Family Day at Deception Pass

I have a lot of updating to do on this blog. Our Instagram (@GolasKitchen) is the most up to date form of social media we have. We post as real time as possible. However this blog will go into detail more about the experience and so on. So while this is a late post, I thought it would be worth sharing. Over the summer we took a bunch of day trips and weekend camping trips around Washington. 

One trip we took was to Deception Pass near Anacortes/ Oak Harbor. We went with my sister, brother in law, and their kids. It's only an hour and half north of Seattle, but looks like many worlds away. You can enjoy the beautiful scenery, from the glimmering water, the lush green trees, and unreal blue skies. There isn't much to do there, unless you go camping or have a day picnic, but a nice spot to visit is the Shrimp Shack. It's definitely worth the visit and I would suggest ordering a pound of their local shrimp and oyster burger. See more photos below.

A carved statue of a woman holding up a salmon on Rosario Beach

At any opportunity I like to pick flowers during my adventures

Gorgeous landscape of Deception Pass

Oyster Burger with shrimp and chips combo

Oyster Burger close up

Local shrimp

Glamping in Salmon Le Sac

A few weeks ago our friend took us to Salmon La Sac to camp overnight. It was a short trip, but just what we needed. Washington has the best summers, and when we are surrounded by friends and family in such beautiful scenery it reminds us on how lucky we are to live here. The buzz of the city, the infinite options on restaurants, the arts, the tight knit community, And in contrast there is nature, the serenity, and vast wilderness. You really can't lose here. Anyway, we stayed in a treehouse above the river, cooked a campfire dinner, and enjoyed the scenery. It's now August, so we have about 2 more months of this amazing weather. We have two more camping trips planned this month. Mt Saint Helens and Mt. Rainier we're coming for you. 

Our camping building blocks of Herschel, Long Champ, Poler, etc.

The treehouse we stayed in was a two level loft. This is the bottom area.

Michal in his element, that is an outdoor kitchen. 

Dinner is served.  Vegetables cooked in a dutch oven, lemon pepper halibut, and grilled corn. 

One of the best places I've ever slept. The sound of the river at night was soothing and a little scary.

Breakfast is served. Fresh caught smoked salmon, boiled egg, and tomato salad. 

What a dream. Picking wildflowers in a meadow has been on my bucket list forever. Check!

Salmon La Sac is one of those places in Washington that will probably in a few years become like Orcas Island. 

Birthday Beach Picnic Recap

Sunday July 6th, 2014. 

A couple weeks ago Michal and I had our very first joint birthday celebration. Every year I always make a big fuss over my birthday, while he's more laid back. We didn't want to do the typical bar and club crawl, instead we opted for a summer beach picnic. It was family and pet friendly, so everyone got to join in on the fun. I didn't get any good photos, let alone food photos, but just wanted to write a post about the party and how incredibly blessed we are. We had so much food from Filipino classics such as lumpia and pancit, and Czech open faced sandwiches called chlebicky. There was also Michal's famous potato salad, chicken wings, grilled meats, salmon spread, tasty desserts, and more. It couldn't have been a more perfect day of loved ones, fantastic weather, beautiful scenery, and of course food! We are so thankful for our friends and family and their ongoing love and support. It was them who encouraged us over and over again to "start your own business", and so we are going to just that. 

The flier I designed for our birthday beach picnic.

Photo taken by my friend Michelle Yang. Our beach picnic wrapping things up at sunset.

Richmond Beach in Shoreline, WA. The city we call home.