Da Farm

I've been waiting to post about one of our favoritest parts of vaca.  The farm.  Phil & Katy's beautifully quiet, quaint, charming farm.  These two live and work in Seattle and have a whole 'nother life in a tiny town coined Chimacum...a life that you can't picture (with justice) until you see it firsthand and observe Uncle Phil in action.  This doctor man was definitely born to hang with cattle (and later slaughter said cattle), pound in fence posts and brine ham.  His element has been found.  Katy renovated their adorably sweet farm house to a perfect country, but not too country, T.  Everything Katy does (art, design, architecture, cooking) is done with amazing and appropriate detail, creativity and perfect simplicity.  She is my creative hero.   

 2 Vogel men, workin' the farm.  And Scout.  Can't forget about Scout.

 The cattle brood.  The man of the group is in the back left.  Two babes are in the middle. 

 Tim's task was pounding in stakes for the fence.  My little farm boy's hands were covered in blisters.

 This little house is where they dry and smoke meat.

 Phil explains to a very eager Tim how he hangs the animals and turn um into edible goodness.

 Carmella (I think) is the hussy who almost ran me down with her horns.  I came within inches of being stabbed in the gut as she bulldozed past me. 

 Home grown eggs are dropped on their doorstep by neighbors.  Made for good breakfast sandwiches.

 I loved capturing these two in their farming element.  How cute are they? 

 No Hummers out here.  Just classic beauties like this one.

 This "lawn ornament" sits on the road, guiding people down their driveway.

 My 10 year anniversary babe n me (and Scout).

 Of course they have a massive bulldozer type machine.  It's fully functional too.

 Katy's photographing their cattle babies while Phil gives um a little love tap.

In addition to the farm, they own a corner market, offering colorful and ultra fresh produce and such from local farmers.  This little store has been a community building experience for Chimacum.  A feel good story of a tiny little town trying to put themselves on the map and provide home grown food for their home grown neighbors.  Phil and Katy put their hearts and souls into making this market thrive.  I love the charm of its origins and I sure hope it sticks around for years to come. 

 Katy designed and painted the entire building.  Love it. 

Dude's souvenir from our trip.  The cookies didn't quite make it home.

If you ever happen upon Chimacum, stop in.  You might see a middle age guy walkin' around the field, strummin' his guitar, harmonica strapped to his face and a home grown sonnet coming out of his mouth.  These are the folks you meet in the country.  It's a different pace - hopefully we can mosey their way again soon.  Thanks for showing us your world away from your world Phil and Katy.            

6 Days Away....6 Days to Play

We love our kids.  So much so that we decided it was in all of our best interests for us parentals to get outta town for some quality adult time.  We figured 10 years of marriage was a good enough excuse, so my parents flew in to stay with our little angels for 6 days.  We booked flights to Seattle and spent our precious time sitting on our duffs, eating, sleeping like babies, hiking more than a quarter mile, talking (granted, we talked a pathetic amount about the kids), bonding, driving, reading book after book, taking in the beauty of nature around us, drinking wine...you get the picture.  Mighty nice.

I know you're all used to posts centered around chunky cheeks and dudeisms, so my apologies for the high volume of Tim and me-ness below.  We didn't have other subjects to photograph, but the scenic shots are worth viewing.  I'll break down what our heavenly days consisted of as we go along.  It's a trip I'd recommend to anyone looking for breathtaking beauty and total relaxation, so if  you wanna bust outta town for a few days, consider this customized vacation, brought to you by Mile High Vogels.   

Note...we ended our trip at Phil and Katy's farm in Chimacum.  I'm going to dedicate a separate post to this adventure, so stay tuned.  Especially all you Vogels out there. This world of Phil and Katy is one that you need to see. 

Our first night was spent in Seattle at Tim's Uncle Phil and Aunt Katy's architectural masterpiece (aka, their house).  They cooked up a fabulous steak salad meal while we looked out over the Puget Sound.  It was sunny and 75.  Pure perfection.

 

And of course dessert. 

Aunt Mary joined us for the night, along with her little angel, Amelia.  I got my baby fix right off the bat, although I could have used it on day 3 or 4 when my heart started aching a bit for my kiddos.

 

I've never liked raw tomato, but I ate these little suckers like candy. 

Saturday morning we woke up, had breakfast and drove to Whidbey Island, our home away from home for 4 days.  This produce stand captured my heart.  So much color, fresh grown goodness, amazingly cheerful flowers, charm...I could have hung out there all day.

I love how rust becomes quaint and charming when you enter this island world.  I'd hang this in my kitchen, but it would look incredibly out of place. 

Even the country farm views were spectacular. 

Oh how I enjoy random God reminders. 

Meet Gwen.  She and her husband, Tom, sat next to us at lunch that day.  We got along famously.

We hiked around tide pools and found this ginormous jelly fish. 

The first of many "us" shots.  Take it all in. 

 

Our Bed & Breakfast, the home of Tim's buddy's parents.  We stayed in the top right room and felt completely at home.  Great room, amazing views, delish breakfasts, hot tub, ideal location...it was just what we were looking for. 

This was the view from our patio, where we spent a great deal of time.

 

If only we had water in Colorado...then again, everyone would wanna live here.

My dear husband whipped me in the leg with this piece of kale.  Felt like I was 10, being whipped with wet towels by my big brother. 

This was my favorite hike.  We spent a couple hours getting lost in the mossy forest and looking out over the ocean bluffs.

Who's that mountain climber at the top?  That's just me.  Miss adventure.

 

Larry, the B&B owner, made a kayak and was kind enough to let us use it for a couple hours.  We paddled over to Hope Island (how could we avoid our daughter's name-sake island). 

One day we put our car on a ferry and tooled around the San Juan island.  It was the beachy feel we were looking for, so despite the gloomy day, we're glad we ventured over there. 

I have a heart for light houses, so I forced my hubby to hike out to this one.  Lighthouses spell vacation to me. 

This is the little harbor town where Phil and Katy had their wedding reception. 

Another.

We spent 30 minutes trading off with the binocs at this "whale watching spot."  I think they tell you you'll see whales just to watch and laugh at all the dummies like us who sit there for hours and see nothin.  Absolutely nothin. 

We parked our car on this ferry and Tim spent the entire hour long ride investigating how it all works.  He just loves transportation.  All types.  Anything that moves.  And transports. 

Our last day we took a ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula and hiked around on Hurricane Ridge.  Breathtakingly beautiful. 

 

I also have a heart for waterfalls.  I could have sat there all day long.

The end of that afternoon we stopped at the Dungeness Spit, the longest spit in the country.  It was a 9 mile hike in extreme wind, so we opted to look at it from here.  The walk through the flowered forest to get there was my favorite part of the stop.  

Like I said, the Vogel Farm post is yet to come, but our trip to the islands of Seattle was one we won't forget.  It's so refreshing to remind ourselves that we really do enjoy spending time together, aside from our kids.  We had time to just be together.  No interuptions.  If you haven't gotten away with your sig other, I highly recommend it.  The 6 days were like one big, deep breath.  THANKS to Nana and Papa for making it possible to breathe.  We owe you big time!!!!!