Ruby Beach, WA

August 12, 2013August 12, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 9 Comments

Spontaneity is not lost on us, I’m happy to report. After lamenting all the lost travel opportunities in Washington that we are up against, we decided to pick a couple locales and go for it.

Highest on the wish list was a camping trip to the Olympic National Park, but you’d need to reserve a campsite months in advance; an impossibility since we weren’t sure how difficult life with a newborn would be. Travelers come from all around the world to camp in the old-growth rain forests and backpack in the steep mountains of the sprawling park. Steep cliffs? River crossings? Snowy trails? Ai, ai, ai, not with a baby.

So, a day hike: the perfect solution for a young family. We chose Ruby Beach, because it was the closest in scenery to the Giants Graveyard, which is what we really wanted to see. Doing so meant we would have had to check tide charts and risk a rocky traverse across a receding shoreline with a baby in a day pack. I was particularly keen on seeing a foggy seascape, freckled with sea stacks– from a safe vantage point. Overly-cautious mom reigns in the adventure, again.

Visibility maxed out at one mile, so the highly-anticipated infinity horizon of the Pacific Ocean was a no-show.

Fog obscured the tree-tops while a cool, misty breeze reminded us that the ocean churned nearby. Driftwood and boulders, littered with Cairns, dotted the shoreline.

From a wind-swept branch high above the cove, a bald eagle sat, calmly watching the shoreline (can you find him in the following photograph?).

Landscapes like this are a dime a dozen along the Oregon and Washington Coast. For however long, or short we live in this region, the novelty of such beauty will never wear off.

Seattle + North Bend, WA

July 7, 2013July 7, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 2 Comments

This Holiday weekend marked my Dad’s first visit to the Pacific Northwest and his first meeting with my baby Margot. He loved everything Washington had to offer: from North Bend to Tacoma, from Olympia to Seattle — he seemed to enjoy everything each place had to offer. So did the rest of my family.

I knew they would, because what’s not to like?

Pike Place Market and downtown Seattle is of course at the top of the list of tourist activities we take our guests to. North Bend, WA, the filming location for the cult classic Twin Peaks and our nearest mountain town, is another favorite. North Bend boasts great shopping, coniferous skylines and crisp mountain air. Meanwhile, gentle mists float off of Snoqualmie Falls, cooling sightseers, and fogging camera lenses. Mountains done right, I say.

My family still calls Bakersfield, CA home, so our 80 degree weather on Puget Sound was a great reprieve from the punishing summer heat of the Central Valley. Abundant greenery, wildlife and a mellow grand-baby hopefully left them feeling somewhat restored, even though the distance they traveled was not trivial.

Of course I was sad to see them go; the next time we meet will probably be at a mini-reunion in Las Vegas. Not a bad deal. Especially if we can escape the brutal Alaska winter to enjoy warmer winter weather in the lower 48. Just nine more weeks until we’re residents of Fairbanks.

We’ll be sad to say goodbye to South Puget Sound.

Portland[ia] – Revisited

June 9, 2013June 7, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 2 Comments

Last year when we visited Portland, OR, I was in the throe[up]s of my first trimester of pregnancy with Margot. I was horribly repulsed by the smell of any fragrant foods, and the last thing I wanted was a hot lunch on a hot day from a food truck. It was a missed opportunity, that wasn’t really missed at the time. This time around, even with baby in tote, I was not going to pass on some of Portland’s famous grub on the go. My Chicken Pesto sandwich and side salad was quickly and deliciously prepared, and tasted more artisanal than food from most sit-down restaurants.

I wish I had pictures to share, but I don’t. As soon as the food was placed into my hands, it was devoured. Sorry, not sorry. I think my husband, sister-in-law and I shouldn’t have skipped breakfast. Maybe then we could have savored lunch a little more. At least we didn’t miss a great opportunity to celebrate Donut day with a trip to VooDoo Doughnuts!

We also happened upon an estate sale in a (mini) mansion near Forest Park. The three story home, with epic views of a lush valley below, contained mod furniture for sale, top of the line gym equipment and a closet full of designer clothes–nearly all in my (current) size. I picked up a pair of designer jeans that seemed to be sent from God to fit my awkward post-pregnancy body.

Lucky, lucky, lucky.

The weather, food, sights and sounds were all agreeable in Portland; but most things are when you aren’t thirteen weeks pregnant.