Sol Duc Hot Springs

Friday morning Lynn and I had our conference with Seth's teacher Jessica. The kids do extensive self-evaluations and include some of their favorite pieces of schoolwork. It was interesting to read Seth's self-evaluation, which seemed honest and accurate. One nice thing that Jessica shared with us was that many other kids mentioned that they had a new friend named Seth who they liked. So apparently Seth has high "sociometric popularity." Last week in my class we talked about the distinction between sociometric popularity (being well-liked by peers) and perceived popularity (being perceived by peers as having high social status and influence) and the fact that sociometric popularity is associated with better outcomes than perceived popularity, which is often associated with aggression (physical, verbal, or relational). Anyway, I am happy that Seth is doing well socially at school, especially considering he arrived in the middle of the school year into a classroom where some of the kids have been together for three years. Jessica predicted that Seth would do well in the upper elementary classroom (grades 4-6) in the fall, which has a male lead teacher named Jon who I have talked to and been very positively impressed with.

After the conference, Grace, Seth, Miles, my mom, and I packed into my car and drove (thanks Grace for doing the driving all weekend!) over Deception Pass to Keystone on Whidbey Island, where we caught the ferry to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. We could see the snow-capped mountains of the Olympics ahead and the North Cascades behind, as well as the mountains of Vancouver Island to the north across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We drove from Port Townsend past the small cities of Sequim and Port Angeles and beautiful Crescent Lake before turning into the Park and reaching Sol Duc Hot Springs. We rented two basic but adequate cabins, one with a kitchen. We wasted no time in trying out the hot pools. There are four: a medium-size hot pool, a smaller very hot pool, a shallow and slightly cooler kiddie pool, and a large and much cooler pool, which I did not try. The pools have a sulfur smell which I do not like but got used to. Mom cooked us dinner (thanks Mom!). We retired early, tired from traveling and relaxed from soaking. Mom and Seth stayed in one cabin and Grace, Miles, and I stayed in the other. Miles claimed one of the queen beds and I claimed the other. We each wanted Grace to sleep in our bed. If you have any doubt about who won that battle, I'll give you a hint: not me.

The next day we had breakfast at the resort's restaurant and then hiked to Sol Duc Falls - a short (1.6 miles round trip) and scenic hike. The path was snowier than I expected. We didn't see many other people, which was nice. Here is a video of the falls (Seth and I are on the bridge over the river gorge and then Grandma arrives):

We returned to the hot springs and took another soak. I played Mille Borne with Seth and then took a nap. Then, while Grace got a massage and my mom read by the river in one of the nice wooden swinging benches, I took Seth and Miles on a walk. Here's a video of them playing on the rocks that line the road:

Then we took a path that didn't go exactly where I thought it would, so we had to bushwhack a little, which I think was a good adventure for the boys. We returned to the cabin. Here's a video of Seth and Miles wrestling on the bed (notice how Seth holds Miles's head to protect him - I remember doing that for Seth when we used to wrestle) and Grace returning from her massage:

We had dinner at the resort's restaurant. Friendly service, OK food. I went to bed early again because I wasn't feeling well.

The next day we had breakfast at the resort's restaurant and then took one last soak in the hot pools. Then we had to pack up and check out. We drove back to Port Townsend and had lunch at a creperie (good call Mom!). I had a yummy Nutella and banana crepe. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had some time to walk around Port Townsend, although I stayed in or near the car because I was tired. We took the ferry back to Keystone and drove back to Bellingham. All in all, it was a nice weekend. We lucked out with the sunny weather. I'm just sorry I didn't feel better (a combination of pain, fatigue, and upset stomach), but I still enjoyed the trip and the company.

Here is a link to some photos from the trip: http://remmel.shutterfly.com/2460
Here is a link to some photos that Grace took: http://gracesadventures.shutterfly.com/193

Ethan