are from two different parks. The first park is located in Bellevue, off 101st street. This park has a beautiful view of the lake, and we found many ducks to feed. We ate leftovers from a catered lunch at Sunny’s work. For the second picnic we climbed a large tree at the Ballard Locks. Also a very pretty park, but we had trouble finding a dry spot to sit – the grass always seems soaked and muddy. The sky was a vibrant blue with bright white clouds, but my camera only had eyes for Sunny…

These pictures are actually from two trips Sunny and I made to Greenlake over the last week. The weather has been hot, and a trip to the lake is the best way to cool down. I love people watching at this lake, there is always someone doing something that makes me smile. And a sunset over a lake is one of God’s most wonderful creations.

Just a few weeks ago we went on a canoe ride around the Arboretum. We liked it so much that we came back! We arrived at the park at the start of the Huskies/Idaho game. We could hear the fans from across the lake – the cheers and chants echoed through the park. At first it was hard to find a parking spot!

We followed a nicely groomed path through the woods until we reached the river, where we ate a lunch on a bench. We followed the river until the path ended at the lake. The arboretum is very beautiful, a quiet retreat from the heat of the city.

We rented canoes at the University of Washington and rowed through the lily pads around the arboretum. I can’t believe we haven’t done this before, we had a great time! We packed a lunch and spent hours rowing around small islands of reeds and clumps of trees. And we stayed afloat!

Alvin, Nora, Sunny and I took a road trip to Silverwood, near Coeur d’Alene Idaho. Silverwood is a park split into two parts – half filled with water slides and the other with roller coasters. The drive to Silverwood was brutal, we were crowded in my car. But the park was beautiful. We arrived at Round Lake State Park after dark and quickly setup our tents. Round Lake is a pretty lake surrounded by tree topped hills. The next morning we ate breakfast at a diner on the road to Silverwood. Click here to continue…

Click here to see more photos from our vacation to Silverwood…