BIRCH BAY 2014

Here I am on Saturday night sipping a Hot Toddy, binge watching Gilmore Girls, and attempting to get caught up on my photography editing. I take photos as often as I can remember to grab my camera. When I look at photos of our family trips, simple day to day activities, or special moments, I remember them so clearly. Maybe it’s all that time looking at them as I edit (or procrastinate editing), but there’s something about photography that captures memories for me, so I really make an effort to photograph things.

It seems like just a couple of weeks ago we went crabbing up at our friends’ cabin in Birch Bay, but it was two months ago. I kept meaning to put these photos together to share but time just got away from me, and here we are in November! The last time we were up in Birch Bay was a couple years ago, when Gigi was almost two. The photos I took there a couple of years ago are some of my very favorite photos ever, which is probably because our trip there was so special.

This was our first trip during crabbing season. In fact this was my first time crabbing! We had such a wonderful time, and such amazing weather. The only good thing about time passing by so quickly is that we are that much closer to next year’s crabbing season. It’s funny to look at these sunny, bright photos of bare feet, ice cold Rainiers, and kids in t-shirts, but my motto is: better late than never. Or, at least that’s my motto in this moment of lateness.

We started off our trip with a stop at the Nisqually Wetlands, and some adventures on the Olympic Peninsula including a visit to my Aunt and Uncle’s farm, a morning in Port Townsend…

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After a walk around Port Townsend, followed by a few minutes at the beach in which the kids managed to get covered in hot chocolate, saltwater, and sand, we scurried to catch the ferry across the Sound to Whidbey Island. We don’t get to take our kids on the ferries often, but when we do I soak up every ounce of nostalgia it invokes for me. I loved taking the ferry as a kid and very little, if anything, has changed about it.

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After a quick lunch on Whidbey Island and a nice drive North via Chuckanut Drive, we arrived at our friend’s house in Birch Bay. The first night it was just a few of us, but by the following afternoon the place was packed with good friends. We spent the entire weekend crabbing, drinking cheap beer, taking long walks on the beach with the girls, kayaking, and catching up with our friends. It was wonderful.

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