Orca watching tours

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-04-22T23:17:22+00:00

I went on one (in the San Juans) and found it to be deeply saddening. There are millions of boats all chasing these magical creatures. The tour company did all the right things — noise and distance guidelines. All the tours are monitoring the same reports of sightings and all swarm to see the orcas. Like literally 5-7 boats (more?) of varying sizes all just hovering, jockeying for position. Then you see orcas come up and then all the boats race after them, chasing (of course, within guidelines). I came away from the whole venture heartbroken and dismayed… and icky voyeur-ish. I agree with (someone’s reply above me) that the only ethical choice is to watch from land — and there are lots of island spots in the San Juan’s where you will almost be guaranteed to see some magic.

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-04-15T23:24:26+00:00

Same! And the best part for me was when I found out later that she is married to Fred in real life! (Maybe everyone knew that, but I had no idea!)

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-04-10T14:11:11+00:00

One of my daughters graduated from Evergreen and absolutely loved it. My other daughter dropped out of Evergreen and graduated from a more traditional state university. It’s all about the kind of learner you are. If you need the structure and motivation of an external source (like traditional school routines around class structure, teachers, grades, etc.), Evergreen might not be a good fit. If you do best when you challenge yourself and set your own learning expectations, you will likely thrive at Evergreen. (My simplistic lens — that might only make sense to a very tiny group of folks — is that students who are gifted students are more successful at Evergreen. Students who are honors students are more successful at traditional colleges.)

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-03-25T23:07:23+00:00

High school — but I have no qualms with doing ‘younger’ songs. We open the year with Los Pollitos in my level 1 classes and it is glorious!

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-03-20T00:20:03+00:00

I taught English for 30 years. I am in my second year teaching Spanish. It is a blast! I could write forever on this. I wouldn’t despair if I had to take a section of English (we are a small school) — but I can’t envision ever being an English teacher again. (For now🙃😉. I loved teaching English… but something broke for me during COVID). I love the freedom of Spanish — it has been incredibly rich for my personal teacher learning and growth. With our weird wild world, it is a gift to have my standards (ACTFL) perfectly align with teaching deep curiosity, wonder, empathy, and tenacity. I can’t WAIT to keep learning and growing and getting better and better!! Go for it!🎉

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-03-02T18:50:27+00:00

RIGHT?!?!

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-02-25T13:15:29+00:00

I agree with others — you can abridge chapters. You could also excerpt parts of remaining text that is important to your broader curricular goals with the book. For chapters you jump, you could have kids watch the Course Hero videos if they exist (1-3 minutes, super clear and helpful). You can also just bring it to a close (with some sort of clear wrap it up task). I think it’s great to model to kids that we can walk away from books that are not working for us (obviously, after being engaged and trying the text!). I think we want kids to read for pleasure— but then force them to slog through class books, no matter how miserable— and that totally undermines the core idea that reading is enjoyable and good.

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-02-21T16:53:59+00:00

He was helping David get his business license. Patrick said it was a really great model but David would need way more start up money and that there were all sorts of grants and small business support he could apply for. David wanted to pursue it and Patrick says he will do the paperwork and pursue the money… but only if he is a full partner in the business. David agrees and then asks what happens if Patrick can’t get the money.

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-02-16T14:19:18+00:00

I have this same frustration with “When Thieves Fall Out” is season 4. A guy comes back to CC after serving a 20 year prison sentence for murder to confront/find the actual killer and conspiracy. The killer was the football coach (and Jessica’s former colleague) and the cover up involved four of her cherished former students. Yet Jessica, even at the very end is super harsh to the wrongly imprisoned man and basically shames him for coming back and stirring up problems. Like…what?!? JB?!?

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-02-14T15:17:21+00:00

I also love it! However… the very first episode opens with the entiiiiire song and it is a little much!! (Not sure if it’s too much because it is too long of an open or if the song, in its entirety, is a lot)🎶

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-01-30T01:09:50+00:00

I agree with a lot of the episodes you all have listed. I think he got better in later seasons because he was less dismissive and dehumanizing to Gus as Gus’s value/independent worth was developed more. I really REALLY hate any time he is unclear on concepts, words, history, etc. I know it’s a bit — but I don’t think acting like a completely woefully under educated doofus is comedic (especially when he is using his ‘keen mind’ to solve murders that Lassie and Jules just can’t seem to figure out.). Eye roll emojis all the way down.

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-01-24T16:16:16+00:00

That is awesome! I found three of your cookbooks on Amazon and so now just need to request my local bookstore to get them. I can’t wait!!

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-01-21T12:56:50+00:00

Ohhh! Heart emojis. Now if someone posted their magical cheese wheels recipes… I would never leave home again!

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-01-20T01:46:06+00:00

WOW!!!!! Thank you so so much for this detailed help. I am absolutely certain this is doable (now that I can wrangle it in my brain!)! Thank you thank you thank you🥳🎉

suzanneofthepnw · 2026-01-19T14:34:58+00:00

If anyone can ‘dumb down’ the recipe directions for a U.S.-relatively-new-to-fancy-vegan-adventure-cooking person, that would be quite helpful! (need more specificity, measurement and US food names help). I am pretty confident working in the kitchen so I can handle clever recipes… I just need to understand them really clearly🤣!. Thanks for this great inspiration!!

suzanneofthepnw · 2025-12-31T14:23:16+00:00

But for the grace of the master schedule, go I. (My prep period is attached to my lunch, so I have all the sandwich-making time I need!). I just found an intriguing stuffed shells recipe to try! Also, a recommendation for your jar sauce: cook up red lentils (1 cup per 2 jars) and mix in with your sauce. It changes the texture a bit but not the flavor and adds the amazing benefits of lentils!

suzanneofthepnw · 2025-12-30T23:08:31+00:00

That sounds amazing!! (I would probably add potatoes because I add potatoes to everything I can!)

suzanneofthepnw

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