In the middle of one of the busiest seasons of the year at work, I managed to steal away for a peaceful and inspiring long weekend. Last November, when I saw my friend Ashley's photos from outdoor creative retreat for women at Salt Creek, I immediately began dreaming of attending the next time the event came around. Watercolor and writing workshops by a toasty, crackling fire accompanied by serene views of misty Pacific Northwest coastline? Yes please! However, when tickets went on sale for the 2018 retreat, I suddenly found myself waffling. It would certainly be worthwhile, it wasn't something I needed. Thankfully, Andy intervened and practically demanded that I go. After managing to get through a busy weeks work in just 4 days, I got an early start Friday morning to head for the coast with Ashley. After catching the first ferry, we had plenty of time to enjoy our day before any workshops began at Salt Creek, and after reading all about Pippa’s Real Tea on a mutual friend’s blog, we agreed that our first stop of the day should be Port Townsend. The power may have gone out shortly after we arrived (county-wide apparently!) but that didn’t stop Pippa herself from making us each a delicious cup of tea! Steaming cups of tea in had, we explored a few of the shops that were able to stay open even with the power outage - including a bookshop I’d love to return to when the lights are on - before heading to Crescent Lake for a short hike to Marymere Falls, which I’ll be writing more about soon!
Read moreLife: Week 34
So many good things this week! To start the week, we tried a new restaurant in Redmond that had delicious cocktails and a burger with a slab of pork belly on top (!!!) that was absolutely fabulous. On Wednesday afternoon, we headed to the Olympic Peninsula for a long weekend of hiking with Andy's family. We made it to the coast just in time for dinner and one of several spectacular sunsets. We spent our days hiking as much of the remote Olympic coastline as we could. Along the trails, we gorged ourselves on wild huckleberries and wild blueberries. The tides were never particularly low, but we did manage to find some small tide pools on Rialto Beach, along with lots of interesting metal debris we eventually decided came from an ancient shipwreck. For the most part, the weather was hot a sunny, which seemed completely out of character for the coast. During our long days hiking on the beach, the foot pain I've been noticing on many of the longer hikes I've done this summer became much worse, which was frustrating although it did lead to many huckleberry breaks while I sat for a while to give my feet a break! I'll definitely want to get that figured out before it becomes a serious issue that prevents me from hiking entire! Even with those issues, the whole weekend was one of the best vacations we've had in a while!
Read moreMarmot Pass - Upper Big Quilcene
For years, all my favorite trails led to lakes. On day hikes in particular, I'd bring a lunch and a book, and once I reached the lake, I'd find a (hopefully!) quiet spot to sit and munch and read for at least an hour. I didn't understand the point of trails to ridges and basins. If there was no specific destination, how did you know when to stop hiking? When did you get to sit and read? Over the past year though, I've started to appreciate ridges and passes more. Sure, the stopping point is often less obvious, but that means there's room to wander and explore. And it's hard to beat the views you get from a pass or a summit. Until recently, I never would have considered hiking somewhere like Marmot Pass, but I'm so glad that's changed!
Read moreLife: Week 28
Another exhausting, wonderful week! Monday and Tuesday were spent in California, relaxing and soaking up the last of our visit with family. Flying in to SeaTac, especially in the evening, never fails remind me how lucky I am to live where I do. Who else gets such beautiful views descending to their city airport? Once we were home, most of our free time during the week was spent planning and preparing for the weekend. We had plans to finally go backpacking, but once again a forecast of a nearly state-wide chance of thunderstorms almost made us cancel again. Ultimately we decided that instead of hiking a nearby trail I had picked out the previous weekend, we would go to the Olympic Peninsula where there was a possibility of rain, but no thunderstorms.
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