We awoke to a glorious sunrise and Cammi leading a fun stretch class to get us ready for a day of activities. The National Geographic Venture had sailed from Seattle through the night to Harstine Island, which was our center of exploration for the day.

With our first Zodiac trip ashore, we split up into walking groups of aerobic, mushroom, photography and beach combing whilst some people stayed back at the ship to go kayaking around the bay. Adam, the local mycologist lead us into the forest finding an amazing array of mushrooms that were growing there. The rain came sporadically but didn’t bother us in the forest as we reveled in the turning colors of the fall leaves.

After lunch, Shayne lead the introduction to expedition photography class out on the bow to make the most of the photographic opportunities as we approached the Tacoma Bridge. We saw harbor porpoises and seals and sea lions lazing on the buoys.