Living in the NOW

RN living in Massachusetts, enjoying each moment as it comes <3

[rainbowsparklern]

Austin Texas

March 3, 2019 to March 9, 2019

Jeff and I took a vacation to Austin Texas in March during his school spring break. Our plane landed a little after 1pm and we went straight to get our rental car. Once we were moving, we drove to a cute little cafe that was supposed to be very vegan/vegetarian friendly, to grab some lunch. When we arrived, we were told the wait was approx 45 minutes to an hour so we left and drove to downtown Austin. We parked in a very confusing garage but made it out onto 1st street where we ate lunch at a really yummy place called North Italia. Jeff got short rib hash and eggs and I got the french toast. Our coffees were great which was a plus! After getting back to our car and finding our way out of the garage, we went to the Bullock Texas State History museum. We had a good time starting our trip off with some Texas history. After, we checked into our first airbnb which was in a great location but it was a little outdated and older. We unpacked our things and then took a power nap that didn't give us much power. When we got up we went to Wholefoods and bought a few things for breakfast for the next few days. We also bought some Austin inspired cupcakes and had our dinner there. Jeff had a pizza and I had a veggie burger and fries. We ended our night there and went back to get a good nights rest.

Day 2 in Austin began with us making a nice breakfast in our airbnb. We made eggs, potatoes, and toast. We also had some fresh fruit and kombucha! We had scheduled a tour for that am so we drove and parked our car near the Austin visitor center which was our tour starting point. Austin Detour was the company and they gave a great tour and helped us get a feel for the city. The tour started around 11:30am and we saw and went into the Capitol building. The rest of the tour was driving around the city, getting an idea of where things were in Austin. Near the end of the tour, we stopped at some food trucks at the South First Food Court and got a free treat that was included in the tour. The food truck was Manolis and Jeff and I both got a hot gooey chocolate brownie which tasted amazing! When the tour was over we perused the visitor center shop and walked around a bit. It was freeeeeezing cold out though and the wind was blowing strong so we weren't too keen on walking around outside. We stopped into a Russian coffee shop called Europe Coffee Bar and got some hot drinks. I ordered the Raffaello which was espresso, coconut liqueur, half & half, and whipped cream. It was delicious. Jeff ordered a really strong Russian coffee which wasn't great but had a lot of caffeine. After warming up with some coffee, we went back to the airbnb and got ready for the evening. We took an uber to a brewery that ended up being closed and then decided to walk to another local brewery called Lazarus Brewing. This got complicated though because there was road construction blocking off our path and it took us longer than expected which was unpleasant in the cold and windy weather. We also had to climb over some train tracks that weren't meant for crossing over. Once at the brewery though, we relaxed and enjoyed some drinks. I got a flight of beer and Jeff ordered a beer. We ordered some tacos which were really good! After that we took another uber to a restaurant called True Food Kitchen that ended up having great food. We split two pizzas and enjoyed a few more drinks. We then called it a night and went back to bed due to a early day the next day.

Day 3 in Austin began with a short road trip to Waco Texas to go to Magnolia Farm! On our way up, we listened to the model health podcast and stopped for coffee at Malone Specialty coffee truck. We got some amazing hot coffees from the really cute coffee “food truck.” When we arrived in Waco we wanted to go to Magnolia Table for breakfast but I didn't know it wasn't located at the same place as Magnolia Farm. So we arrived at the wrong place but quickly got directions and made the quick drive to Magnolia Table. There was a 45 minute wait for breakfast/lunch when we arrived which was what we had expected. We arrived around noon and put our name right on the list. While you wait for your table though, there is a little gift shop attached to the restaurant along with a coffee stand and a bunch of outdoor seating with overhead heat lamps. I bought some local honey from the gift shop. We were seated at a family style table and ordered some breakfast. I started off with a freshly squeezed juice flight and jeff a coffee. I ate eggs, toast, greens, tomatoes, and avocado. Jeff ate up tater tots, a biscuit, eggs, and sausage. We also split a bowl of tomato soup. Everything was delicious. After brunch, we went back to the silos and hit up the bakery. At the Silos Bakery we ordered 4 cupcakes! We got the strawberries and cream, lemon lavender, the chocolatier, and the carrot cake cupcake. We ate them throughout the rest of our trip in Austin and they were some of the best cupcakes I have every had! After the bakery we checked out the Magnolia shops, Silos, and the garden. It wasn't crazy busy which was nice but man was it still cold out. After exploring all of Magnolia Farms, we went to another few shops in town and grabbed a coffee at Pinewood Coffee Bar which was a cool place and seemed like an area a lot of college students went to study. My Aunt lives in Round Rock Texas so we stopped at her house and spent the evening with her on our way back to Austin. My aunt Monica had made the trip up from Houston to see Jeff and I also, so she was there along with my aunt Susie's husband B-Bob. We enjoyed champagne and snacks at her place and then went out to dinner. Jeff and I drove back to the airbnb after dinner and called it a night!

Day 4 began with an amazing breakfast at Better Half Coffee and Cocktails. I had a breakfast sandwich which was an english muffin, crispy hash browns, smoked paprika aioli, and a fried farm egg. I could've eaten five of them! Jeff ordered the Waffle Iron Hashbrowns and equally enjoyed his meal. After that we made an appointment to go to the Cathedral of Junk and went straight there. That was um...interesting? A local guy takes “junk” and builds it into a sort of building/art piece in his backyard. The amount of junk is mind blowing. After that we walked along S. Congress st. We stopped and grabbed a juice at Toms roasting and swung in the hammock out front. We grabbed some dinner at Torchys Tacos which had amazing queso but not so great tacos in my opinion. Later we drove by the graffiti park but it was closed so we just parked and admired the art from afar. They had shut the park down permanently due to too many drugs being sold/used there. Some of the art was going to be taken and reused in other places eventually. Next we hit up a local smoke shop where Jeff bought a bowl. We quickly ran home after that and grabbed a pair of Bird Scooters and scooted to the Ann Richards Bridge to watch the bats. It was early in the season so there wasn't as many bats as the warmer months but we definitely saw a few hundred bats fly out from under the bridge which was really neat. We then went to Gibson St Bar to grab a drink before meeting up with Jeffs college friend Heidi and her boyfriend Sam. We went to her new house that they were renting. Her daughter was sleeping so we didn't get to meet her unfortunately. Sam and her had stopped drinking for over a year because they hated having a hangover and trying to parent but Jeff and I enjoyed a little wine and had some good conversation with them and ended our night there.

[rainbowsparklern]

Seattle to Colorado, final days

We woke up in our hotel in Tonopah the next am and set out for Carbondale CO. The plan was to stay with one of Jeffs friends at his apartment. On our way to Carbondale, my Nissan started to act funny. Jeff was driving and would press the gas and the car wouldn’t go. We pulled over to take a look and see if it was anything we could fix. Nothing obvious. We somehow managed to drive the car about 70 miles to the next closest town which was Ely Nevada. There I was able to find a mechanic that told me I needed a new transmission. Long story short, the mechanic promised my car would be fixed in a few days time so that I would make it to Colorado Springs on time for my next assignment. The mechanic didn't even start work on my car though 2 days prior to my start date. So Jeff and I had spent 2 nights in Ely and nothing was even started on my car. We tried to make the most of our time there and explore the little town of 7,000 people. We spoke with the mechanic and he agreed to let us borrow his old Ford Ranger and then meet up at a later date next week to pick swap the Nissan. We packed up the Ford Ranger with all my belongings and headed out! We drove to Jeffs friends apartment in Carbondale and spent the night there. We woke up bright and early the next day and headed out to Colorado springs where we made it and got the keys to our new apartment right before the office closed! Here’s the rest of the pictures from our trip.

[rainbowsparklern]

Seattle to Colorado day 5

Our plan for the 5th day of our trip was to go to Yosemite, spend the day there, then travel as far as we could into Nevada before falling asleep. We woke up early and said our goodbyes to Jeffs’ family. Leaving the town of Boulder Creek was rough for the cats. The roads were so windy and there were hair pin turns all over the place. Up and down, side to side, over and over again. The cats were in their carriers in the back seat meowing away. All of a sudden, Jeff who was not driving, stated, “What the heck is that smell? Oh my god that’s gross. I think one of the cats just puked.”  This would not have been the first time one of the cats has puked in the car and with the winding roads this didn’t surprise me. We quickly spotted an area where we could pull over to examine the damage. Sure enough, Bubster had vomited  up his entire breakfast in his carrier but lucky for us, Brady had been able to keep his down. Phew, one out of two is better than two out of two. It had only been an hour or so since he’d eaten, so it was a fairly easy cleanup. Unfortunately though, he lost his comfy foam and cloth covering that he normally lay on, for the rest of the trip due to it being covered in vomit. Instead he was stuck with a piece of wooden board to lay on :( With this crisis behind us, we made our way into town and went for a quick breakfast so we stopped at the first place we saw....McDonalds. We grabbed some breakfast and coffee and grabbed a bunch of napkins as we had just used up our supply. The McDonalds had some old school decorations and chairs which was neat. Sitting on a cheeseburger chair for breakfast was fun ;)

Yosemite National Park is about 4 hours away from Jeffs brothers house and we were hoping to be there around 1pm but we knew with Aimee and Jeff time, it would probably be later. We had to make our way from the coast to the east side of the state. The landscape really transformed as we drove east. Near Jeff’s brothers house it was much more populated and had tall trees and greenery. As we got more and more east, farms began popping up with rolling hills and small bushes everywhere. I noticed that there was a strong smell of garlic when we started driving by the farms. I was completely shocked at how strong it was, windows up and everything. It was quite wonderful. Normally you get a strong smell of manure, but not there. Wonderful garlic smells filled our nose instead. I looked it up and found out California was the top state for garlic growing in the US. and we were driving right through some crops. There was even a garlic shop near one of the fields that sold all things garlic :)

We continued on east and found the farms became more sparse and the land filled with more hills and rock formations. We made it to Yosemite sometime around 1 that afternoon. We payed our entrance fee and drove into the park. We stopped at the restrooms and Jeff found a praying mantis inside the mens room. I hadn't seen one of those in years and forgot how big they were. Initially upon entering the park you drive underneath two huge rocks that touch each other and create a short tunnel which was cool. Also near the entrance was some construction from what appeared to be a mud slide that they were fixing. We drove through the park and admired the huge slabs of rock walls with the forest and streams surrounding us. Eventually we came to the point where we caught our first glimpse of El Capitan. El Capitan is a granite rock formation that extends about 3,000 feet from base to summit. Rock climbers (and until recently, base jumpers) went to El Capitan because of the challenge it provides. Jeff, being the rock climber that he is, has always wanted to go to Yosemite and see El Capitan and Half Dome so he was a little excited to say the least.

We walked around and snapped some shots and took in the view. We looked at the map and noticed a waterfall nearby. We parked the car and went to check out Bridalveil Falls. Bridalveil Falls is approx 617 feet high and is a plunge type fall. We walked over to where the waterfall was and were quite disappointed at what we found. California was so dry and in such a drought that the waterfall was basically nonexistent. The water was only falling a few feet before turning into a mist and being blown away. I guess that at that time of the year , most of the waterfalls there were usually dried up anyways, but it was still quite a shock.

Jeff and I continued on driving through Yosemite and enjoyed the forest views. We pulled over near a camping area and decided to walk around a little and explore. The fur children stayed cool in the shade in the car and lounged on top of all of my stuff. We found a path that brought us down to a creek that we decided to check out. The water was freezing but clear as can be.

After our hike by the creek we went and checked out the visitor center and snack/gift shop. We grabbed some snacks to munch on and hit the road. We finished our loop of the park and headed towards the exit as it was getting late and we wanted to try to make it into Nevada that evening. We drove by Half Dome which is another one of Yosemites giant granite rock formations known for rock climbing that reaches 4,737ft above the valley floor. On our way out of the park we stopped by an area that the PCT goes through, some other view spots, and at Tenaya Lake (which was gorgeous). We were leaving Yosemite just as the sun was setting.

We made it about four hours into Nevada and then had to stop because we were sleepy. Driving through Nevada we went over some roads in the middle of nowhere and spotted a sign that said “Dips.” We continued on and quickly realized why there was that sign. The road had some extreme up and down dips making our stomachs drop with every downhill dip. At the top of the little hill we couldn’t even see what was right below us so it was a little scary with it being night and wildlife possibly running out in the road. Jeff had the idea to stop in an area that was very isolated and had no light around so we could take some pictures of the stars. They turned out great for our first time trying. We ended up in a hotel/casino which is the case for most hotels in Nevada. We made it to Tonopah, NV and stayed at Tonopah Station Hotel and Casino. What a place this was!! The decorations were very eclectic to say the least but the room was clean and the bed was comfy. We snuck the kitties in and then promptly went to bed.

[rainbowsparklern]

Seattle to Colorado day 4

We spent the next day fixing my car, exploring Santa Cruz, and spending time with Jeff's family. The previous night, we told Jeffs brother about my broken muffler and he recommended a shop for us to try that day. We woke up bright and early because his brothers kids had school and we were sleeping on the living room pull-out couch. Jeff called the shop when we woke up and they told us to stop by so they could take a look at it. The shop was a little south of Boulder Creek so we figured we could stop and check out Santa Cruz after getting my car fixed, as that is also south of Boulder Creek. Jeffs brother and wife were working all day and the kids would be at school so we had to find something to do. We got dressed for the day, stuck the kitties in Jeffs nieces room for the day, then went to a local grocery store where Jeff got a coffee and we each got a donut for breakfast. Boulder Creek is a small town and didn’t have any quick grab and go breakfast places that we could find. When we arrived at the car shop, the owner put my car on a lift, took a look at it, and told me that he could fix it for about $60. That was waaaaayyyyy cheaper than any of the other places I’d been to. Great news :) We just had to wait for his welder to get there and then the job would be done! While we waited, Jeff and I began to get hungry again. Luckily there was a breakfast shop right next door to the mechanics. We walked over and ordered ourselves some bagels. I couldn’t finish mine, but Jeff took on the challenge of finishing it for me and succeeded. We went back over and waited for maybe another 30 minutes then were told we were all set. Upon getting back into my car and starting it back up, I was pleasantly surprised! No more race car sounding Nissan! Woohoo! We hit the road and headed down to the Santa Cruz boardwalk.

The boardwalk attractions and all the rides were closed because it was September but some of the shops were still open. When we got there though, we realized we messed up and should've brought some beach towels and bathing suits. It was gorgeous out, the sun was shining, and we were on a beach.....wearing jeans. Whoops. We rolled up our pant legs, took off our shoes, and headed to the water. The water was chilly and full of seaweed but there were clear areas along the beach where people were cooling off. We walked along the beach till we got to the pier and decided to head down it. The pier is 2,745 feet long (1/2 a mile) and is the longest pier on the west coast. There are a bunch of shops and restaurants on the pier which was really neat. As we were walking along the wharf, we noticed a group of people staring down at the water and pointing. We decided to go and see what the commotion was about. There was a group of sea lions laying on part of the lower dock. Id never seen sea lions out in the wild like this and was completely shocked! We were able to walk down some stairs and get within a few feet of them. They were all loungin on top of one another catching some rays and snoozing. Next thing I knew there was a big splash behind me. I turned around to find a bunch more sea lions playing in the water behind me and jumping up on some of the wooden structures. We sat there and watched them swim and play for a while. We continued on down the pier and stopped in a few of the shops. We were looking to get ourselves a California magnet. We couldn't find one that matched the rest of the ones we already had though. At the end of the pier we noticed a few people fishing off the end of the wharf. If I ever go back there I’d like to try that! We decided to stop in one of the restaurants and grab a beer and something light to munch on. We stopped at the Riva Fish House and had a beer and a salad with an amazing view. We were running out of time though and had to head back to the house to meet Dave (Jeffs brother) and his family for dinner. We finished up at Riva and made the 1/2 mile walk back along the pier and to our car.

We met up with Jeffs brother who showed us around his yard. His brothers house is situated on some land with a lot of woods and trees so he has made some paths in the woods to walk on. He gave us a tour of this and also showed us a small zip line he had made and a projector screen for outdoor movie watching. We got dressed and ready and his brother drove us and his son to a local Chinese restaurant where we met his wife. This was my first time meeting his wife as she was sleeping and then working before. Jeffs niece was at dance class so couldn't make dinner. We had a good dinner and conversation and some added sake which never hurts. We went back to Daves house and sat on the back deck and chatted for a bit before heading in to shower and catch some zzzz’s.

[rainbowsparklern]

Seattle to Colorado day 3

Jeff and I woke up bright and early the next am, we had some serious miles to make and lots of things to see along the way. We ate breakfast at the hotels continental breakfast, packed up our belongings and fur children, then hit the road.

View from our hotel in Grants Pass.

Jeff had visited California a few times before because his brother lives there. I had never been though. Our plan was to make it to Jeffs brothers house in Boulder Creek and spend the next two nights there which meant we had to travel over 500 miles that day. Entering into California you drive through a long tunnel which was neat. We stopped and took a picture at the welcome to California state sign. We’ve tried to take pictures at as many state welcome signs as we can but some are impossible due to their location or its night time when were passing through. Its nice to be able to have another welcome picture together. The stickers are quite entertaining on the California welcome sign. If you're every driving past it, stop and take a peek.

Our first stop in California was the Crescent City Information Center which was a very oddly shaped building. There, Jeff purchased a map to add to his collection. There was a park with a wooden playground across from the center so we went and checked it out. It brought back childhood memories :P We were messing around on a tire swing when a 4 year old tried to recruit us for a game of hide and seek. Unfortunately we had to bail on him, we had lots of ground to cover that day. Before leaving we took a quick walk along the beach, after all, it was my first time laying eyes on the Cali coast! It was sunny, warm, and the coast looked stunning and the water sparkly. I began to get really excited to be driving along the coast and having that view all day.

We took the 101 all the way down to Leggett where we switched to route 1. Driving down the coast was stunning. Its such a beautiful ride and the landscape is so different than that of the east coast. On the way down, we drove past the Redwood Adventures and Elk meadow cabins. There was a crowd of people outside holding cameras. As we got closer we realized why. There was a large herd of elk crossing the resort and traveling into a nearby field. It was the most elk I’d ever seen gathered in one area at one time. They didn't seem fazed by the crowd of people either and just went about their business.

As we continued down California we quickly stopped at some of beaches and viewpoints to take pictures and explore.

We made it a point to drive through the Redwood National Park. That park was on my bucket list! The trees were ginormous! They don’t call em giants for nothin. It was insane to stand next to a tree so wide and tall. We wanted to go to one of the trees that you drive through but we found out you have to pay to do it. We were willing too as it was only $5, but the lady told us it was about an hour wait which we didn't have time to do. That was disappointing but we figured we could always come back for a visit someday and try again.

Further down the coast we stopped at a beach that was supposed to be full of sea glass, like instead of walking on sand, you walk on sea glass. We parked the car in a parking lot and were surprised to see a dog skateboarding in the lot. I’ve heard of them and I’ve seen them on internet videos but I’ve never witnessed a dog skateboarding in real life. It was quite hilarious. The dog was having a blast! Down at the beach we were a bit disappointed. No sea-glass like the yelp reviews and pictures promised! There were still some small random pieces and it was a lovely beach but nothing like the pictures we saw. Who knows, maybe we just weren't at the right spot.

We then started to journey more east and away from the Coast to save some time and get to San Fransisco. We were trying to get to the Golden Gate Bridge before the sun set but realized at that point that we weren't going to make it. The roads from the coastline to San Fransisco were like a snake. So windy and twisty. There were vineyards everywhere also! Hey we were near Napa! We arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge in the dark unfortunately but were still impressed by it. All we managed to snag were some blurry night pictures of the bridge. We stopped at a sketchy McDonalds and woofed down some super healthy food.

We arrived at Jeffs brothers house late that evening and he already had the pull out sofa set up for us. Jeff introduced me to his brother Dave and I was promised to meet the rest of his family in the am. Everyone was asleep at that point. Jeff and I were exhausted after our day of driving and adventure so we were out as soon as our heads hit the pillows.

[rainbowsparklern]

Seattle to Colorado Springs Day 1 and 2

For my fourth assignment, I took a job in Colorado Springs. At the end of my Seattle assignment, I flew home and stayed with Jeff in Agawam from August 31st to September 5th. I left the cats with my friend Amma and my car at my friend Katrina’s apartment complex. While in MA, Jeff and I kept busy trying to organize his apartment and pack up for the move out to CO. I also had to complete a lot of tasks for my new job that took up a surprising amount of time. We spent a night out with my friends Alyssa, Dan, Meghan, and Megan at Typical Sicilian in Springfield for dinner and drinks. Another night we met up with Jeffs friends Ben, Jenny, Dan, and Mary Ann for dinner at the Northampton Brewery. The time passed in a blur and before I knew it, my parents were dropping us off at Bradley airport, we were saying our goodbyes, and were getting on a plane at 6am! Even though Jeff and I have spent the majority of our relationship apart, we have been able to travel across the country 3 times together. The funny part is, with all the traveling we had completed in the past 10 months, we had never flown together. It was nice to finally fly together. We had a quick layover in Washington DC and then had a smooth flight straight to Seattle. Flying into Seattle was really neat. Jeff had done it a few times already but it was the first time for me. It was really cool to see the mountain tops of the Cascades popping up through the clouds.

When getting off the airport, some young guy commented on how Jeff looked like Luigi with his mustache and green jacket. That was a first :P When we got off the plane, we ran into this guy again at the bathrooms and met his wife. We found out Nathan and Sherri were also traveling from Seattle to California like Jeff and I were planning on doing. We traded info in hopes that maybe one day we would meet up again. Jeff and I took an Uber from the airport to Katrina’s apartment. Upon trying to drive away from Katrinas we found out my battery was dead and had to get a jump from her. We headed up north to Ammas place to pick up the cats. It was a surprise to see them roaming around her apartment with her dog out. My cats have never been around a dog so it was funny to see them interact so calmly. My muffler was also broken so the plan was to stop at a muffler shop and get it fixed after Ammas and before going to Portland. Unfortunately the shop was closed when we got there so we made the trip down to Oregon with a race car sounding Nissan. We got to Oregon fairly late and were tired after a day of traveling and being up at 3am on the East Coast so we got to our hotel and went to bed! The next day we went and checked out Portland. We started with brunch at the Hazel Room in Sunnyside Portland. We had cranberry orange juice mimosas with little flowers in them then destroyed some apple braised brisket hash with a side of biscuits and gravy. Yum in my tum. 

After brunch we walked around the area and checked out the local shops. There were a lot of thrift stores in that area with some really neat finds. Its quite surprising what you can find in thrift stores. Unfortunately there was no room left in my vehicle for Portland purchases so we perused and continued on.

We decided to then go check out downtown Portland and go to a brewery my parents recommended. We went to Fat Heads brewery but were ignored for about 20 minutes so we ended up leaving. Luckily there was another brewery right up the street so we went there for brews and an app. While waiting for a table at 10 Barrel Brewing, we stopped at the one and only Snow Peak store next door. It was fun looking at the outdoor equipment but it made me long for a camping trip with Jeff. Once at the brewery, we were originally sat with a group of people who were meeting up for day after the wedding drinks. Two of their friends had just gotten married the day before. They all seemed a little sluggish but were very friendly. More and more people joined their group so we ended up moving to a smaller table to help accommodate them. Jeff and I split the beer sampler and some french fries. We were still pretty full from brunch but it was delicious and hit the spot.

After getting our fill at the brewery we left to make our way down the state of Oregon and as far as we could for the night. Jeff and I stopped at a truck stop and ate Arbys for dinner. So healthy. Jeff put himself into “Gastrointestinal Shock” as he termed it. Feelings of fullness, nausea, dizziness, and a slight euphoria. Too much food for his belly! I also picked up a magnet for my sister at the truck stop because she collects state magnets. She had just visited Oregon but forgot to get a magnet so I purchased one for her. We made it to Grants Pass, got a hotel room, and tuckered in for an early night so we could hit the Cali coast the next day.

[rainbowsparklern]

Hidden Lake Peaks

Jeff came to Seattle for another visit from the 13th to the 20th of August. While I was at work a few weeks prior to this, Nicole, one of the pharmacists I work with, recommended I hike up to Hidden Lake Peaks. Her and her friend did the hike recently and she said it was absolutely beautiful and that there was a fire tower at the top. I was sold! After hiking to Mt. Pilchuck and seeing the fire tower there, I knew this was probably a good one. I googled the hike and found out some more information on it. Its an 8 mile round trip hike with 3,300 ft elevation gain. The fire tower is up at 6,900 ft and has a 360 view of the mountains of the northern cascade. Jeff and I decided to go up and hike on Monday the 17th. The weather was supposed to be perfect! 70′s and sunny :) We woke up super early for Jeff and Aimee standards, 8am. We packed, showered, and somehow 4 hours passed us by and it was already noon. We were starving at that point so we went to Georgetown for breakfast. We ate at the Hangar cafe and it was a bit of a disaster. We got seated and were told they had just had an influx of customers and it would be about 30 minutes till we got our food. We figured that wouldn't be a problem and would be outta there by 1. There was only one waitress and she was in the weeds for sure. It didn't help that she had a bitch face on the whole time and the flattest affect. We got our food 30 minutes later and they messed up our order. Jeff and I both ordered savory crepes (that's what they're known for) and it was almost like they mixed our two orders together. Jeff's topping was on my crepe and my topping was on Jeffs. They added random ingredients to mine that weren't supposed to be there and Jeff's was missing ingredients. Luckily the crepes were still tasty so we stuffed our faces! We left there caffeinated and full.

Now it was time for an REI visit. We went to the downtown Seattle location and Jeff informed me that REI was started in Seattle which I didn’t know. The store was ginormous! They have their own rock climbing tower and a bike path surrounding the store for bike shoppers to try out bikes. The store is 3 floors and is jam packed with awesomeness. We could've easily spent hours in there but we were on a mission. We ended up scoping out the store first then beelining it for the pillows and food. We picked up some of our usual dehydrated mountain house bags. Jeff got his breakfast skillet for the morning and spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner. I grabbed the teriyaki chicken packet for dinner but I had a leftover breakfast bag from a previous hike so I didn't need a breakfast bag. Last time we went to Pilchuck, the pillow Jeff let me use was terrible so I decided to buy one while at REI. I bought a light pillow that you blow up and is soft on one side and plastic on the other. It seemed super comfy and large enough at the time. Jeff bought a z-rest while he was there. We also purchased a handful of protein and energy bars and checked out.

Finally on the road! The trailhead was about 2 1/2 hours away from the REI store so we continued on north. We arrived to the town of Marblemont and continued on to the park where the trail was. The parking lot was filled with cars which was a little discouraging because we were hoping, by some miracle, to get the fire tower to ourselves or at least to not be surrounded by people on this hike.Oh well, onward! We loaded up our packs and set out on the trail.

The trail began in the wonderful lush Washington woods. Dense forest surrounded us as we journeyed up the skinny trail and hopped over the occasional stream crossing. About a mile later, the trail emerged into an open field surrounded by mountains. It was stunning to walk out into that. There was still some lush green surrounding us as we exited from the woods and began to walk through the field and cross a small stream. Jeff stopped and filled up on some cooking water from the stream for us for dinner and breakfast.

As we continued up, more and more meadow flowers surround us. Before I knew it, we were enveloped in flowers as tall as Jeff and the view kept growing more and more wonderful. My pack was really weighing down on my back and I was whiny pants central at this point. Thankfully Jeff put up with it and gave me encouraging words. We ran into a few people who were leaving on our way up which was good for us but we also past a group of about ten 20-somethings making their way up the mountain.

Once we cleared the meadow, we walked up along the slope of a side of a mountain and remained mostly level for maybe 3/4 of a mile. The trail here remained thin and the trees were sparse. Eventually we came up around a bend and got our first glimpse of the fire tower. It still looked so far away and I felt as though we had already hiked so far! It was a bit discouraging but good to finally spot our end point. At this point in the hike our views had increased in their awesomeness and the sun was getting lower in the sky. The sky had started to change into shades of pink and orange. We knew we had to put some hustle in our steps if we were going to make it to the fire tower for sunset.

We came to the last change in terrain where there were huge slabs of granite and rocks everywhere. We hiked up along the path and finally reached the base of where the fire tower was. We dropped our bags and hoofed it up to the peak. Finally! We made it. And in time to see the sunset :) We also caught our first glimpse of Hidden Lake on our way up the fire tower mountain. There was a family staying overnight in the fire tower so Jeff and sat on a rock outside and admired the setting sun and the magical colors it was emitting. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve experienced and I wish that the pictures I took did it justice.

With the sun down behind the mountain line, Jeff and I booked it back down the mountain to our packs so we could set up camp somewhere. We put our headlamps on and trekked down the rocky terrain. We found a somewhat flat spot where it looked like others had camped in the past. There was a small area that looked like someone had had a fire at one point. Jeff and I quickly set up the tent, then sat down and cooked and ate our dinners. Dinner tasted amazing after the afternoon of hiking. While cooking the food we noticed a field mouse run across the top of our tent. All I could think was “oh no, not this again.” After our last experience and no sleep for myself at Pilchuck, I was really hoping the tent would keep the mice out. Jeff scared off the mouse and I luckily didn't see it again for the rest of the night. Once we cleaned up from dinner, Jeff tied up the food bag in an attempt to keep mice away. There weren't any trees tall enough around to keep it away from bears so we crossed our fingers and hoped no bears would be out in the area tonight. Jeff got a good nights sleep as usual but myself, welp, I just couldn’t fall asleep. I think it was a combo of not being used to sleeping in a sleeping bag and the pillow I bought was no good. The plastic side kept making the pillow slide out from under my head so I flipped it and put the soft cloth side down. The cloth side provided enough grip to stay put but then I was laying on the uncomfortable plastic side. I think I finally dozed off around 3am only to be woken by my phones alarm at 5:30.

Jeff and I reluctantly got out of our warm sleeping bag, put on some layers, and exited the tent. We found a nice spot near our tent where we could sit and watch the sun rise. The funny part was, Jeffs compass told us the sun was going to rise in a completely different spot than where it started to rise. Needless to say we were a little disoriented and confused upon stepping out of the tent. I think Jeff exclaimed, “What the hell?” when he got out. The view for our sunrise was phenomenal and I couldn't have asked for a better way to start the day. Because Jeff and I set up camp the night before in the dark, we didn't get to appreciate our surroundings. Well appreciate it we did in the morning. We snapped some pictures and sat and took in the beauty of the morning. We went back to the tent to get a few more hours of sleep before our day really started.

Of course I couldn't fall back asleep and was dozing off as the alarm was going off. We went back to the same spot we watched the sun rise and prepared breakfast. Jeff cooked his breakfast skillet and I cooked the breakfast bag I had from a previous trip. Unfortunately mine tasted really nasty for whatever reason so Jeff ended up sharing his with me ;)  We sat and ate, enjoyed the view, and put on some light tunes while the sun rose higher and higher in the sky. The cold night air became a thing of the past and the sun was already beating down on us. Once our tummies were full, we disassembled our tent and packed up our bags again for our descent. Luckily my bag felt lighter, less food and water ;)

The trek back to the trail was a little bit more treacherous this time. We took a different route back and it definitely wasn't the safest. We safely made it back to the trail and decided to summit another mountain before heading down. This mountain had a peak that appeared bigger than the one of the fire tower but was the next mountain over. We set our backpacks down and started the scramble up the second mountain. This was one of the sketchiest hikes I’ve done by far. There was a steep drop off on the right side and the left side was a long slope with jagged rocks. Many of the rocks we climbed over were precariously perched on top of other rocks making me constantly question if they were going to shift under my step and cause us to fall. Jeff led the way and we successfully summited the mountain at 7,012 feet! There were so many flies and ladybugs at the top of the mountain, it was odd. They say ladybugs are good luck right? We stood and took in the incredible 360 view of the surrounding landscape and snapped some shots. It was wonderful. We then, very carefully, made our way back down this mountain peak because it was getting later and we still had to down hike. We grabbed our backpacks and slid them on our backs (which was a bummer to put back on after the nice climb up the mountain without them.)

On the way down the mountain my hiking boots really began to bother me and started some blisters on my feet. The boots I had were a half size too small and that made all the difference. I tried hiking down with no boots on and that was a fail. Jeff then suggested I just take my socks off and that helped enough for me to make it down the mountain. On our way down, right before entering the woods again, we met a guy around our age that had hiked up to the lake for the day. In conversation we found out he was originally from Connecticut and had recently moved to WA for an internship at a marijuana company. He told us that he had recently been in Cali and was hiking around the Sierra Mountains but that after todays hike, the Cascades took the cake for him. Jeff and I had to agree with him.

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Ballard Locks

While Jeff visited Seattle, we took a trip to see the the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks aka the Ballard Locks. The locks were opened in 1917 and are a link for boats between the salt water of the Puget Sound and the fresh water of the Ship Canal, which connects to Lake Union and Lake Washington. It was our first time seeing some locks in action. I didn't know what a lock was going there so I was quite surprised. I was under the impression it was a docking area for boats and a fish ladder. We entered through the gate and there were beautiful bushes, trees, and flowers all over! It was a quick walk from the gate to the locks and we arrived just in time to see them filling up the larger of the two locks to accommodate a barge called Island Chief. 

The barge started off so low, we were just about looking eye to eye with the captain of the barge. By the time the lock filled up, he was about 25 feet in the air! We checked out the area a little more ran into some obnoxious drunk guy yelling out random things and got away from him as quick as we could. After the large barge was off and pushing, a bunch of boats filled up the smaller lock and the lock worked its leveling magic.

After watching them fill up the smaller lock with eight boats and send them on their way, we went and checked out the fish ladder. It was incredible! The water was filled with ginormous fish! I don't think I’ve seen a fish that large out in open water before. The fish all seemed to be floating in place, not moving much, like they were waiting in line. We learned, from a guide there, that it normally takes the fish several months to actually get to the top of the ladder where the fresh water is. Boom!!! Mind blown! That was hard to believe. I just kept wondering, where and what do they eat? They have an area set up where you can walk into a building next to the fish ladder where there are glass panels for viewing the fish as they make their way up the ladder. That was neato.

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San Juan Island

My friend Sheridan and I took a 3 day trip to the San Juan Islands. Sheridan is another travel nurse that I met at my current jobs orientation. The San Juan islands consist of a group of 128 different islands with three main ones. They are the San Juan island, the Orcas island, and Lopez island. We decided to visit the San Juan island as it seemed to be the most talked about and was recommended to us. We took a ferry out of the Anacortes harbor and arrived at Friday Harbor on Monday morning. The ferry ride took about an hour but was enjoyable as the views were remarkable. Beautiful tree covered islands surrounded us and sailboats, speedboats, and other ferries passed by. The day started off overcast and chilly but began to warm up and become sunny as we rode to the island. Things were looking good!

We arrived at Friday Harbor and found a quaint little town waiting for us. Lined with restaurants, bars, whale watching venues, and kitschy stores, the place was crowded.

After a quick drive through town, we decided to continue on to see what the rest of the island had to offer. The check in time for our B&B was 3pm so we had some time to kill. We ended up going to the other end of the island and found the San Juan Sculpture garden. The garden consists of 20 acres of reserved land with a mile of walk through trails and over 150 sculptures. The garden is free to visit but they ask for donations. The sculptures also get rotated out every two years. We parked the car and decided to walk around a bit and were astounded by the prices of most of the sculptures. A bit overpriced for about 99% of them in our opinion. Some of them looked like they had been sitting there for years (which they possibly had) with cobwebs covering them and an asking price of $75,000+. We were a bit confused as to who would drop that chuck of changed on a rusty cobwebbed covered sculpture, but hey, who are we to judge?!

On the way to the sculpture garden we passed a winery and after all that walking in the garden, we had worked up quite the thirst. As we were driving by a field next to the winery Sheridan exclaimed, “Is that a camel?” I replied with, “Are you sure it wasn’t an alpaca?” as there was an alpaca farm on the island. Sheridan...”No. Whats an alpaca look like?” We pulled a 180 and went back up the road and sure as shit there was a camel in the field.

After admiring the camel, we ventured on to the San Juan Vineyards and stopped in for a tasting. There they told us that Mona was the name of the camel and that was where she lived. We sampled three of their wines and chose a mixed 2011 Cabernet-Merlot. We sat out on their porch underneath a covering and enjoyed some creamy garlic and herb cheese and crackers with our red. Once we polished on the bottle, we went and explored the grounds a bit. There was row upon row of growing vines and a small old church that was open to public viewing. Sheridan and I took a peak inside and were surprised at how pristine it was.

It was now around 3pm so we went and checked in at the Wildwood Manor where we would be spending the night. The Wildwood Manor is an adorable bed and breakfast that sits high up enough so that there is the view of the water and mountains from the backyard. Our host was named Michael and we found him to be very sweet but also pushy. We had pulled up in the driveway and he popped out of no where and was knocking on the window telling us to come in, grabbing our luggage, then telling us to take our shoes off before entering. Our room was on the second floor and had a plush bed and lots of sunlight. There was also two homemade cookies on the bedside table for us. Once settling in a bit we decided to change up and head out for dinner and drinks at the Harbor. Michael had mentioned when he showed us around that they used well water. What he forgot to mention was that the water smelt like complete sewage. Ewwww Grosssss Ewwww! What a disappointment. Knowing that we were only spending one night there we put it past us.

We went to dinner at Cask & Schooner where I had some chowder and fish and chips and Sheridan also enjoyed some chowder and shepards pie. One thing we found really peculiar about the harbor was that there was only one restaurant right on the water. The rest of them were at least a street away and most didn’t take full advantage of the beautiful view that is available. After dinner, we hit up some local watering holes and ended up meeting some unique people to say the least. Two of which were doppelgangers of Orlando Bloom and Woody Harrelson. “Orlando Bloom” was actually traveling on a sailboat and had taken a kayak to shore, or so he says. He did come into the bar with a kayak paddle in hand, so there was that. We left the bar at last call and had a wonderful nights sleep in our super comfy bed.

The next am we got up and went straight down for breakfast. Michael put together yogurt and granola, a fruit salad, blueberry Belgium waffles, and chicken apple sausage. Oh my yum!!! We also enjoyed from fresh orange juice and coffee and left with full tummies. Now here was the worst part of the trip....We went to take showers. It was absolutely terrible showering in that water. It was so bad I was actually gagging while showering. Looking back I probably should've skipped that shower and waited till the next place that night. I don’t know how they live with the water smelling like that! UGH! After gathering our things we headed out because we had an 11am appointment for a zip lining excursion. But before we left we were visited by four deer in the driveway. We had previously noticed some deer in the yard and Michael told us that they come and stay around there because him and the other keeper leave out game food for them every am. Its like they had pet deer. They were so sweet and fearless and there was an adorable young deer trailing behind the older ones.

We made our way to 1st street where we were meeting the van picking us up for the zip lining tour. We drove down the street looking for parking but all the spots were filled so Sheridan drove to the end of the cul de sac to turn around and look for parking elsewhere. Unfortunately we were driving behind another vehicle and when we got to the cul de sac, the other driver didn’t quite make the turn, put her car in reverse, and slammed into the front of Sheridan’s car. It happened too fast for either of us to react in time and move her car out of harms way. Luckily no one was injured and there was only damage to her driver side bumper. The car was still drivable! We quickly exchanged info with the panicked girl and parked the car at the court house parking lot. We hopped in the van with our other zip line companions and discussed the wonderful situation that had just occurred. A few laughs later and we were on our way.  We got to the woods and geared up with the very fashionable blue helmets, black harnesses, and dirty gloves. We went through introductions and learned we would be zip lining with a family of three brothers, their mothers, and their two sisters in law. They were all really sweet and made the experience that much more enjoyable. Sheridan and I took on the 8 zip lines and had a blast doing it. There were a few moments were each of use got nervous because of the heights but we pushed forward and ended with smiles. My favorite zip line was when we went over a lake and there was a fake otter on the other side they had named Frank. It was at times nerve wrecking, but overall was an exciting and fun experience.

We ate lunch at the Hungry clam where I ate a not so good grilled ham and cheese and Sheridan had a Reuben. After eating we drove to the southernmost point of the island to check out the Cattle Point Lighthouse. What a gorgeous part of the island this was. You had views of Lopez island, the Olympic Peninsula mountains, and Victoria island. Sheridan and I roamed around the beach a bit and came upon the lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1935 and stands 34 feet tall. Up close you could tell how run down the lighthouse was but from far away it looked stunning sitting up on the hill with the ocean water and mountains in the background.

The check in time for the place were were spending that night at was 4pm and we noticed it was a little past 4 so we left the beach to check in. We met Mike who was the owner and found out he was from Boston originally and then lived in Missouri for 10 years which was nuts because I’m from Massachusetts and Sheridan is from Missouri. Small world! We changed out of our zip lining appropriate gear and hit up the best pizza joint on the island! Van Go’s Pizza. We shared a 12′‘ sausage, pepper, and onion pizza and a 12′‘ brussel sprout and bacon pizza. Boy o boy was it good! We enjoyed some vino with it of course and left there with stuffed bellies. That night we hit up the Rumor Mill for a drink and some open mic music.

Today we left the island. We woke up and got some breakfast at the Rocky Bay cafe and then walked around the shops and bought some memorabilia. I also checked out a local coffee shop before we waited back in line for the ferry and headed back into the city.

[rainbowsparklern]

Snow Lake

Today I went and hiked Snow Lake trail. Its a 7.2 mile hike with an 1,800ft elevation gain! It was about an hour and a half drive from my house, with all of the traffic trying to enter the city. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was packed! I had read online that it was a busy trail, but I didn’t expect it to be that busy on a Friday!Then again, it is the summer. The trailhead was off a parking lot in the Alpental Ski resort. Its a self pay station for the Northwest Forest pass, which I don’t have, so I dished out the $5.

The hike up was really beautiful with mountain views to my left almost the entire time! Its a low incline, steady hike for the majority of it also. I walked through field-like areas filled with tall grass and purple flowers. Then the scenery  changed to tall trees, dirt paths, and moss everywhere. Then the next thing I knew I was struggling over rocky paths with low shrubbery surrounding me. I eventually reached a point where it became steep and there were some switchbacks, but it was short lived.

At the top there was a big slab of rock that hikers seemed to congregate on and take in the view. I sat down and enjoyed stunning views of Snow Lake and the mountains surrounding it. You can turn around and head back from here, or continue on down the other side of the mountain to actually reach the lake and complete the trail. I chose to do the the latter of the two. After all, it was a 90 degree day with about zero clouds and that cold water was looking mighty tempting from up on that rock.

I made the hike down to the lake which felt like a breeze after going up the toughest part of the hike. Finally! Cold water! I found a place for my backpack and hiking poles and kicked off my boots. Unfortunately there was no soft sandy beach to run into the water on. The lake was surround by jagged rocks that were a challenge to walk barefoot on. I was thinking how it would be really nice to have a pair of water-shoes! I touched the lake and was pleasantly surprised by the temperature. It didn't feel freezing! But then I realized it was the water right at the shore and was likely to be warmer than the water further out.  But I went for it anyway and once I got deep enough I submerged myself in the cool water. It was a bit of a shock to the system and caused some serious goosebumps but boy did it feel good! I wadded around a bit more and then went to shore to dry off a bit. There were some other groups of people there. One guy was fly fishing, there was a group of teenage girls giggling and sunbathing, two girls were out in the lake on floats soaking up the sun, and then there were a few daredevils, jumping off a cliff into the lake. I just sat back and took in the sun myself and people watched for a bit.

Once my clothes were no longer drenched, I packed up and put my boots back on. Now to repeat the 3.6 miles in the opposite direction. The hike back felt longer than I remembered and my legs felt like jelly near the end. I took a lot of pictures on the way down so it was slow going.

I reached the bottom about 5 1/2 hours after I began the hike that am. I felt exhausted by the end and was hangry. I stopped at a local restaurant called the Commonwealth which was amazing, then drove back on home. Another hike to check off my list ;)

[rainbowsparklern]

Third Beach and Hurricane Ridge

On our last day of our trip to the Olympic Peninsula, Jeff and I planned on visiting Hurricane Ridge. We ate a quick breakfast of cereal and packed up. We enjoyed one last view of First Beach and the ocean and loaded up the car. On the way out we stopped at a espresso stand at the resort and Jeff had a shot of espresso for the first time! Unfortunately it wasn’t good espresso, so not a good first impression for him :/ But boy does that stuff work great at giving you a quick energy boost!

We decided to stop and check out Third beach first, since it was early in the day and on the way to Hurricane Ridge. There is First, Second, and Third beach and third beach is supposed to be the most secluded because it is a 1.8 mile hike in to reach the beach. When we arrived at the parking lot I was surprised to see a moderate amount of cars parked. We got out of the car and went straight for the trailhead!

The hike down to the beach was an easy, enjoyable hike. The scenery was lush and green and the incline was miniscule. There were some beautiful old trees laden throughout the forest and the moss was everywhere! It is also a very well maintained trail. An early morning mist rising through the forest added to the beauty.

At the end of a trail is an area where a stream dumps out into the ocean and a ton of dead trees/drift wood lay in piles in this area where the water has taken them downstream. You have to maneuver yourself over this pile to reach the beach.

Once we cleared this pile, we set out to explore the beach. Near the trail there were a few groups of families that had set up camp on the beach. There was also an entrance off the side of the beach where you use a pre-setup rope and climb up a steep hill to continue on another trail to a different camping area. Jeff and I continued down the beach to a more secluded area where we found a fort of sorts built out of drift wood. We sat and enjoyed this little fort and goofed off in it for a while.

We continued on south to a point where you couldn’t pass because of rocks and the structure of the land. The tide was up so it just looked like a bunch of rock structures popping out of the ocean. Jeff had the “genius” idea to get out to the farthest one because, hey why not? I just so happened to record Jeff making his barefooted way out to the farthest rock and was able to capture the moment he made it to the rock next to it, then was quickly swept away by a Pacific Ocean wave. There was a brief second where Jeff disappeared from my view (heart stopping!!!) but I saw him resurface and climb up to the farthest rock. Jeff was soaked from head to toe and the water was freeeeezing! Ooops, not how he visioned that going. After accomplishing his goal, he made his way back to the beach and myself, where he showed me his battle wounds. A scrapped up foot and two torn up hands from sliding off the rock. Jeff was a little popsicle at this point, as it wasn’t the warmest or sunniest of days and he was soaked head to toe. He luckily had some change of clothes in his backpack. We decided it was a good idea to head back to the car at that point to tend his wounds and have him fully change.

The 1.8 mile hike back was just as beautiful and enjoyable as the hike in. Just a tad bit more difficult due to a slight incline. On the way out I also spotted one of the largest slugs I’ve ever seen! It was probably close to 6-8 inches long and was black and yellow!

Once back at the car, we took out our camping chairs and sat outside the car, listened to some tunes, and cooked up some lunch. Mmmm dehydrated bagged food again ;)

With our tummies full and Jeff on the mend, we set out to our next destination. On the way to the Olympic National Park we stopped by and admired Crescent Lake. What a gorgeous blue the water was, and we watched a guy wind surfing in it which was neat!

We finally arrived to the Olympic National Park, payed our entrance fee, and made our way up the mountain access road in my car. On the way we stopped at a few viewpoints and were able to catch seeing a few young deer.

Once at the top, we checked out the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center. Hurricane Ridge is a mountainous area in the Olympic National Park. Its at an elevation of 5,242 feet and has breathtaking views. We explored the visitor center and enjoyed the decorations which haven’t been updated probably since the late 70′s early 80′s. We sat outside for a bit and took in the view of mountains surrounding us.

(above is looking back at the visitor center from Obstruction Point Road)

Jeff and I then decided to drive down this narrow one lane road, called Obstruction Point Road, to hike a trail. Lets just say, it was one of the scariest drives of my life! The road was about 8 miles (to get to the trails) of if you drive your car any more to the left you’re going to fall directly off a steep cliff a couple of hundred feet to your death vs if you move any more to the right you’re going to plummet down a steep hill a couple of hundred feet to your death. The ride was tense to say the least, especially for me who is scared of heights. Luckily there were many points where the road became surrounded by trees that gave us a false sense of security but then they would fade away to the view of steep drops on either or at least one side of you. There was one point where the incline was so steep, that going down it all we could think of was how the heck are we going to safely maneuver our way back up this. All in all it was a beautiful ride though with amazing views of the mountain on either side. We finally arrived to the trail head and were met with only a handful of other cars there.

We hiked along a trail for about a mile. The trail was thin and easy going. The views remained stunning. We decided to hunker in at that point and catch the sunset. While sitting on a large semi flat rock and setting up for some good pictures, a young buck came out of a small area of trees and brush. He remained with us while we sat and watched the sunset. I was really surprised at how calm he was and how comfortable he seemed being around us. He munched on some grass while we sat in each others arms and enjoyed the stunning setting of the sun.

Once the sun was set, Jeff and I then made the ride back up Obstruction Point road. We held our breath and made well wishes while trekking up the steep incline we were worried about. Once safely at the top of it and on our way down the road, all we could do was look at each other and laugh in relief! We then made the drive back to Seattle, and when I say we I mean Jeff because I was asleep for 80% of it....Zzzzzz.

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1st beach

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1st beach, La Push WA

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Hiking to the Olympic Hot Springs!

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Olympic Hot Springs and Quileute Oceanside Resort

We woke up around 9am in our tent together on the second day of our trip. Luckily it was a cool, overcast morning because we planned on taking a trip to the hot springs that day. Something about 80 degree weather and 100+ degree water just doesn’t mix. We took our time cleaning up and taking down the tent. Tara and Alejandro had already been up for a few hours so they'd already eaten breakfast. Jeff and I whipped up another two bags of mountain house dehydrated food for breakfast and scarfed them down. After breakfast Jeff, Tara, Alejandro, Aldrich, Alec, and I all sat around the picnic table for a while chatting, which was really nice. As the morning crept on, we decided it was time to pack up and get ready for our hike to the hot springs. I wore my bathing suit underneath a tank top and shorts and packed a towel in my backpack! Again, Aldrich and Alec had to stay behind with their dog because the hot springs are part of the national park. Alejandro and Tara were able to join us. Alejandro had been to these hot springs years before but Tara, like Jeff and I, had never been.

The trailhead was a quick drive away from the campground we were staying at. We made our way down the 2.5 mile trail. Its a fairly easy, not steep, well groomed trail. There were a couple of really cool bridge crossings. One of them was a ginormous tree that was halved and turned into a long bridge. Another was an I-beam suspension bridge. It was a very peaceful hike and quite enjoyable. We knew we had arrived to the hot springs when the smell of sulfur became apparent. I didn’t realize the hot springs would smell so icky! Egg city! We crossed a small spring that had a lot of white and dark green stuff growing on the rocks. Jeff reached down and touched the water and suggested I test it also. It was hot! Like hot tub hot! I guess the minerals and certain bacteria from the hot springs cause different scums and slimes to grow along the edges of the streams. Kinda yuck to think about but I also hear the hot springs are supposed to have healing properties and can be really good for you! The attendant at the campground suggested we go to the highest hot spring because it is supposed to be the cleanest and hottest! Alejandro had gone to the highest one when he previously visited and remembered it being nice. We quickly spotted other groups of people gathered by hot springs off the sides of the trails. We continued on in hopes of reaching the top one. After reaching a hard to follow area of the trail, we finally found the highest hot spring. It was probably 10-12 feet long and about 5-6 feet wide. The hot spring was being fed by a spring above it and there was a man made stone wall at the closest side of the hot spring  that was built from what appears to have been large stones found in the forest. The water was really warm, more so where the stream was feeding into it. I’m no expert but I’d guess it was somewhere from 108-115 degrees! Unfortunately for me, no one else must've visited it recently and there were a lot of dead flies and mosquitoes that had dove to their deaths and now lay on the surface of the hot spring. That really grossed me out! I dipped my toes in the water but that was about it! There was no way I was getting in that hot spring with all those dead bugs! Jeff and Alejandro jumped right in and Tara went to, but a fresh cut on her calf held her back. The hot water was too hot and painful on her cut. We hung out there and chatted for a bit while the boys soaked. When Jeff got out, the parts of his body that had been submerged in the water were beat red! It looked pretty funny. Half red chest/abdomen, half pale pasty Jeff. Making our way back to the car, Jeff and I split off from Alejandro and Tara. They hurried back to the campground while Jeff and I explored a couple more of the hot springs. Luckily not all of them were bug city! On our way out of the area where the hot spring were, Jeff directed my attention up and to my left. I looked and saw a little pale wrinkly bum. Apparently it is not uncommon for folks to come to the hot springs and take a dip in the nude due to the supposed healing and rejuvenating properties of the hot springs. I was fortunate enough to witness an elderly lady doing this first hand ;) 

For whatever reason the walk back to the car seemed to take forrrrrrever! Maybe my excitement of seeing the hot springs made the hike in seem much faster. When we were approaching the parking lot where the car was I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked over to my right to see a young deer standing at the edge of the woods. I just love seeing animals out in the wild where they belong, even when its a common animal like a deer. I tried to get close for a picture and it just kept moving back into the woods as expected. We made the quick drive back to our campground and said our goodbyes to everyone. Aldrich was heading home for work, Alec was staying with Tara and Alejandro for the next few nights at the campground, and Jeff and I were heading to the west coast of the peninsula.

At that point, we had worked up quite the appetite. We were leaving Elwah and heading to Forks which was approximately an hour drive. We ended up stopping at The Blackberry Cafe in Port Angeles for lunch. There was only one server in the busy cafe so we spent a little longer there then planned. Jeff got a bacon cheeseburger, per usual, and I got a chicken salad. The portions were huge so we ended up with leftovers. Nothing too fancy or out of the ordinary about the food. It was fresh and filled us up and that was all we needed. We then stopped at the local grocer and bought a bottle of wine, a pasta side, and some cereal and milk for the am.

Originally Jeff and I had planned on camping overnight again but decided to splurge last minute for our 1 year. We luckily got the last available ocean-side cabin at the Quileute Oceanside Resort.  What a pleasant surprise the Resort was. The pictures on their website don’t do it justice! The cabin itself was clean and well decorated for the area/theme. But the real star was the view! Being right on 1st beach was incredible. We unpacked and immediately went to the beach. First beach is hands down one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited and I look forward to going back some day. There are these beautiful dramatic bluffs and headlands surrounding the beach that make the view quite breathtaking. We walked out along the beach and were stunned by a giant redwood tree that was now laying on its side as a piece of drift wood. A small boy was climbing on and around it and resembled an ant in comparison.We continued to the nearest headland that was essentially driftwood pieces and trunks of trees all in a long big mound. Here we sat and watched the sun set and soaked up all the beauty. A few people either visiting the beach or staying at the resort had brought some fireworks and were lighting those off at the end also. We ended our night with an easy dinner of a stove top boxed pasta side and enjoyed some wine in the jacuzzi tub :)

[rainbowsparklern]

Griff Creek Trail, Olympic Peninsula

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Our trip on the Edmonds ferry to Kingston