Early Summer Images

June 28, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 11 Comments

It seems like we’ve been everywhere this season, and Summer has only just begun. From Washington, we drove through the beautiful Oregon on our way to my home state of California. The drive was insanely scenic and of course any trip where we get some face time with San Francisco is a success. Visiting family was icing on the cake.

For a short time being, things have settled down around here. I’ve been cooking up a storm and taking photos of mundane things around the house.

We’ve also been getting outdoors (in town) whenever possible. We recently crushed our previous long distance records. We ran 10 miles on Tuesday, a surprise to us both. I attribute that success to cross-training with the ‘Insanity’ videos. They’re exactly as they’re titled: insane.

Now we’re working on getting both of our bikes into commission. I’m fortunate to have a husband who is super handy with road bikes.

And of course the dogs are always in our shadows, shedding on everything.

Things are pretty lax this minute, but tomorrow one of my best friends comes to visit. We’re going to be bouncing around Washington; touring Seattle, Snoqualmie Falls and Bellingham this weekend. After she departs, Jay arrives and we get to check out more local haunts. It’s going to be a busy summer!

And just so you’re in the know, I’m collaborating a giveaway with one of my favorite bloggers. More to come on that in my next post. If you have time, check out my blogroll and see if you can find the creator of my favorite Hand Crafted Pretty Little Lovelies!

Chambers Bay

June 16, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 6 Comments

The weather this weekend has been heavenly! We’re looking at sunny skies and 70°F weather until next week. On days like this, there is no better place in the metro to be than Chambers Bay in University Place. There’s plenty of room at this park to lay out and soak up some rays, fly a kite, or take a long run.

Or if you’re like me, you’re out snapping pictures of the Olympic mountains and bird’s nests with your underused tele lens. And when you’re out doing that, a group of teenage girls call you ‘ma’am’ and ask you to take their photo (with three different cameras) while they sit on a log. No worries, happy to oblige, just don’t call me ma’am, please!

This brings me to my next topic: when does a ‘miss’ become a ‘ma’am’? When she gets married (which I am), when she looks to be about 30 years of age (which I speculate I do), or otherwise? I have no idea, but somehow my honest face automatically contorts into a stink-eye scowl when I’m referred to as ma’am. Maybe I need a lesson on embracing the aging process, because it’s a long journey and I’m really just starting out.

Until I’ve come to terms with the inevitability of teenagers getting younger as I get older, I’ll just continue bird watching on Puget Sound while sucking on lemon drops and listening to This American Life podcasts.

California Sojourn

May 29, 2012June 21, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 9 Comments

It’s been three years since I’ve been to my home state of California. I spent the first seventeen years of my life there, leaving only for Oklahoma where I went to University. Oklahoma was good to me for nearly a decade, but I’m glad that my husband whisked me away to good ole Washington State. We live much closer to my family in California than before, but after nearly 28 hours in the car this weekend, I realize it’s not quite as close as I imagined.

Yango and Iggy, our dogs, had a really cozy pallet in the rear of our Subaru Forester where they napped during our scenic drive through Oregon. We stayed overnight in Oregon twice during the drive to crop the driving sessions shorter.

We didn’t make it all the way down to my hometown of Bakersfield; instead we kicked around Northern California with my brother, mother and nephew as tour guides. It was our first time being to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA. Part Marine World, part theme park, the amusement park hosts tourists with animal shows and roller coasters. The dolphin show was one of my favorites, mainly because they caught some sick air. See what I mean?

We also got to check out a few small aquarium-like exhibits and a Tiger show. My nephew seemed to enjoy the animal activities.

On our second day of the California sojourn, we kicked around San Francisco. Every time we visit the city, we like to check out new areas. This time around, we did a lot of drive-by sight seeing (good shutter-speed practice on the ole canon) and hiked around the Sutro Baths.

I’d never heard of the Sutro Baths until my older brother Justin suggested the visit. We hiked around the site, trying to imagine what the original structure looked like. It opened in 1896 as the world’s largest indoor swimming pool establishment (thanks, Wiki!). Now a National Park, the land yields a small cave corridor, old stone structures and various hill shelves where large mason walls one stood.

They even filmed a small portion of Harold and Maude on the site! Remember where Maude protests the war, and ‘falls’ down the cliffside after a scuffle with Harold (or something to that effect)? Yep! It was here. I love stuff like that.

No trip to San Fransciso is complete without a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge. Our journey across the bridge just so happened to coincide with it’s 75th Anniversary. That day, 75 years ago, the Golden Gate Bridge opened to the public. Presidio was nearly shut down for related events, so we didn’t get to check out the park area, but the bridge isn’t going anywhere.

We were sad to say goodbye, but no vacations are endless. We can’t wait to further explore the Bay Area in the future. Until then, we’re contented to kick around our local Puget Sound.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend!

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P.S. As a new military wife, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a big thank you to all the men and women who have served our country. Many thanks!