This past weekend I went to a wedding of a good friend of mine on Bainbridge Island. The wedding was a three day affair at a outdoor learning center called IslandWood. Literally a school in the woods, IslandWood is a retreat center on 255 acres that is designed to provide environmental education and community stewardship for elementary students. The place is incredibly beautiful! And I felt like I was on vacation, so I am glad I wasn’t photographing the wedding and I could enjoy my time in this beautiful environment.

I loved how green everything was! As John and I hiked through the forest, I was overwhelmed by all the green moss that was EVERYWHERE! After growing up in the land of concrete, I found myself asking why do I live where I live. But then after three days of rain, I remembered that I love the California sunshine more than the green moss. But it was still fun to bust out the rain gear and pretend I live in a place that actually has seasons.

I loved all the beautiful fall colors. The leaves were vibrantly red and orange!And there were spider webs everywhere!

While we were there, I took an organic farming class. We learned all about yummy vegetables, composting and even made fresh bread from handpicked herbs.
All the food we ate that weekend was local, organic and to my delight, gluten free! We seriously ate some of the best food I have EVER eaten at a wedding. After three days of walking around these beautiful grounds, learning how to farm and celebrating the marriage of one of my good friends, I feel refreshed and ready to eat more organic food. I pray that our future house has enough space for an organic garden.