Day 4-8 - Cedar Lodge, Hood Canal, WA - June 26-30

Wow! We have had an awesome time up at the Canal. We spent five days there, from Saturday the 26 through Wednesday the 30th. Being at the Canal is always one of the highlights of summer, and is one of the things I look forward to the most. Among the many things to do include intertubing, wakeboarding, and kayaking on the Canal, digging for clams and schucking oysters to be cooked that same night, playing board games on the porch, helping around the house with various little projects that need to get done, and, last but not least, shooting Gordy's Potato Gun.


Eric-"Explosion!!!"

Elena's dad and step mom came to visit while we were there. It was great to meet them and show them around the Canal.

This time we also took a trip to Seattle where we visited the Market on Pikes Street, explored the Science Museum, and finished off the day with some Clam Chowder from the famous Ivar's Restaurant.



Pikes Street!

Midway through our stay, Eric's family came to town and on the last night we had a big dinner together at their house where we ate good lasagne, had a guitar jam session, and set off some incredible fireworks. Pete, Elena, and I were urged to stay through the Fouth of July - Mark even wagered the number of days we would stay based on if we could keep track of a designated card that he flipped around in a few of his clever magic tricks. We're going to stick to the plan, however, as we have a reservation to stay at a fire tower in Glacier National Park on Friday the 2nd.

One last experience I'd like to relate has to do with a particular phenomenon that occurs at night on the canal. If you walk down to the water after night fall and swish your hand through the waves, you will sometimes see your hand lit up in a neon green light by microscopic algae that give off light when they are agitated, aka Bio-Luminescence. The more you move your hand around in the water, the greater the light that's given off. Pete and I decided to jump in and swim around on the very last night when it was particularly powerful. It was surreal to see our every
movement followed by a trail of light in the water, almost something out of mythology. It was an incredible experience and a great exclamation point to another fantastic stay with Dede and Gordy at the Canal.