Longer trip

 
Friday the 22nd we said goodbye to the children again as Mojo dropped us at the airport.  (Since I won the 2011 PAEMST for Washington, we got a free trip to D.C.).  But as we prepared to board, Cheri noticed that our garment bag was missing (along with our fancy clothes) – because we had left it in the car.  A Costco employee was able to alert Mom, and she raced back to the airport with seconds to spare. 

“Always look back.”
-J. Shields

The following morning we opened our curtains to see the Potomac from the 15th floor, then headed out to find lentil soup for lunch (at a place called Teaism). 
 
We spent most of the day at the Natural History Museum, surrounded by all manner of bones and other cool things.
 

 
We rode the user-friendly Metro to an Ethiopian restaurant called Etete, and filled up with more delicious food.
 

Short trips

We heard there was a good vegetarian Indian restaurant in Vancouver, BC, called Saravanaa Bhavan, so we got Mom to drive us up there on Sunday the 17th.  Coincidentally, we found friendly Tad up there too, having stopped by during a train trek across the continent. 
  
 
Alice and Gryphon have been taking walks and collecting treasures, playing with the babyboard, building forts, and not concerning themselves with the potty.
 
On the 19th Cheri and I attended a reception for exceptional educators in the governor’s mansion in Olympia.  (There was no governor there, but there was free food).  I was invited for being a state finalist for the 2011 PAEMST. 
  
On the way home the next day, we went through Port Angeles and decided to live in a vacation rental for a little while. 

Port Angeles visit

Cheri and I made our first trip to Port Angeles on Thursday the 14th, having bought a 2007 Subaru Forester shortly before.  We determined that looking for cheap apartments isn’t the best way to appreciate a new city, but dinner with midwives Debbie and Laurie (and their families) revived our enthusiasm.
  
Meanwhile, Alice and Gryphon were keeping the grandparents busy.


I started Friday with a visit to Debbie’s daughter Leah’s geometry class.  Somehow pancakes were involved again.   We looked at a couple of houses before giving up and making the drive back to Bellingham.
  
  
  
 

Back in the Northwest

First stop: Goodwill (for warm clothes).  Then we continued testing playground equipment, starting at Boulevard Park.
  
 
Then at St. Claire Park and Whatcom Falls Park.
 
 
 

Aquarium

Aunt Ann took us to the Aquarium of the Pacific on Friday the 8th. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
We managed to fit in some pancakes and a trip to the park before our flight to Bellingham on Saturday.