Heaven on Earth

I think that there are three important reasons to take your family on a true vacation:

1. It can be a source of renewal and relaxation.

2. It can fill your need for an adventure or two.

3. It builds lasting memories together as a family.

For Spring Break, we took the kids to San Juan Island last weekend. What an amazing trip! To me, it truly met my vital needs as listed above. Check, check, and check!

Here is the house we rented. It was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home, tucked away into the trees, with a beautiful view of the water.

This is the view from the house, complete with wildlife galore! In case anyone is interested, we noticed the property is currently for sale.....only $750K, a mere trifle, really.



We explored all over the island. This is me and Erica at Roche Harbor. Erica really loved the water, and was quite annoyed with my reluctance to let her jump right in. The weather was beautiful, but not that warm!

We found a playground and let the kids play a bit. The swings faced the water, with a beautiful view.

We found this Mausoleum a short hike from Roche Harbor. It was cool, and a bit strange. We walked through a very old cemetary to get there. I ran ahead for a few minutes, to see where the path was leading. As I was running through the trees, with this haunting feeling surrounding me I felt a bit like I was on Twilight. Eric rolled his eyes at this fanciful description. Ha ha

The West Coast had a wonderful view of the Sound, with a picturesque lighthouse. We got there as the sun was setting. You can see Ethan hoping to catch site of a whale.

Ethan didn't find a whale, but he did discover a sea lion catching the last of the warm sunrays.

There was plenty of wildlife on the island. We saw this red fox several times, as well as her black companion. They both came right up to the car.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting an Alpaca farm. This group of young males were particularly interested in the kids. They kept investigating them at the fence, making a strange meowing sound. Erica got pretty good at imitating them. She was, of course, in pure ecstasy being so close to these big furry friends!

In the little gift shop were some beautiful hats, scarves, and sweaters hand crafted from Alpaca wool. I would have loved to purchase a few of them, until I saw the price tag! Erica, unfortunately, found a tiny stuffed Alpaca (made with probably about 50 cents worth of wool) that she loved enough to give a slimy, boogery kiss to, requiring me to purchase the $16 souvenir.

The South Beach is very different from the other parts of the island. It is a wind-swept and rugged area, with rocky cliffs and some great pebbly beaches.

Erica couldn't resist all the smooth pebbles, and had to throw as many back into the water as she could find. The driftwood was also a wonder of jungle-gymns to climb.

What a wonderful place.....

The more I see of the world (not that I have seen that much, but I fully intend to see as much as possible!), the more I am amazed at it's wonder and beauty. It fills my soul with such peace and contemplation as I marvel at God's creations. He truly made a glorious place for us to live, and I love that I can feel nearer to Him when I detach myself from my own little world, and look at this earth around me.

It really is Heaven on Earth.