If there are blue skies on Whidbey Island and you aren’t skeptical of heights and high ridges, the Bluff Trail at Ebey’s Landing is the place to be.
Continue reading Trail Talk: Panoramic views at Ebey’s Landing
I’ve mentioned how the PNW fall is dark and wet. As we get closer to December we lose daylight fast. Right now the sun sets around 4:20ish but soon we’ll be experiencing darkness at 4 p.m.
For some this is tough: the rain, cold and darkness causes Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). For me, I overall I don’t mind this weather. I really love the rain. But I do have my ups and downs this time of year, but the key to beating SAD is getting out in all the mess.
Fall has arrived with its rainy vengeance and I’m beginning to pull a regular harvest of what remains in the garden.
This week I focused on the beets and carrots. Well, with the amount we planted, I’ll be focusing on them every week, but I’m not complaining.
What, you mean I have to eat rainbow carrots and beets from my garden each week? Yes please.
It seems as though I blinked and summer disappeared. Fall has arrived and that means harvesting all the hard work put in over the last few months.
Before digging up our own crop for this week’s dinner, we volunteered with Whidbey Island Winery to assist in harvesting their Siegerrebe and Angevine grapes out at French Road Farm. It was therapeutic work after sitting in front of a computer all week.
As my bare feet touched the water I was comforted that my 7 mm wetsuit and cap may be enough to keep me warm during my first open water swim in Puget Sound. The water temperature today was 56 degrees, but I didn’t retract from the cold. I look down at Sophia and Kristi’s feet as we enter the water. They have neoprene boots. I chose not to purchase them because I worried it would be more equipment to adjust.
Thankfully Saratoga Passage today was glass. Just seeing the calm conditions alleviated some of my anxiety from earlier.
Lined up with the others for the Whidbey Adventure Swim we all adjusted to the cold. Brief chats revealed swimmers came from all over the country and Canada for this U.S. Master Swim event. I’m completely out of my league here, but my goal this year was to swim a mile comfortably in the Sound by the end of the summer. Today I would try to swim 1.2.
Prior to moving here I had some goals for myself: live healthier, hike, eat local, acquire outdoor hobbies to help that quest to live healthy….you get the idea.
After moving here, I signed up for an open water event in Lake Washington. I joined the Master Swim group here, trained and completed the course. It was amazing, but it fostered a new goal: swim one mile in the Sound comfortably by this summer.
Continue reading Sound Goals: Prepping to swim Saratoga Passage
This week I caught a glimpse of the tall ships in their small parade of sails on their way to Tacoma for the Festival of Sails.
The parade of sail in North Puget Sound and the festival are intended to commemorate the 225th anniversary of Captain George Vancouver’s exploration of Puget Sound.
life in the sound 