Seattle and Bainbridge Island

Last Friday, we set off for Seattle.

I had my trusty copilot corgi (and a very washed out white complexion. Geez!).


Soon, however, my other carmates fell asleep.

The corgi, too, began to fade.


And then she konked out as well. Yes, collapsed completely on the center console, beached-whale-style.

Once we finally switched off drivers though, Bailey was wide-awake.

Happy to be in the front seat!

Maddie, her copilot duties relieved momentarily, caught some sleep in the back seat.

Bailey as all-too-happy to oblige by taking over the happy-front-seat-dog duties.


He may or may not have been drinking (water) and driving.


Yup, happy dog, almost to Seattle.

Copiloting is a very serious duty.


After 5 hours of driving, we were almost there, but both dogs were pretty tired.

Mads still found ways to make us laugh.


The hotel? Fabulous dog fun. There was a BED. Remember-- our bedroom is in a loft, so no dog access. The dogs were beside themselves.

After sushi that night with my sister and her boyfriend, B and I headed back to the hotel and immediately passed out. Driving really takes it out of you!

The next morning, we headed to breakfast. Maddie enjoyed staring at Daniel (sister's boyfriend), trying to occasionally sneak a cheek lick in. Daniel, not used to dogs, was a tad wary. Perhaps a bit entertained too, but a tad wary of the grinning corgi lurking nearby.


Maddie finally went back on my sister's lap. Bailey passed out in the crack between seats.


Maddie is very good at stare-offs that result in her winning and getting to lick someone. She's not much of a licker, but she's a great sly occasional licker.

Happy dog. Happy sister. Sister is currently pet-less, so she got a good dosage of pets while we saw her.


There was ample butt fluffage.


Sister could not help but grab the butt fluffage. It's quite impressive. And if you had told my sister 3 years ago that she would be grabbing my dog's butt fur, she would have scoffed. Cuteness and fluffy fur make a person do seemingly strange things.

Before we left Kirkland to head to the ferries, we had to reorganize the back seat for the dogs. This meant the sister had to hold onto one dog for a few moments. This photo should give you a pretty good idea that Bailey is no longer TINY. Um, he's over 20 lbs. And gangly as all heck. He looks pretty unimpressed in this photo.


So, up and over Lake Washington to Seattle. It was a beautiful clear day, and you could see the Olympic Mountains in the distance. Gorgeous! There were some hefty waves on the north side, but the other side of the lake was pretty flat.

The University of Washington is over there somewhere....

All rested up, the trusty corgi copilot was by my side.

Yup, I guess we read the directions correctly. Hello, Seattle.

I'm always impressed with how many cars can fit on a ferry.

The corgi was right by my side, but perhaps a bit nervous at where the car was driving.


The ferry crossing was pretty quick-- half hour tops. But beautiful! We left the dogs in the car. They were allowed on the top deck, but it was just too windy for my comfort to take them up there. And cold!


View looking back to Seattle from the ferry.


Olympics in the distance.


Another ferryboat heading back to Seattle. Exact replica of the one we were on, but headed the opposite direction.


While waiting in our car for the ferry to finish pulling up to Bainbridge, I happened to look at our GPS. Apparently, we have an amphibian car.

The final part of the crossing was apparently very boring to the dogs. But, on the positive side, Bailey discovered that bottom fur makes a most excellent pillow.

After exploring the island a bit, we headed back to the new hotel, changed, and went to the wedding of our two friends. It was at a beautiful location-- Islandwood, an educational school/camp/getaway in the woods on Bainbridge Island. The architecture was GORGEOUS.

We were pretty impressed with the buildings. And the wedding was beautiful. Congratulations, Maggie and Brian!

My date. he looked all swankified.

And finally, we crossed the bridge the next day to get to the west sound. Off the island and headed south, back home. The handsome husband and copilot corgi led the way.