Kasploring Day posted by Anonymous @ 8:40 PM

Hi everyone! Angie here. This is my first official entry into the blog. Well, Tuesday was "kasploring" day, which is Parker's way of saying exploring. We were pretty wiped from our big day in Seattle so we decided to do some driving around Whidbey Island. We went back over Deception Pass onto Whidbey and soon saw a sign for Cornet Bay. Cornet Bay probably doesn't ring any bells to many people but for me it brings back tragic memories of Mary. Yeah, Mary, my mean, nostril flaring, red-head, teenage boot camp instructor, I mean 5th grade school camp counselor. I thought I'd make a voyage back to the bay where I developed a phobia of all things related to youth camps. What we found there was nothing to bring back nasty memories, but a lovely spot to pull off the road, sit on a bench and look at the water. This was one of those places where you felt you might very well be the only one on the planet. OK except for the hundreds of cars we saw at a distance crossing the bridge at Deception Pass. We watched a Bald Eagle catch his lunch and he flew very nearly over our heads and perched on a nearby tree. We were so excited to be that close to something so beautiful and powerful.
Then we journeyed on and saw several military airplanes. The same ones we had been hearing and sometimes seeing at the campground. We decided to try to find where they were coming from and ended up at the Naval Air Base. We pulled over to watch the planes....what kind you ask? I have no clue. Maybe a P3 Orion, or a C3PO or something. Well we might have taken a picture but the most friendly military police stopped by to greet us and ask that we not take any pictures. We journeyed on until we came to Ebey State Park. I remember the name well because it reminds me of eBay. This park was a very pleasant surprise. We found there a gorgeous beach with awesome waves. We're talking ocean type waves, not wussy little ones. Brian and I sat on a driftwood log while the kids played with the waves. It had been a long time since I had heard the sound of those powerful waves; I could have sat there all day. Ahhhhhh. There were only a few people there too, which made it all the more enjoyable. We also saw a surfer in the water. As we were walking back I realized I didn't have my glasses. I had taken them off to enjoy the view with my own eyeballs, and they somehow fell somewhere. We all looked for quite a while to no avail. The kids picked up sea shells and feathers to help pay for my new glasses. :)

We went to another section of the state park where there was a gun battery made for WWII. Brian and the kids went underground to the lookout point, and through the tunnels. This other section of the park was really high up and the view was amazing. The wind that comes towards the cliffs make a nice up draft for para-gliders. These guys have little seats attached to their parachute and catch the wind right off the ground and fly around. We got to see these guys in action. Looked really cool...would I ever do it? Uh.....no.

Then we went onwards towards our final destination, the long awaited ferry boat ride. We told the kids that we were going to take a ferry ride, but that we were going exploring first. Well every other minute, Parker asked, "Is this the way to the ferry?" Or, "Are we going to the ferry yet?" So FINALLY we could tell him that it was ferry time, but we had quite a drive. Whidbey Island is skinny and very long. It's the second largest island in the continental US. Anywho, we behind the slowest person in the world (10- 15 under the speed limit) on a two lane road, which of course put Brian in a fantastic mood! I kept trying to distract him or tell him it would be OK. But we stayed behind this car, and stayed behind the car, and stayed behind the car with no hopes of passing. And pretty soon I found myself saying, "Man this person is driving me crazy!" So I suggested to Brian to pass her on the right in the ferry lane. He was like, "Are you sure?" Yeah!!!! We made that ferry with 45 seconds to spare. Phew! The ferry ride was very short, but still fun. Ally wanted to stay outside the whole time and Parker wanted to kasplore every nook and cranny of the ferry, which meant sitting in every type of seat he could find. Being on a ferry is so relaxing! I'm always struck by how smooth they are! Well, the ride came to a quick halt and we arrived in Mukilteo. Parker was quite distraught that the ferry ride was so short, and I can't blame him. Poor guy, waited all day and POOF, done!! On the way back to camp Ally made up a lovely song called Mukiltatio. It went something like this..."Mukil....ta...teo" She repeated this approximately 589 times before Brian said something like, "Ahhhhh!! Ally can you please sing something different?" Translated into tired 7 year-old language. "Daddy doesn't like my voice!!! Whaaaaaaahhhh! I'm never going to sing again." So Parker was put out about the short ferry ride and Ally thought her singing career was over then suddenly silence.....sweet.... lovely ......silence. The little rugrats fell asleep and turned back into angels when they woke up! What a great day!!!!