Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Yes, I know... it's been a long time!

Wow.

I knew it had been a long time since I blogged, but May? I really thought it had only been a few weeks. Time flies when I work too much. So, a quick recap...

June and July were work, work, work. We had a big July 4Th event which actually went rather well. So well, Steve and I decided to take two weeks vacation. After a lot of back and forth we decided to go out to the Pacific Northwest and drive down the coast.

Just as we got heavy into the planning phase, Steve's mother died. Very unexpected and very painful. Steve originally wanted to cancel everything, but I think his mother would not have wanted us to stop our plans because of her death. We made some alternate arrangements and here we are.

Flying into Seattle, we spent the first day wandering the city with friends. Did some of the regular tourist stuff, like the Space Needle, but also wandered into small stalls in the Pike Place Market for infused oils and vinegar and marvelous breads. Had lunch in a little out of the beaten path restaurant and ate the most incredible White truffle chicken salad I have ever had. The sun came out in the afternoon and we continued to wander the waterfront.

Second day was spent picking up the rental car, finishing up Seattle (we tried to find the Deadliest Catch fleet to no avail) and then to Mt. Rainer National Park. The volcano played peek-a-boo all day, but we saw awesome giant redwoods and cedar at the Garden of the Patriarchs. Then we headed to Portland and family!