a guest in the house

A little over a week ago my friend and fellow IWU alumni, Riccara, flew in for a brief visit to Whidbey Island. We fit quite a few things in the four days that she visited. A trip to the thrift store, numerous walks on the beach, a ferry ride to Port Townsend for dinner and shopping, a tour of Fort Casey and the lighthouse, sidewalk shopping at Pikes Market in Seattle, and a behind the scenes tour of Lavender Wind Farm (with warm chocolate chip lavender scones, to boot). The only thing we didn't fit in to your weekend was a trip to the dump. I am in love the the dumps on Whidbey Island. More on that later.

Bailey loved having Riccara as a guest as well. Riccara has a soft spot in her heart for Golden Retrievers, she has a 100 lb retriever at home in Colorado Springs. Whew, that's a big dog.
My favorite part of Riccara's visit was the morning we walked down to the beach and found the tide farther out than I had ever seen it. We found all sorts of tidal pools full of anemone colonies, various colored starfish (maroon, dark blue, red), as well as bright orange sea cucumbers. It was like a treasure hunt, full of shrieks and pointing at every new discovery. If you look closely at the above picture you will find a light green sea anemone beside the large piece of seaweed.

It was fun having a visitor to share the unique wonders of Whidbey Island. Calli is coming to visit in July and I can't wait to enjoy the island with her as well.