Chasing Sunrise and Hurricane Hill

Chasing Sunrise and Hurricane Hill

On August 21, 2026

In 2026, Hiking, Olympic National Park, Wabi-Sabi

Thursday morning started with an early 4am reveille to of course – chase sunrise! Again, if you’ve been following the blog, you know chasing sunrise is truly one of my passions. And if you’ve vacationed with us, good chance the Dwyer’s are going to suggest a chase! I brought up the idea of going to Sunrise Point on Hurricane Ridge to Danny and Jenn and to my surprise, they were all in! We were out of the house by 4:30am and drove the 45 minutes up to Hurricane Ridge. Our timing was perfect and we had the ridge mostly to ourselves. We had time to walk around and scope out the best spot. Sunrise didn’t disappoint. And watching the sun light up the mountains (including Mount Olympus) was spectacular.

If you decide to make this chase, I will look forward to seeing your pictures. We ending up not staying in sunrise point because the mountain was blocking the view. We think perhaps other times of the year, as the sun shifts in the morning sky the mountain may not have been in the way.

After watching the sunrise, we decided to take the mile drive out Hurricane Hill Road and hike up Hurricane Hill. It was a delightful morning to take a hike.

We made it to the summit and had another amazing view of the mountains peaks all around.

We worked our way back down the mountain enjoying the view.

Once we were back at the Thompson’s, we rested for a bit and then packed up for our weekend adventure. We drove to Forks, Washington where we will be for the weekend. Giving us plenty of time to explore the west side of the park. Along the way, we made a quick stop at Madison Falls.

Our Airbnb in Forks is lovely and will give us a nice chance to explore the area. Thanks for reading. More adventures to share tomorrow! Thanks for reading.

Foggy Friday with Friends

By wabisabisole

On June 21, 2026

In 2026, Azores, Friendship, Gardens, Wabi-Sabi

After our trip was planned and booked and before we left, I realized one of my dear friends (and her family) from VA Beach was going to be in the Azores at the same time we were visiting! Our itineraries overlapped on Friday, we were both to be on the big island of São Miguel. Obviously, we planned to spend this day together! I found a lovely hike that started from a vista and went down to two lakes. The Blue Lake and the Green Lake in the town of Sete Cidades. From here we would enjoy lunch together and then take a guided kayak tour around the lakes. It sounded like a well planned day. I received a call from the Kayak company informing me the weather wasn’t going to be good to paddle. So, we canceled. The weather forecast predicted rain off and on all day. So, we decided not to hike. Instead we would just drive to visit the locations and enjoy our time together. Jeff, Sue’s husband, was our driver for the day. He did a fantastic job navigating the roads and climbing numerous mountains! Here is where we stopped at the vista for the view. This would have been where we started our hike. So many clouds!

Jeff drove us down the mountain to see the Blue Lake and the Green Lake. Again, the overcast skies prevented us from seeing the true colors of lakes. Also, the low clouds prevented us from seeing the mountains all around us.

We loaded back up in the car and drove around Sete Cidades. We stopped to see a church and walk around the town for a little bit.

The next spot on our tour was Ponta da Ferraria. Ponta da Ferraria is a place where the thermal heat from inside the earth is escaping and warming the Atlantic Ocean. It was beautiful and fun to walk around on the giant lava rocks. Plus, Jeff and Allison both put their feet into the pool. My mom, Sue and I all decided we didn’t need the hassle of putting on our suits and then having to wait in line to shower etc… maybe next time!

After exploring Ponta da Ferraria, we found a lovely restaurant for lunch. Finally, I had a chance to try limpets. I had low expectations, and they far exceeded them! The limpets, cooked in garlic butter, were delicious. I also ordered shrimp and French fries. Plus, a bottle of wine that was recommended by our driver, Carlos, in Pico. Frei Gigante is made with the three white grapes that grow on the island of Pico. It was delicious!

After lunch, we stopped at a cute park in Ponta Delgado. I had marked this park on my list of places to visit. My mom and I were too tired the first day and so it worked well we could stop and walk around all together. It was so fun to have a chance to spend the day together. The highlight was being able to give hugs!

Jeff, Sue, and Allison dropped us back off at city center. My mom and I went back to our hotel to regroup and then went out to do a little more shopping and have one final dinner. Pizza & wine.

Our flight back to Boston left around 6pm on Saturday. We enjoyed a leisurely wake up, breakfast and a morning walk around town before checking out of our hotel. A few more fun street view pictures.

After checking out, we found a nice spot for lunch and enjoyed our last cheese board and beers from Azores Brewery.

This has been a wonderful trip. The Azores are a beautiful place. The people are kind and welcoming. Their service and hospitality deserve all the gold stars. If you haven’t added them to your list to visit, I encourage you to! You won’t regret it!! As always, thanks for following along and sharing the journey. Until next time!

Tales of Whale Tails

By wabisabisole

On June 21, 2026

In 2026, Azores, Dolphin, Sea Turtle, Sperm Whale, Wabi-Sabi, Whale watching

Sunday morning we had a chance to sleep in a little bit. This was much needed because jet lag hit me hard Saturday night. Quick side note about our first two nights on the islands. Granted, it was a Friday and Saturday night… that being said, the Azoreans LOVE to party – LATE and LOUD! Both nights the party wasn’t shut down until 2am. Last night even included at least 3 maybe 4 rounds of random fireworks at 11ish, 12:37, and 1:47. I think there was another one in there… They play the music extra loud and the drunk voices are sometimes even louder especially once the bars shutdown. Cheers, to island life! Live it out LOUD!

Now back to Sunday’s adventure. Our tour package included a whale watching tour with CWAzores. We were scheduled for the 8:20am tour. We received a very informative briefing about the types of whales we might see and a safety brief prior to boarding the Zodiac. It was so good even the former Oceanography Teacher learned something. Did you know – Sperm whales have suction cups on the roof of their mouth? Yes, they do! The main creature of the Sperm whale diet is giant squid. 🦑 Sperm whales are toothed whales and when they bite the giant squid it is all gushy. The suction cups help the whale “slurp” the squid into its mouth.

The tour was very well organized and the crew very knowledgeable and efficient. They helped us board the boat. We rode the zodiac as if we were sitting on a saddle. The ocean was a bit rough and we felt like cowgirls riding the waves! No doubt my sitz bones will be tender tomorrow.

To “find” the whales, the Captain uses the help of Spotters who are stationed on land. They use high powered binoculars to locate the blow (the whale exhaling). The Spotter then communicates via radio to the Captain with coordinates. Here are a few pictures as we left the harbor. This is the coast we hiked yesterday.

During our hike yesterday, Mt Pico was hidden in the clouds. We didn’t even know it was there! It showed out for us today!! Couldn’t help but think back to Mt Fuji – and how many times we heard “on a clear day.”

The Captain took us out beyond the islands and we sat idle waiting for directions from the spotters. Once coordinates were communicated, the Captain would race off in the direction of the whale’s blow. It was quite exciting!!! And then he would position the boat for us to watch the whale. These are pictures are of the first Sperm whale we spotted. It was a mature male.

The Sperm whale can dive 800m and hold its breath for 45 minutes. It has to dive this deep to find the giant squid. Before it dives, it fills its lungs and a portion of its head with air. When it is on the surface it takes big breaths for about 3-5 minutes before diving. Pictures of the whale taking its last breaths before diving.

The Captain and Guide were experts at alerting us when it was about to dive. They would say “get ready” and then “tail” – it was so exciting!!! Here’s my first ever whale tail! By the way – all images are captured with my iPhone.

Here’s a video of the dive.

The collective excitement happened each time

Once the whale dives, we move on because it won’t be back if a while and probably not in the same spot. We idled for a bit. Then the Spotters alerted us again and off we went. Turns out, we saw science in action. We spotted two juveniles and two mothers. The juveniles are too young to dive and are still nursing. The mothers take turns diving (to eat) or watching the juveniles. The juveniles are able to nurse from either mother!! The Captain didn’t get too close to the juveniles because he didn’t want to scare/ stress them.

Another video…

We idled again… and then we were off! This time to see a pod of dolphins! And there were so many!! They were so cute swimming and playing in our bow wake. The Captain said when they show their white belly they are mating. They were giving us quite the show!

Unfortunately, the idle time made one of our passengers quite sea sick. We felt terrible for them. In my dolphin video you can hear them retching in the background…

We stayed with the dolphins for a while. The guide then informed us that we were going to start our return to port and maybe see things along the way because one of the passengers was so sick. They were so compassionate. Several dolphins swam with us as we sped away. They were faster!!!

Along the way, our Captain spotted a Portuguese Man of War floating on the ocean. They are extremely dangerous jellies. Their tentacles can reach lengths of 20-30 meters! He told us “don’t try this at home” as he reached over and grabbed the top of the creature! The Portuguese Man of War is a staple in the sea turtle diet. It looks like a piece of plastic floating on the surface. It’s easy to understand why sea turtles mistake plastic for jellies and end up dying with their belly full of plastic.

As we continued to port, the spotters alerted us to another Sperm whale. Our Captain steered the boat in the direction of the whale and again we watched as he filled his lungs preparing for his dive.

One final video of another Sperm whale diving. They are so graceful and majestic.

We had one final sighting before we reached port. A young Loggerhead Sea Turtle. The captain again kept his distance because he did not want to scare the turtle.

The trip was another Science Teacher’s dreams come true. A picture as we return to port. Notice the church in the foreground bottom left. That is the church where we started yesterday’s hike. We couldn’t see Mt. Pico yesterday because of the clouds. Honestly, we didn’t even know it was there!!

We had the afternoon to enjoy. We went to get lunch at a delightful burger restaurant overlooking the harbor. My cheeseburger was amazing. The island of São Jorge (we travel there Monday) in the Azores is known for their “happy cows.” They produce delicious cheese and obviously burgers. All washed down with an Azores IPA.

After lunch, we did a little shopping and then wine tasting. Pico island, as I mentioned yesterday, is known for their grapes and wine. The grapes are mostly used to make white wine. I tasted 4 whites and 1 red. The final white was unexpectedly delicious. So good, I want to ship some home… but, tariffs. Instead, I bought a bottle to enjoy over the next couple days.

The Azoreans have been nothing but kind, gracious, and happy to assist us. They speak English very well and much better than I speak Portuguese. Several times they have used extra words to say or ask a question because they don’t know the exact English word to use. For example, one cute story. I was purchasing bevvies at the hotel bar and the bartender asked me, “would you like the little paper that comes out of the machine?” I smiled and said, “yes, please.” I will do my best to always refer to a receipt as “the little paper that comes out of the machine…” so, cute.

The streets on Pico also have the cobblestone decoration. Pictured here are Sperm Whales.

If you made it to the end of this long post – as always, thank you for reading!

Hiking Pilgram’s Pass

By wabisabisole

On June 16, 2026

In 2026, Azores, Ferry, Hiking, São Jorge, Wabi-Sabi

Monday morning we caught the ferry from Madalena on Pico Island to Velas on São Jorge Island. The process of checking in, checking our luggage, and then boarding the ferry was incredibly smooth and efficient.

Boarding selfie. You might notice a theme in our selfies today… crazy hair!

The ferry took about and 1.5 hours. Although the seas appeared calm, the ferry was a bit rocky!

We arrived in Velas around 11:15. Collected our luggage and meet our taxi driver without issue. We were not supposed to begin our hike until 1:30pm. We asked Antonio, our driver, if we could start as soon as possible. He had another group going as well and arranged with them to go early. He was so kind and accommodating. He dropped us at the hotel and went to get the group while we checked in. Our accommodation is a Bed and Breakfast, Casa de Antonio. Our host, Antonio, had our room ready and helped us check in and then showed us to our room. The hospitality was top notch. Our driver, Antonio, returned and off we went on our 5.6 mile hike!

The Pilgram’s Path hike is known to be one of the most beautiful on the island. It begins at Topo, one of the island’s crests, and descends down to the north coast. It was used by pilgrims to reach the wild north coast which is still very isolated.

“The Walker” statue tributes all who hike trails in the Azores

We had been given many warnings the trail is very steep especially in the beginning. The warnings were validated as we descended! But, first – the view!

If only we were a few weeks later, we would see all the hydrangeas in bloom.

The views were incredible. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything like it before. It was so quiet and peaceful.

As we descended, the trail would change and close in and yet remained very rocky.

About 2/3 of the way down we stopped to enjoy our picnic lunch. Perhaps our peanut butter and crackers and an apple weren’t gourmet… but, the view certainly was!

As we continued down, we caught up with a river and a little waterfall.

Plus, at lower the lower elevation we started to see blooming hydrangeas.

We saw this roof from above and it looked tiny. Obviously, human size once we were next to it. And our first view of the island’s north coastline.

Fajā Santo Cristo is a one of a kind sight. Only accessible by foot (or now also 4 wheelers) it has a beautiful church and lagoon. This was my first time actually walking through a hamlet!

The north coast is protected and now considered a surfer’s paradise. As we climbed back up it was easy to understand why. The wave train had perfectly timed crests.

We continued our “relatively” flat climb for the second half of our hike. The dirt/ rock trail had lots of ups and downs with more amazing views.

One of my favorite pictures of the day. My mom celebrated her 77th birthday today and here she is at trail marker 77!

We made it to the finish line a bit later than we hoped. We truly “savored” the experience. I called Antonio earlier and let him know we were running late. He was so kind and understanding. We also met up with the other hikers he was transferring. They had used the extra time to swim in the lagoon. On our way home, we ran into a cow jam. The farmers walk their cows to the milking building and then walk them back to their farm. Truly happy cows make the best cheese! São Jorge is known for their delicious cheese!

We returned to the hotel, showered, and went out to dinner!

It was an amazing day. The hike was one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. I would also rate it as a moderate challenge with the amount of descent we did. As always, thanks for reading!

Finding Beauty with Imperfection

Tag: travel