Puffins!

Vancouver Island, BC

We stayed at the Prancing Horse, about 20 minutes north of Victoria.  Our suite even came with a resident cat, which made us feel right at home.  Lots of mini hikes between rainstorms, fish and chips, and bird-watching. 

28 weeks. 

Tom was determined to see a bald eagle on this trip.  He had nothing to worry about as we saw several of them fly right by our window in both Port Angeles and Vancouver Island.  Here's one we spotted on a beach hike. 

Tubbs Island

This past weekend we tackled Tubbs Island in San Pablo, a little over 6 miles since part of the full loop was washed out.  I'm rapidly becoming more and more wimpy and must admit that it took me the rest of the day to recover.  This was a gorgeous setting, with flitting sparrows, a handful of egrets, and giant mushrooms aggressively bursting out of the ground.  HOWEVER, I'm not completely sure it was worth the paranoia that ensued after we came across a couple frantically swatting ticks off of each other.  We found two on Tom and then quickly escaped home for a more thorough tick check and laundry!  

Weekend Getaway: Santa Cruz

This year it has been the birthday that never ends!  There was my actual birthday/NYE romantic rooftop dinner, my weekend celebration with friends in Elkhorn Slough/Monterey, and just this past weekend I got part 3 - my annual January weekend getaway of my choosing.  This year, we stayed at Redwood Croft, a forested B+B up in the mountains of Santa Cruz! 

On Safari in Elkhorn Slough

I love otters, obviously.  Which is why our private Safari boat through Elkhorn Slough was the perfect birthday adventure to close out the weekend.