The other day I got to see Mr. C dive through a hoop like a dolphin. Well, maybe not exactly like a dolphin. Unlike his favorite animal, he has to start the dive while standing outside of the pool. He’s taking teen swimming lessons at our new gym. This is pretty cool for several reasons. First, the lessons are free. Free! Second, he can swim while I work out in the rest of the gym. And, as an added bonus, if I use one of the cardio machines that overlook the pool, I can work out and still watch him swim. This is how I managed to witness his dolphin impersonation.
In the past few days we’ve started moving into our house. The last time we lived there was nine years ago and it’s been a rental ever since. As you might imagine, it needs more than a little bit of work. Fortunately, my parents are nearby and can help. Even Mr. C is lending a hand. Although, he got so much paint in his hair earlier today that he told me it might be easier to dye the rest of his hair to match than to try to pick the streaks of paint out while in the shower. So I’m not quite ready to let him loose with a paintbrush anywhere except the inside of a closet for the time being. But we’ve got a few more of those for him to practice on and I hate painting closets. (Insert your favorite evil laugh here.)
We’ve also managed to venture out and about a little since our arrival. Poulsbo, one of our favorite local destinations is a quick ten minute drive from our house. We love to wander along Front Street through the charming center of town. The city, known as “Little Norway”, is the perfect place for browsing art galleries, gift shops, bookstores and more. And, I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention our obsession with Sluys Poulsbo Bakery. We’ve already been there once since our return. Ok, twice. Ummm, three times? But, really people, it’s that good. We take our donuts a block away and sit on a bench overlooking the boats docked on Liberty Bay. If you ever visit this side of Puget Sound, do not miss this bakery. Yum!
Another old favorite is Salsbury Point County Park just next to the Hood Canal Bridge. Mr. C loves to throw rocks into the water and since it’s a rocky beach, he’s got plenty to choose from. While we were there we watched two groups of people clamming along the shore and we took a mini hike through the woods. Even though he didn’t play on it this time, there’s a nice playground with a giant spider web and a boat play structure. As an added bonus, the park has an actual restroom. Don’t you love places that make you feel like you’re one with nature, but also have indoor plumbing? I do. That’s my kind of nature.
Our new town, Silverdale, hosted the annual Whaling Days last weekend. It’s a festival with live bands and a variety of stands selling everything from arts and crafts to food and drink. I’m happy to report that Mr. C saw a sign for cheesesteak sandwiches and immediately informed me that he had to have one. It wasn’t quite the same as Pat’s, but it was still yummy. This brings his sandwich tally up to three during the past two months. Hold onto your hats, people, he’s setting a new record!
However, the main draw for our Whaling Days visit was the 2016 Silverdale Rotary Duck Race. I know what you’re thinking, how exciting can a race between ducks be? I should clarify. This is not a race with real, live, actual ducks. Quack, quack? No. The participants in this race consist of 18,000 rubber ducks. They get dumped into the bay and the first one to shore wins a truck for their sponsor. All proceeds from the sponsorship of the ducks are donated to local charities so it attracts quite a bit of community support. This was our first experience watching the race and, according to the people we spoke to who sat near us, it was a good year on account of the strong onshore wind blowing towards the finish line. Apparently in some years the ducks aren’t really in a hurry to get to shore. They just want to hang out in the bay like real ducks. But, it didn’t really matter to us how long they took, we were just happy to be sitting on a huge piece of driftwood watching it all unfold. Lately it doesn’t matter whether we’re diving like dolphins or watching ducks race, we’re just happy to be back in the Pacific Northwest.
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