Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!
26 December 2011
23 December 2011
21 December 2011
09 December 2011
{09dec2011: Thanksgiving weekend part 2}
In the morning we decided to check out the beach again. The only problem was the tide was almost at high tide and so our wide open beach we were able to run on the afternoon before was now gone.
All the waves and moving logs were a bit disconcerting so we left the beach and packed up our things so we could head out for breakfast and the hike we had planned.
Before leaving the coast we stopped at one more beach just to check it out.
We then headed to Forks to stop for brunch, then continued on our way. It was a bit of a drive from Forks to Sequim where were planning on hiking so we didn't get there til 2. As we drove up the hillside the dry grounds turned to snowy/ice. I was driving at this point and Jason's usually the snow driver (me being from Hawaii and all) and I slowed down to pass a fallen branch in the road. I guess I slowed too much because our wheels lost traction and we started slipping. EEEK. After awhile we stopped moving and the wheels were just spinning. Jason had to get out of the car and start pushing. I was aiming for a flat spot on the side of the road, but it took a good 10 minutes to get there because I kept sliding in the wrong direction. We luckily had our snow chains in the car and got out to put them on. Can I just say those things are NO FUN. A couple tries in the chain on the right side popped off and got wrapped around the back of the wheel and we couldn't pull it off. I was worried for a minute we'd have to call a tow truck to rescue us, but instead I got out the car jack and jacked up the car (my first time ever). We managed to reach under and behind the tire to get the chain off. Whew. We decided to try one more time to get the chains on and we somehow managed. By this point it was almost 3 and the sun was going to go down around 4-430 so we drove a little hoping to find a place we could let Darwin out to run and stretch her legs (we had let her out while we were chaining up the car, but we kept her on her leash close by so she wouldn't run off). We drove and drove and couldn't find anything so we turned around and headed back down so we wouldn't be caught driving on the snowy hillside in the dark. We passed the snowy road, and took of the chains and ended up at the base of the hill at a closed campsite near a river and let Dar run around.
After that we loaded back in the car and headed home.
It was a LONG road trip and we didn't even get one hike in! It was disappointing, but I have to say, entertaining. Snow, rolling logs on a beach, rain, icey roads, snow chains, jacking up the car... it was a pretty filled couple of days even if we didn't get to do what we were planning.
It was a LONG road trip and we didn't even get one hike in! It was disappointing, but I have to say, entertaining. Snow, rolling logs on a beach, rain, icey roads, snow chains, jacking up the car... it was a pretty filled couple of days even if we didn't get to do what we were planning.
07 December 2011
{07dec2011: belated wordless Wednesday}
Halloween edition:
I realized I didn't show off our Halloween costumes. Can you guess what Jason and I are? Darwin tried Jason's out for size too.
06 December 2011
{06dec2011: Kalaloch Lodge}
This year for Thanksgiving we stayed in town so we decided to use one of the Groupon/Living Social/one of those sites we bought for a cabin at the Kalaloch Lodge out on the Washington coast. We had grand plans to drive out there early and get a hike or two in before check-on (at 4pm) and then hike a bit more on the way back to Seattle. Our total hike count at the of the road trip = 0. That's right we got none in. hahaha.
Thanksgiving day was very rainy, when we drove out to one hiking spot Jason had printed out, the roads were closed. So we tried looking for another spot, and instead we got caught in snow!
We drove for a bit but got worried since we hadn't stumbled upon the hike we thought we were headed to so we turned around and decided to just keep driving to Kalaloch.
We had already been driving a couple hours at this point so we stopped at a park along the Hood Canal and let Darwin out to stretch her legs. We walked along the beach and ran into this:
A dead fish! I was the one who spotted it, Darwin didn't even notice it at first til I pointed it out to her.
After a few sniffs she did try to pick it up, by its mouth, but a quick "uh uh" and she walked away. We ran down the beach and ran around the park a bit before loading back up and heading west.
We did get Thanksgiving lunch on the way... Jack in the Box! Darwin got her own cheeseburger and some fries.
After a long drive we made it to the Lodge where we were able to check in early. Darwin settled onto a bed while we unloaded the car.
Then we went to check out the beach while the sun was still out.
Getting down to the beach was pretty easy, getting back over the logs to the stairs, not as easy. It was starting to drizzle again by this point, and Darwin was a bit nervous crossing over the slippery logs. It took some time to find the route with the widest logs and the most sand, but we did it.
We headed back to our cabin and had some relaxing down time.
Thanksgiving day was very rainy, when we drove out to one hiking spot Jason had printed out, the roads were closed. So we tried looking for another spot, and instead we got caught in snow!
We drove for a bit but got worried since we hadn't stumbled upon the hike we thought we were headed to so we turned around and decided to just keep driving to Kalaloch.
We had already been driving a couple hours at this point so we stopped at a park along the Hood Canal and let Darwin out to stretch her legs. We walked along the beach and ran into this:
A dead fish! I was the one who spotted it, Darwin didn't even notice it at first til I pointed it out to her.
After a few sniffs she did try to pick it up, by its mouth, but a quick "uh uh" and she walked away. We ran down the beach and ran around the park a bit before loading back up and heading west.
We did get Thanksgiving lunch on the way... Jack in the Box! Darwin got her own cheeseburger and some fries.
After a long drive we made it to the Lodge where we were able to check in early. Darwin settled onto a bed while we unloaded the car.
Then we went to check out the beach while the sun was still out.
Beaches in Washington (and Oregon) are nothing like beaches I'm used to in Hawaii, but I love how wide and flat the beaches are here.
Wide beaches are great for spreading out and making Darwin run between us!
Though we realized it's best to do that without a bright red coat on your dog at areas where off leash dogs aren't allowed (we walked far down the beach away from people and the lodge).
Getting down to the beach was pretty easy, getting back over the logs to the stairs, not as easy. It was starting to drizzle again by this point, and Darwin was a bit nervous crossing over the slippery logs. It took some time to find the route with the widest logs and the most sand, but we did it.
We headed back to our cabin and had some relaxing down time.
We had a 2 burner stove in our cabin so this was our Thanksgiving meal:
While Darwin had this:
And that was our Thanksgiving!
Stay tuned for day 2!
Stay tuned for day 2!
25 November 2011
{25nov2011: Thank you}
Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!
Darwin has some thanking of her own to do. Our friends Baby Rocket Dog and Hootie (and their mom) sent over a surprise package.
Any package that we bring home, Darwin automatically thinks is hers. This time she was right. She tried to open it herself, but wasn't getting very far so I helped her out.
A cool giant wooden barbell!
Darwin has some thanking of her own to do. Our friends Baby Rocket Dog and Hootie (and their mom) sent over a surprise package.
Any package that we bring home, Darwin automatically thinks is hers. This time she was right. She tried to open it herself, but wasn't getting very far so I helped her out.
A cool giant wooden barbell!
The water in Seattle is too cold now for Darwin to play in, but this will be great for the summer! Of course Darwin wanted it now....
But I've hidden it away so she doesn't gnaw it to a toothpick before she actually gets to try it out!
So THANK YOU Baby Rocket Dog and Hootie!!!!
So THANK YOU Baby Rocket Dog and Hootie!!!!
23 November 2011
{23nov2011: wordless Wednesday}
the death of a stuffy edition.
Oh yes, and Darwin wasn't the smart doggy in our http://evolutionofdarwin.blogspot.com/2011/11/10nov2011-smart.html" target=_blank>last post. No way... She'd never try that... she won't even push a door open with her nose.
And thanks for the input on the day care situation. I tried asking them about putting her in the other room with less dogs, but they said that area is for dogs being boarded and not for general day care use. They said they'd put really shy dogs in there or new dogs that aren't used to being at daycare, but "Darwin is a seasoned pro". I've tried looking for other daycares (the ones near us seem to all be very crowded) and entertaining the idea of a dog walker (though I have to admit I don't know how comfortable I am with giving a "stranger" a key to our place), but for now we're sticking with once a week daycare and playdates with her brother when possible.
Oh yes, and Darwin wasn't the smart doggy in our http://evolutionofdarwin.blogspot.com/2011/11/10nov2011-smart.html" target=_blank>last post. No way... She'd never try that... she won't even push a door open with her nose.
And thanks for the input on the day care situation. I tried asking them about putting her in the other room with less dogs, but they said that area is for dogs being boarded and not for general day care use. They said they'd put really shy dogs in there or new dogs that aren't used to being at daycare, but "Darwin is a seasoned pro". I've tried looking for other daycares (the ones near us seem to all be very crowded) and entertaining the idea of a dog walker (though I have to admit I don't know how comfortable I am with giving a "stranger" a key to our place), but for now we're sticking with once a week daycare and playdates with her brother when possible.
10 November 2011
{10nov2011: smart}
Thank goodness, Darwin isn't this smart:
You can view it here if the video doesn't work.
A few things regarding Darwin's daycare entry video yesterday, she always enters that way. If no one is sitting at the front desk when she walks in she won't bark til they come out from the back. One time she walked in and the guy called her another dog's name (there are a couple blue Dane's that go there) and as soon as she "talked" to him and he knew it was her. hahaha While she's totally fine going into daycare (no pulling, resisting, etc), when we watch the webcam she always looks so unhappy. Every once in a blue moon she'll play with another dog for a few minutes, but most of the time she stands facing the door waiting to get picked up; head low, just standing. I wonder sometimes if she should get put in another area (they have multiple rooms). One camera shows a room with far less dogs and I think maybe she'd feel more relaxed with less dogs.
Nala and Tanner, Darwin's been going to The Barking Lounge the last year or so. I like that they have a webcam. I don't like that the big dog area is always PACKED.
Ollie, she goes almost once a week. Even with wogs (walk+jog) and big weekend park outings she still has a ton of energy during the week. We figure a day of day care is good for her.
You can view it here if the video doesn't work.
A few things regarding Darwin's daycare entry video yesterday, she always enters that way. If no one is sitting at the front desk when she walks in she won't bark til they come out from the back. One time she walked in and the guy called her another dog's name (there are a couple blue Dane's that go there) and as soon as she "talked" to him and he knew it was her. hahaha While she's totally fine going into daycare (no pulling, resisting, etc), when we watch the webcam she always looks so unhappy. Every once in a blue moon she'll play with another dog for a few minutes, but most of the time she stands facing the door waiting to get picked up; head low, just standing. I wonder sometimes if she should get put in another area (they have multiple rooms). One camera shows a room with far less dogs and I think maybe she'd feel more relaxed with less dogs.
Nala and Tanner, Darwin's been going to The Barking Lounge the last year or so. I like that they have a webcam. I don't like that the big dog area is always PACKED.
Ollie, she goes almost once a week. Even with wogs (walk+jog) and big weekend park outings she still has a ton of energy during the week. We figure a day of day care is good for her.
09 November 2011
04 November 2011
{04nov2011: Barclay Lake}
One thing I love about living in Seattle is going to the pumpkin patch in the fall. We tie it in with a hike to make it a full day activity with something for everyone.
I have yet to find a dog friendly pumpkin patch, so while Jason and I find perfect pumpkins, poor Darwin has to wait in the car. We've been going to Craven Farm the last two years because there's so much more there than just pumpkins. This year we were cold and trying to get to a hike further away so we just stuck to pumpkins.
I have yet to find a dog friendly pumpkin patch, so while Jason and I find perfect pumpkins, poor Darwin has to wait in the car. We've been going to Craven Farm the last two years because there's so much more there than just pumpkins. This year we were cold and trying to get to a hike further away so we just stuck to pumpkins.
After getting my pumpkins we got Darwin out of the car so she could stretch her legs (and have a potty break) before heading out to the hiking spot.
Jason had picked a hike so we could see some fall colors, but as we were leaving Craven Farm we realized it was a lot further east than we wanted to go (2 hour drive from where we were) so we got out the iphone and looked up a closer hike. Jason chose Barclay Lake.
It was a fairly easy hike (pretty flat) but beautiful, as most Washington hikes are.
We tried to move off the main path when other people were passing, but sometimes Darwin just wasn't having it. Thankfully most of the people we passed were happy to give Darwin attention.
Usually when we hike (or go to the park) Darwin won't walk away from us, she'll walk right in front of us (literally, right in front where we have to push her along) or a few steps away. This time though she gathered up some courage and would walk ahead of us by a dozen feet (3-4m) or so.
We found a tree with a tunnel through it's trunk. I had Jason go through it first.
And surprisingly Darwin followed!
Then we got to one of Darwin's favorite things... a wooden bridge. She quickly ran ahead and ran across, then ran back to get us, then led the way over again.
We soon made it to the lake...
and the sun managed to come out. So we found a couple logs and hung out for a bit.
We followed the trail past the lake and as far as it went, then turned around and headed back.
We ended the day at Diamond Knot Brewery for a post hike meal and beveridges.
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