Seven things I noticed while in the Emerald City and then some.

The sun was playing a little game with us on Monday and every time we stepped foot outside it started raining and every time we went inside of anything (my car, a coffee shop, the market, a tree) it would peek out and give us a mischievous wink. Maybe that is what is “supposed to happen” in Seattle, but thanks to the sun I spent a little more money than I probably should have.

Here are a few more things I noticed while in the Emerald City:

1. Like Portland, umbrellas are pretty much pointless because either there is not enough rain to justify opening it or there is too much wind to keep the dang thing from flipping inside out every other minute.

2. Coffee is Cheap! Maybe it had more to do with the fact there were three coffee shops allocated to each city block or maybe I just got lucky with the location that I went to, but I WISH I could get a medium latte for $2.50 anywhere here in Portland! The fact that it was delicious

3. I love my car. I guess I should have already known this due to the fact that I drive it everywhere, but after filling my gas tank for $42 (at THREE DOLLARS A GALLON) I was able to make it up there and back on about 2/3 a tank! While on the way up and back I kept wondering why I didn’t fly, but this beats getting a rental car and having to give a strip show for airport security any day.

4. Maybe it’s just me, but isn’t the Space Needle due a facelift? It looked exactly the same as it did when I actually went up the elevators in 1994: dirty, dingy, rusty, smelly, need I go on?

5. “Emerald City” = Seattle. Care to venture to guess who “The All American City” is? Oh that’s right! I’m surprised you knew that Olympia, Washington has this title… which leads me to ask, who comes up with these “titles”? What is Portland’s? The only thing that comes to mind when trying to come up with its “title” are the “keep Portland weird” bumper stickers… oh wait, “The Rose City”… yeah, that is weird enough in itself.

6. I cannot stand the smell of fish. Sure, I have officially been a vegetarian for a month on the 8^th (or 4 weeks on Monday), but seafood used to be some of my favorite dishes! Crab legs were divine! Now? I was gagging while walking through and Pikes Place Market (maybe this was more due to being in the touristiest part of the city? I’m not sure…)

7. I hate streets that are at 89.995 degree angles. I hate driving up them even more. I know it is because of the water, but some of the streets there reminded me of San Francisco (or this one in San Diego that I had to *try* to drive down without screaming too loud, let’s just say it was a good thing I was driving a rental car that time) and since I was in my own car I wanted away from the shoreline as quickly as possible.

When it was all said and done, I have to admit that I had a good time in Seattle. I’m sure I’ll come again, but next time it won’t be on a day that I am boating up and down the freeway.

Camping in the Rain

This last weekend we decided to go on an impromptu camping trip in the mountains. Nothing was really planned, we didn't even know where it was we were going to camp until we got on the road and started driving. Lots of things were forgotten but in the spirit of the evening we decided to just go with it.
The weather forecast had said that it was going to be sunny. It said that it was going to be dry. But what was the weather like when we got there? As soon as we got out of the vehicles it started raining. And not just a little mist of rain, enough rain to get ME to get out my waterproof jacket and put on the hood (I never do that). This was supposed to be my first real experience Camping since all the other times I have camped it had either been in my backyard as a kid or in a "camping resort" that came fully equipped with swimming pools, shuffleboard and bathrooms. I was excited! And wasnt going to let a little rain ruin my evening.
Here are some highlights:


A nice little campsite, nestled next to a cute fast flowing creek of crystal clear, freezing cold water. It was about dusk by the time I took this picture, and we had yet to set up camp or get a fire started in the drizzle.

The drizzle turned into a downpour and the helpless fire we had got started quickly was snuffed out. We had found this board earlier to sit on, and it became the rain shield..

Finally! We got something to burn... I say "we" because yes, I did help.. I held the flashlight most of the time :) (ignore that pinkish flame, we would never, ever have used any sort of chemicals in order to help accelerate the fire.. nothing like gasoline or anything)

Kyle decided that he wanted some popcorn. The truth soon got out however, that what he really wanted was to see what a jiffy pop really looked like popped. Since it was neigh impossible to pop this on the little fire that we had the popcorn ended up burning (no matter how patient Sara was trying to be with it). This is Kyle being, well, Kyle. Dancing around the fire with his style of tiki torch in his hand.
I read the weather reports. I looked outside at the sky. So I shoved my waterproof jacket into my backpack just in case. This planning made me the only one to stay dry out of the five of us all night. I was also one of the only ones with dry socks since I brought waterproof hiking boots along with me as well. Not that I am gloating or anything. Oh no.

Poor boys. Dan and Brandon from left to right. I swear that his shirt was all one color before we left.

Ahh.. look at our cute little fire. Cute and pathetic can actually mean the same thing, didn't you know that??
While the weatherman said dry and no rain, it actually ended up raining all night and into the next day. As soon as we packed up and left it stopped. Go figure.

A Short Comparison

Moi in Ester Short Park (can you tell that I am sitting on my hand in an attempt to not get myself wet sitting on the wet bench?)


And Mr B in Ester Short Park (can you tell that not only could he care less about getting himself wet, he is literally asking for it in one of the worst possible places?)

It was a rather fun day in the park, if you cannot tell :)

Hiking in the Rain, Sleet and Snow - And no, we weren't delivering any mail.

Early in the week I made plans with a friend to go snowshoeing up on Larch Mountain in Washington. When we made the plans there was still snow on the ground down in the valley and much much more up in the mountains. By Thursday however, the city snow was a thing of the past and rain was the reality. Lots of rain. And not the warm rain of the tropics which is fun to run around in. This rain was cold and relentless. But we are from Washington... are we going to let a little rain scare us away from the trail? Of course not! (I will admit, I did pack an umbrella which came in handy as a brush shield just as much as a rain guard)
When we got up the mountain there ended up being too much snow to get up to the upper trail with enough time to actually snowshoe, so we opted for the lower, less snow packed trail. Since it was no longer raining (at that moment) we decided to not put on our waterproof snow pants and just started out in jeans.
About 5 minutes into the hike it started raining again and, for some reason, we never donned on the pants (which were nice and cozy dry in our backpacks)... but by the end we were both drenched to the bone, the only dry areas being the upper core (so at least I never got cold per se) which for all intents and purposes is the best area to keep dry.
I always end up doing something embarrassing on hikes and with as much water as there was, I could foresee myself falling into one of the creeks. I just knew it was going to happen! I could practically feel the mud and water on my legs where I knew I was going to fall.... and I don't know if because I believed it so much that I fulfilled my own prophecy but fall into the creek I did! Luckily it was only one leg, and I wasn't completely submerged in the water. But still.
Some other mishaps I had included, but are not limited to:
I got my foot stuck in the snow and had to literally dig it out to keep my boot from coming off two feet down in the snow (which would have guaranteed they would have been wet from the get-go)
The mud was very slick. Slick! So that is what I am going to attribute all the times I slipped.. Oh yes. The only reason!

Photo Evidence of our Journey:

Just because I am semi-smiling, and just because it doesn't LOOK like I could possibly be stuck that doesnt mean that I am not! And no, I don't need any help but thanks for the very quick consideration (ok ok, so he did attempt to help me after I started digging lol). Don't worry, he made up for his slow action here by quickly building a bridge across a fast running creek that went across our path later on. Sure, he may say that he was trying to divert the water from the trail, but I know the truth LOL.

We were hiking near Cold Creek (such an imaginative name, right?) but this "creek" is not even the actual creek! This is how much excess water and flooding there is in the area right now. If you look closely that waterfall actually is a horseshoe shape.. Unfortunately I wasn't high enough up to be able to capture the full beauty of it.

Doesn't this bridge look inviting? Doesn't it look ever-so safe and secure? Maybe this was the reason why they attempted to reroute the trail? But do you really think that a few trees blocking the path is going to keep us curious hikers away?
Not only did it not, but after crossing it once (and almost slipping on that very slimy and thus slippery wood) we had to go back for pictures! Yes, we make our own luck!

See that waterfall behind me? That was actually the trail! Luckily for me my boots withstood the creek-walking challenge and stayed dry! Unfortunately, they did not withstand the snow-up-to-my-knees challenge and got wet inside that way :(

(I'll be posting the rest of the pictures on facebook if anyone is interested)

Great Trip, Great Company, Great Experience.
If you get a chance, jump on an opportunity to go hiking in the rain. It just adds to the experience and not in a bad way if you are prepared for it :)