Emancipated!

Well, kids, it's all open water from here. I officially did my last work as an attorney on July 31, and as of August 1 I am retired. I knew I would feel relieved,  but I had no idea of the weight I would immediately feel lifted. 

 And the Emancipation Period has started off with great fun. My college friend Moe (whom you may remember from her helping me move from California to Washington) came up for a visit, and we ferried over to Port Townsend to visit some other college friends. We celebrated my "graduation" (as one friend kept calling it), took long walks, ate mexican food, and binge-watched Ted Lasso which one had never seen. Such fun, and I kept realizing that I didn't have the worry about work lingering in the background. When one is used to carrying a load, however tidy, it does feel good to put it down.

Moe and I returned home and yesterday headed off to Deception Pass State Park at the north end of Whidbey Island. It is truly one of the most beautiful places you could ever see. 

 

There are miles of hiking trails on both sides of the water, and one led us to a spot beneath the bridge. You can see Moe on the lower left, which shows the scale of this impressive structure.

 

 

We had lunch on the other side of the bridge, at a local institution called The Shrimp Shack. 

We highly recommend the popcorn shrimp.

From there, we roamed around the town of La Connor for a bit, which quilters know as the home of the Pacific Northwest Fiber Arts Museum. We did not have a lot of time, so skipped that in favor of a stroll through town and a bit of poking around in shops.

But our ultimate destination was back to Deception Pass for a boat tour, hosted by Deception Pass Tours. (I am well aware that taking a commercial tour in a state park is a very "retiree" thing to do -- but it was fantastic.) It was a perfect day for a boat outing, as it was unusually hot but clear and calm. 

Oh, the blue water and blue sky.

We saw a lot of wildlife, even from our distance. Harbor seals swimming along...

 Basking on the shore (look closely, they blend in with the rocks) ...

 

Even napping on a marker buoy. 

 

 We saw porpoises leaping, salmon jumping, and bald eagles perched in the pines just watching us go by.

Our tour guide pointed out an egg yolk jellyfish. I'd never heard of them, let alone seen one. 

It was perfect summer adventure. And on a random Wednesday!

I think I am going to have a hard time remembering what day it is. That might be a very pleasant problem to have. 

I hope your summer is going swimmingly, friends.