Mocha on the coast...a

Was just uploading pix to the Flikr page when the laptop I was borrowing ran out of gas. But not before I got this one up of us on the auto ferry taking us across Puget Sound (that's the top of the Space Needle coming out of my head). Oh and the new one above (sorry so big, again no juice to reduce). So close, but will have to wait another day...sorry. Alex was off today and I only had the late dinner shift so we got our first taste of the Olympic coast today. Stopped at Ruby Beach first and got our own pics of the scene from the "WA-bound" post. Next stop Kalaloch Lodge where we got some excellent mochas and found a great spot on the lodge deck overlooking the beach. We read, talked, and I took a stroll on the sand. Watched some skim boarders brave the 50-degree water, kids building sand castles, sunbathers, and a group building a raft out of the abundant driftwood and challenging some kayakers to a race up the river which empties right there into the ocean. Brought back a couple of ocean treasures to Alex: a fairly large crab shell which had been eaten out and a likewise empty clam shell (nothing too exciting, not allowed to disturb the living treasures). Just a beautiful place. Saw a huge cedar tree on the way home which was amazing. Then back to Sol Duc for the dinner shift where I handled my first "10-top" (party of ten), almost spilled water on a guy's camera, and met a party that had seen us today at Kalaloch and again at the big tree. They also turned out to be from Tennessee so I felt obligated to apologize to them for our very substandard iced tea which they all ordered. It was no problem because they all drink unsweetened anyway (age not preference they claimed)....so I didn't tell them it comes from a concentrate like the sodas. Enjoying waiting but I will also be trained to take care of the pool and hotsprings next week so I can take some lifeguard shifts as well. Really itching for some trail hiking too to take in some more of this place's beauty. Also have plans to see Victoria/Vancouver Island and the Hoh Rain Forests at some point. Still building relationships with our new friends, looking for opportunities to love and serve. Pray for us to be transparent bearers of His image.
dk