I'm Having Too Much Fun

Lupine at Hurricane Ridge

August is starting out to be a month of good times with family and friends.  The first weekend my brother Steve, and his wife Judi, came up to visit for a couple of days.  We had a blast.  Now that children have been raised, and we all are basically "on our own" we can finally get together and relax and have fun.  The weather was amazing, clear blue skies for both days they were here.  On Monday night we got together with Mary Lou and Laurie, Mom's cousin and her daughter from Port Angeles, and Leslie & Steve, and Jim.  David grilled up his usual feast of shrimp so everyone was happy. 

The next day we took a tour around the Dungeness area and marveled in the beautiful beaches and the clear skies.

This is taken in the area called Dungeness.  We also went to Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, and just took our time, relaxed, visited and soaked in the scenery.  Unfortunately, I left my camera in the car for that portion of the day trip.  All of the beaches we visited are within 15 minutes from Edgar's Acres.  We also stopped by Nash's but they were closed.  I wanted to get something for my cousin Pat.  Maybe next time.  In the meantime Pat, this photo will have to do.

That evening we went up to Steve & Leslie's for dinner so my brother could spend an evening with Steve's koi. Judi even managed to get her toes kisssed by the koi, because they liked her.   We had such a wonderful time.  We even managed to get a great group picture of the four of us.

In order to get all of us laughing at the same time I made a comment that I won't repeat, but let's just say it had something to do with Steve's beard.  It's a nice one, isn't it? On our way home we spotted a herd of Elk in a field.  Not sure if this picture will be clear enough for you.  The bull was just standing there watching us, making sure we left the cows alone.  This bull was big, very big.







Yesterday Lindsey, Andrew and Jim came up and we spent the day at Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Forest.  I've included a lot of pictures here, which is just a small portion of what I took.  It was overcast at sea level, but WOW, incredible at 5300 feet.





These pictures really don't do justice to the true beauty.  The wild flowers were out, and it was warm.  There is still plenty of snow in the area so one short hiking trail was closed. 

Andrew and Lindsey.  This isn't as warm as Florida, but beautiful.

This isn't a bad picture of us, but a stunning picture of the mountains.

And yes, Lindsey did get to touch the snow.

On the way back to Edgar's Acres we stopped at Olympic Cellars Winery in Sequim to check out the Working Woman Wines.  Another fun moment. 

Jim, Lindsey and Andrew left this morning to see Mt. Helens.  The best part of their visit was having a chance to get to know Andrew.  What a wonderful guy.  Lindsey, you are a lucky woman (and Andrew, you already know you are a lucky man). 

Today finished out with having dinner with our neighbors De & Walt, and their friends.  What fun people and good food.  I had lamb for the first time in 40 years and it was delicious.   

I've been busy and will be making another post soon to bring you up today on Operation Holiday Stockings. 

Gotta love this sabbatical idea!

TTFN

Sue