Parents Visit the PNW

Title of this post sums up what you'll see below :)  My mom and dad came out to the PNW last week for a visit.  My dad, being a retired, organized engineer (yes, this is where I "get it" from...) planned a nice itinerary for a few days on the Olympic Peninsula. 

First stop on the trip was Hurricane Ridge.  It's a beautiful overlook with views of mountains for miles.  It was a bit hazy when we were there but I believe if it's clear you can see all the way to Canada across the Straight of Juan de Fuca.  We did a short, warm-up hike so M&D could get their hiking legs ready for the rest of the trip!

Next up we headed to Cape Flattery - the most Northwest point of the lower 48.  As we were hiking in we kept hearing this deep sound.  I said "I think that's a whale" (even though I've never seen or heard a whale actually).  And guess what...it was!  As we came out to the end of the hike, which looks out onto the ocean and a nice lighthouse, we saw grey whales!!

Last stop for the day was a trip to Hobuck Beach where we watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.

The next day we woke up and headed to hike in the Hoh Rainforest.  It was beautiful and the weather was perfect.  Following that, we continued to drive along the peninsula, stopping at a few beaches, Ruby Beach and Fourth Beach.  We concluded our day eating at a lovely restaurant right on the water and the sleeping in an adorable cabin called "Cabins at Beaver Creek."

After finishing our road trip on the Olympic Peninsula we headed to Leavenworth for a weekend at the cabin.  Mom finally got to see all her hard work in place!  She's been sewing curtains for almost every window in the cabin :)

We took a hike to Colchuck Lake and saw a mom and baby mountain goat on the way up!  The hike is totally beautiful but is about 10 miles plus elevation and my parents handled it like champions.  I'm proud of both of them.

Year of 32

New post for a new year!  New year of Melanie!!!

A lighter post because this, I've decided, is going to be a lighter and more fun year than last year :)

My weekend turning 32 was spent in Leavenworth and it was delightful.  I was spoiled by Will and all my lovely friends and family with cards, presents, calls and generally just nice thoughts.  After dinner Will and I took a walk around Sleeping Lady Resorts grounds and saw a momma deer and her baby fawn eating their dinner.  They were so close we could almost touch them and they weren't even scared!

Then we saw a bunch of horses eating their supper, too ;)  Naturally I went over to them and petted them for about 20 minutes.  And then went home and ate ice cream cake.... thank you Jonas, Shawn and Will!

Instead of getting "older" I've decided I will only get "better."  Starting now.  And I will focus this year on fun and exciting things I want to do.  Like climb in Red Rocks again with my own private guide ---- BOOKED! Check!  My list for 32 is long and continues to grow.  So check back periodically to see what I'm doing. 

I feel like I missed posting most of last year so I'll include a highlight or two in my photos below.  I will try to do better this year but no promises --- I'll be busy living!

Back when I was 31 I did stuff like...
Hiked the Rim-to-Rim of the Grand Canyon (Oct 2014)

 Went to London and Barcelona

 

Bartha...

Went to Japan...

I think I'll pause there for just a bit.  Sensory/information overload with Japan.  Plus I should probably actually write something about it.  But I likely won't (b/c I haven't even gotten around to telling you about Thailand and Cambodia from last April....).  At least you got some pictures!

I'll try to sprinkle some of my last year's adventures into future posts maybe as flashbacks ;)  You can see it was a busy year, a hard year on many fronts, but also a great year for me.  I'm fortunate to get to travel and explore.