"Wow, look at that!" Now thinking back to this moment, I'm not sure if it was Bryce or me who said this. We just came out from under the old railroad section of the Iron Goat Trail when you start at the "haunted" old Wellington Ghost Town. The trail was all dirt and covered with… Continue reading The wild, wild Cascades
The Pacific Northwest has finally graced us with proper summer weather. I'm finally wearing tanks and shorts! This also means the return to summer hiking. Because of this, we decided to go out to Snoqualmie Pass for a hike recently. This would be the third time we have been out here to the Lodge Lake… Continue reading The return of summer hiking
"I'm not doing a hike with the word 'misery' in the trail name!" I said to Bryce as I carried our 20-pound baby on my back. We had just crossed the footbridge over the river at Smith Rock State Park and the trail sign in front of us was for Misery Ridge Trail. There were… Continue reading Baby’s first canyon hike
Salty air. Sunday sun. Waves crashing. Dogs barking. Kids laughing. Small dead crabs strewn about. Deep green seaweed scattered about. Barnacle-covered rocks. White sea foam. Her first beach walk at low tide. Well, "walk." She's not walking on her own quite yet.
Up until last week, 75 percent of our family had never been to the Skagit Valley tulip fields. Bryce had seen the tulips from afar while driving by but had never actually been to the fields in his +15 years of living in Seattle. Seeing that baby is well, a baby, and our dog had… Continue reading Yellow, red, pink and purple
"But will we have time to stop at Tillamook?" I asked Bryce this question numerous times leading up to our departure for our Oregon Coast road trip. We would be driving from our home in Seattle to Florence, Oregon for a week getaway before Christmas. I was adamant that we stop in Tillamook at the… Continue reading Always stop for cheese
The weather forecast for last Saturday was supposed to be "good." For Pacific Northwesterners, this means no rain. We decided to take full advantage of this by driving 60 miles north of Seattle to Camano Island. (Baby's first time on an island, check!) While Camano Island is technically an island, you don't have to go… Continue reading Always take advantage of good weather
A few years ago if you had asked me what my "travel goals" were, it would be going to new cities and/or countries. I'm not one of those people who has any desire to visit all the countries in the world. (Let's be real, that would be cool, but that also would take a lot… Continue reading This looks familiar
She stared at us from inside her presumably heated car as we walked by in rain gear and a rain cover over the baby's stroller. Saying it was pouring rain would have been an understatement. It was dumping buckets sideways. We had just parked in the lot for the Heceta Lighthouse in Florence, Oregon. It… Continue reading Torrential rain won’t stop us
The one thing that is not lost this summer is hiking. Living in Seattle, there are so many (relatively) nearby mountains and forests to explore. But, hiking has always been a popular outdoor activity among Seattleites (and all the transplants). Now with the pandemic, if you want to avoid other hikers, you either have to… Continue reading Getting away from people
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