Eric's Birthday

Eric turned 38 in November 2010. We spent the day in Seattle as we have done on previous birthdays. It was really fun.

Here's the birthday boy with some of his presents.

Eric at the Seattle Art Museum's outdoor sculpture park.

Another installation at the sculpture park.

So cute! Eric and his birthday otter.

Catch Up

It's been awhile since we blogged, so here goes the catch up. I recently organized our digital photos from 2010 and early 2011 and so included some of those photos in this post.

In early October we attended Oyster Fest with Dad and friends Jeff and Merey. The weather was great, the oysters were wonderful, and the place was hopping. This was our 11th year going to Oyster Fest.

In September, Kim came to visit Washington from Australia. It was great to visit and catch up with her and her baby boy Kobe.

This picture is from my niece Kira's visit with us this past summer. She came out with us as Eric competed in a local SUP race. Kira and I paddled on a SUP board sitting down. It was really fun and Kira was super adventurous.

Holla' Days

After a long, fun weekend in Port Townsend helped us get into the holiday spirit, we decided to put up our Christmas tree. Enjoy...

DeceptionPassDash

Even though he's had an unusual, two-week long 'functional' chest cold, Eric decided he still wanted to try the annual DeceptionPassDash. So we all loaded up and drove north to Fidalgo Island and met up with over 170 other paddlers for the six mile paddle through a pass that has some of the swiftest tidal currents in the northwest. The weather and conditions couldn't have been more perfect and Bowman Bay and Deception Pass State Park are absolutely picturesque.

Watching Eric at the Start; Carmen loved scrambling on the trails at the Park - the steeper the better

Bowman Bay from high up on a Bluff


A group of paddlers about to enter Deception Pass

Eric in an eddy along Pass Island

Paddlers entering Canoe Pass after rounding Strawberry Island

Eric in Canoe Pass

Celebratory Beer

Virginia Beach

During the first part of our trip to Virginia to visit Eric's family in early September, we took a side trip to Sandbridge VA, just down the beach from Virginia Beach. So Betsy, Eric and I headed out from Richmond and met Aunt Betsy at the beach (she drove 7+ hours from New York to meet us). The weather was super nice in the upper 80's and the ocean water was 76 degrees F. We had a great time.

Aunt Betsy, Eric and Betsy at Virginia Beach


Pictures from the VA beach boardwalk

Maryland blue crab feast...

Riding beach cruisers on the boardwalk at sunset.

Who's that stylish guy?

Richmond, Virginia

Eric and I flew out to Richmond, Virginia in early September to visit his family. His sister Betsy lives there. Eric's immediate family members drove down from New York and Pennsylvania to visit us for a few days. It was great to see everyone, especially Grandma Miller who is 89 years young.

From left to right: Eric's dad Dave, Karen (Dave's girlfriend), Aunt Betsy, Colin (Besty's boyfriend), Betsy, Eric, and Grandma Miller out for breakfast at a neat southern fusion restaurant called Millies.


Eric and Grandma

Brandee and Dave

Grandma and Eric about to head into the Farmer's Market

The Richmond farmers market was really nice.

I had to take a picture - so cute! I think this pup had a disability.

Betsy making pizzas for everyone.

Betsy and Ivan.

Ivan, Carmen's corgi cousin.

This picture was taken along the canal walk in downtown Richmond.

Here we are walking along the James River on a big pipe!

The beautiful James River with it's rocky reaches.

Self Portrait

Betsy, Eric, and I went on a nice afternoon kayak along the James River. We paddled on the slow water portion. Downstream of where we paddled, the river has some class V rapids!

Ahhhh...I had my hair cut and straightened.

Eric and Betsy enjoying some ice coffees. Thanks for the great trip Betsy and the rest of the Miller clan!

British Columbia and the Saanich Peninsula

After our trip to Orcas Island, Eric, Carmen, and I took the ferry to Sydney B.C. via Friday Harbor. The ferry trip was beautiful. We stayed at a nice little B & B called the Lazy Dog Cottage at the tip of the Saanich Peninsula. We did some SUP on our trip and I rode my bike around the Saanich Peninsula (40 miles). We traveled home via the Victoria B.C. to Port Angeles ferry.

A cool Stone Pub near the B & B.

Downtown Sydney on the waterfront.

Carmen playing with the Jack Russel Terriers that live at the B & B.

The kitchenette at our place.

View of Saltspring Island from the waterfront at the B & B.

Another nice view from the B & B