San Juan Islands
We got up bright and early to head out to the San Juan Islands. After arriving on the island, we headed down to the American Camp area and did a little hiking on the beach.

Christy really wanted to see some whales. Well, we saw one early on, but it was just a statue in the parking lot. The dogs were excited (especially since we didn't make them wear packs).
We went out to Lime Kiln State Park and sat around for a few hours, watching for whales. No luck though.

This is Christy and Loki at Lime Kiln State Park on the western side of San Juan Island. One of the few places in the world where you can see killer whales from the shore.
There was a cute little lighthouse a bit further out.
 

Alpacas!
After sitting around for awhile and not seeing any whales, we drove north and hung out at the English Camp. English Camp is where the Brits had their camp during the Pig War of 18..er... 18 something (1856?). Anyways, the war was started because a English pig was shot as it was trespassing in the American side of the island. It was sort of like an early 19th Century Cuban missile crisis. There was a huge standoff with many naval ships.

After grabbing some yummy food, we headed back to look for whales. But along the way, we stopped by to look at some Alpacas and buy some Alpaca wool socks.

 

Lavender Farm
There was also a pretty cute lavender farm with strange sculptures (including this pi).At last in the last little while on the island, we saw whales!
Final count: 2 Killer whales, 2 Bald Eagles, 1 fox.

Dan got into a car accident just 3 weeks after getting his new car. :O(

You can't see much of the damage from this angle, but you can see the pieces of the car on the ground.

 

Party! 

Dan and the Dogs at the Trailhead - Anderson Butte and Watson Lake
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

We were a little worried about going on the hike. Just a few days before two hikers were murdered in the southern region of the park. There were plenty of other hikers out with us, so we felt a bit more safe. (Plus, we had Loki to protect us... he'd lick any would-be attacker to death).

 

Dogs frolicking in the snow

The kids had a blast on our hike. We think it was probably Thea's first encounter with snow. At first she wasn't sure what this cold white stuff was.

The dogs were sliding and playing in the snow. The snow was flying everywhere. They were licking and jumping and rolling in the snow.

Christy and the Doglies at the Mosquito Pond...err I mean Lake

Overall, it was a nice hike. Still lots of snow. Beautiful skies. Majestic mountains. It was a lot like Glacier, only everything was a bit more spread out. I guess that's the biggest difference between the North Cascades and Glacier NP. Glacier is just a compacted (and a bit more impressive) version of the North Cascades.
It was a short hike out to the lakes. The doggy packs sure came in handy. The dogs carried their own treats and water.

 

After the hike, we took a nice drive along Highway 20 - the North Cascades Scenic Highway.
Needless to say, with all the snow and mud, the dogs got a little dirty.
And we had two very tired dogs at the end of the day. Here they are sleeping in the back seat. Loki's head is nestled nicely on top of Thea's.

Dog Day Afternoon at the Beach (in Edmonds)
The two dogs playing at the off-leash dog park. Surprisingly, Thea is the braver one when it comes to the water. Usually she's afraid of everything.
Loki taking a sip of water... Is the Puget Sound salt water?
 

"What's this metal thing that makes noises?" Thea and Loki's backside
The Terrible Twosome

Our old San Francisco Home
During our drive up from LA, my brother and I took a picture in front of our old house in San Francisco. We didn't pick those colors. (Our house used to be brown).