The Tulips!

I had to go back... the tulips bloomed a bit early again this year, so I grabbed a few coworker friends and we hit the road to see the tulips and attempt to beat the tulip loving crowds.

We hit up the Roozengarde display fields and thought about driving around to see all the other tulip fields, but instead we walked around this one for a really long time and then got hungry.

We did get there early enough to get rock star parking and miss the afternoon crowds.  By the time we left, the place was really buzzing with people.

And so we wandered.  And I took pictures.  Lots of pictures.

 And in case I'm giving a glorified view of this experience, there is mud everywhere.  We watched people sink up to their knees in it and then get stuck.  It was hilarious.

I just can't get enough of it.  I love it here.  I love the organized rows.  The water puddles.  The colorful flowers.  The mountains in the background.
 

I love that I get to wear my boots for a legitimate reason.  I love that they can get all kinds of dirty and my feet still aren't wet.

We were still a little early, so some rows weren't blooming yet, but they had a few early bloomers bringing the color.

This may turn in to a yearly thing.  I don't know.  I just think it's super cool and so beautiful.  I still haven't gone to the actual festival, but I don't know if that matters. 

Bainbridge Island | Bloedel Reserve

In an attempt to show off my new home AND try some things I had never done before, I thought it would be fun to take a little day trip to Bainbridge Island and check out the Bloedel Reserve.  We planned our little excursion on a day that was supposed to be nice in the morning, with rain later in the day and then crossed our fingers that it worked out that way.  

In the morning, we slow poked around until after rush hour, then hit the road to catch the ferry to Bainbridge.  Then we took in the cold and windy view across the water and drove off on a little unknown adventure.  

I learned about the reserve online and no one I talked to had ever been there.  But we took the risk and wore our walking shoes.  

It was kind of fun.  I had no idea what to expect, but really enjoyed the whole thing.  The reserve itself has about 2 miles of walking path all around the property.  So we talked to the front office (they had to open a gate for us to get in!), paid our $15 each, and then grabbed a map and started walking.

I imagine this place is gorgeous in the spring/summer.  We were a bit early for flowering trees and bushes, but it was still a great way to get out and see some PNW nature.

The first part of the tour was through the "forest".  It is all very natural, but is part of the property and is maintained by them.

Then there was a bird pond, where there were lots of ducks.  I'm sure other birds are there as well, but we really only saw ducks.  This was one location that I thought is probably super pretty when trees and flowers are in bloom.

Really, the whole thing was unbelievably peaceful and we didn't run in to another person the whole time.  There were some people that started their walk behind us, but they never caught up to us, so it was just us wandering around.

We are so in touch with nature...

About half way through, you get to the actual Bloedel house where the family lived.  The bottom floor is open to view and learn about the family.  It sits on the Puget Sound, so you get a little water view as well.

Once you leave the house, you take in a little waterfall and keep touring the grounds.

There used to be stairs out front that lead down to the water, but I think because it's a public location now they didn't want people walking across the grounds, so the stairs are covered in something (looked like hay, but who knows).

We continued our walk to the Japanese Garden and house.

Then on to the moss garden.  This was one of my favorites... kind of like Alice in Wonderland.  The ground was covered in moss.

 Then some kind of tranquility pool and we were getting close to the end of our adventure.

It was a really lovely way to start our morning.  Two miles done and we were off to eat pastries in Poulsbo.  When we got there, we walked the boardwalk in the sunshine and then walked the streets in search of pastries (my favorite bakery) and beer (souvenir beer from Washington and also a brewery because we were thirsty and did a lot of walking). 

We stopped at the Harbor House, where we had a view of the water and sailboats while enjoying dinner before catching the ferry back home.  

I'd do this again for sure.