Hooray for long weekends! Since we both had Monday off, Andy and I took the opportunity to spend some time in Wenatchee. We ate barbecue and lemon meringue pie, and I made some progress on knitting, then spent hours reading (this book) in the sunshine while Andy played with power tools in the garage. On Sunday, we went for a short hike from the Mission Ridge ski area. Even though it was a beautiful day, and a short hike, we had the lake to ourselves for a while. It can be so lovely to get away from home for just a couple days, and totally worth the rather terrible holiday weekend traffic we had to sit in on Highway 2!
Read moreIron Bear - Teanaway Ridge
The Iron Bear - Teanaway Ridge trail is one of the one of the quickest ways to access the Teanaway forest from the Seattle area, with an easy drive of a little more than an hour. By the time you reach the trailhead, you've already gained most of your elevation too! I imagine that normally on a spring weekend, this trail would be thoroughly crowded, but on the cool, overcast day we visited, we passed only one other group. Because of the low, dense clouds, we had nothing in the way of views, but I was so pleased to finally have the time to get back out on a trail that I didn't mind. Especially since what the trail lacked in views, it made up for in blooms!
Read moreRoad Trip: Newport
I spent many summer weeks of my childhood on the Oregon coast. My family went on nearly annual trips to the coast, usually renting a vacation house in the Yachats area and spending a week or two exploring the beaches, tidepools, and lighthouses of the central coast. Since adulthood, I hadn't been further south than Canon Beach - another city that I love and must return to soon! We had planned this trip to Newport for my 30th birthday last year, but an emergency led us to cancel at the last minute. This year, nothing was going to stop us from finally making the trip!
Read moreLife: Week 20
If my weekly posts were accurately representative of my daily life, at least 50% of the photos in my posts would look like the two below. Work has continued to be hectic, but things are beginning to slow down. Soon I may even be able to take the occasional weekday off for hiking! Wednesday night, I left work a little early so Andy and I could have dinner at our favorite restaurant in Redmond - Stone House. Once upon a time, we lived within walking distance, and for several years, we went often enough that all the staff knew us well enough to recognize my voice when I'd call to make a reservation. We live further away and don't go as often anymore, but the food is as incredible as ever.
Read moreLife: Week 19
One of the new additions to my May calendar compared to previous years was the first birthday or a certain adorable niece of mine. Saturday was her birthday party, to which I contributed a delicious funfetti cake made using this recipe. I don't think it's possible to go wrong with funfetti, but this one definitely didn't disappoint! While it's hard to tell from the photos I have of the week, most of it was hot and sunny, continuing to feel decidedly un-springlike. Still, I managed to make it out for a few runs to break in my new running shoes! I'll have to hope for some good wet weather soon so I can start building up a good solid layer of trail mud on my new shoes.
Sunday, we finally had time for a hike, and we were going - rain be damned! Luckily, while it was overcast all day and rained the entire drive to and from the trailhead, it never rained on the trail. While there were absolutely no views there were plenty of wildflowers blooming, and I certainly got my fix of cloud-obscured ridgelines!
Read more