Fort Flagler Family Fiesta

Our view a few yards from the front of the house. Mt Baker to the left, Mt Rainier to the right!

We spent the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend with friends of ours up north at Fort Flagler, and boy did we hit the jackpot! Scott and I deliberated about how to divulge (or NOT) our newly discovered vacation spot, as it seems to be a well kept secret and we plan on taking full advantage of this on a yearly basis from here on out.

The grounds are bountiful with bike trails, beaches, grassy meadows, playground equipment, and acres of underground batteries begging for exploration. Our friends and I made an impromptu reservation in one of the old NCO houses, originally made into a duplex. Perfect to house the two families and perfectly located above a scenic bluff overlooking the inlet. Best part...we were blessed with the most amazing spring weather. If you didn't hear, Seattle tied Phoenix with the nations highest temperature that weekend!

The duplex was fully equipped except we had to bring our own linens. We ate every meal outside on the picnic table in front of the house and the three kids [Grace-almost 3, Joey-2 and Samuel-16 months] loved all the new adventures offered and seemed to relish in each others company.

Grace "directing" as usual, handing out sidewalk chalk to the boys.

Grace and Samuel tested out a borrowed double bike trailer for the first time. Since they seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, a trailer might be in our future for plenty of summer biking fun. Add a workout for mom and dad, bonus!

 The bike rides were broken up with picnic lunches, playground fun, and chasing each other in the underground tunnels within the batteries. The kids loved the sound of the echoes!

The kiddos flew a kite for the first time. Of course Joey and Grace bickered over who got to hold the string.

Overall rating of the location and vacation: A. Give it a few years when the kids are older and go off playing on their own leaving moms and dads to enjoy an uninterrupted glass of local beer or wine, that grade turns into an A+!