1855

When the sun came out over the weekend, we took the kids to Point Defiance Park for a bit of serendipity.  We ended up at the beach, where they joined with a dozen other kids in some engineering, making a canal that lead from a culvert outfall to the shoreline.  We ended up in the forest, looking at the Rhodedendrons that aren't yet blooming.  But most eventfully, we ended up at Fort Nisqually, a recreation of an early Hudson's Bay Company settlement in the area as it may have looked in 1855.  I hadn't been there in years, and it seemed like whenever we went by they were closed.  Not this time!

It was a great opportunity to give the boy the map of the fort and let him lead the way. 

He led us to the storehouses and blacksmith.

He led us past old tools and wagon wheels.

He led us up into the fort bastions, where we could looked out the defensive window slits to the sound below.

He led us to the kid's games area, where little sis tried her hand at some lacing cards.

And he led us to the Factor's House, which was the residence of the Fort's leader and his family.

I was the only one who cared about the samplers on the walls in there, though.

And of course we had to circle back around to the kid's games area.  The biggest kid (Daddy) loved the giant, heavy top.

What do you think-  are we dreaming?