Foothills Trail Walk

Today Jennifer, Clarissa and I went to Orting to check out the Foothills Trail.  This trail runs for 18.6 miles between Buckley and Puyallup.  The section we were in starts right in downtown Orting.  We walked approximately 5k along the Carbon River and crossed one small bridge.   It was a typical spring day with periods of heavy rain & sunshine.  Luckily it was dry for the second half of our walk which gave us a chance to dry out a bit before hitting a local Mexican restaurant for lunch.  It was a lot of fun.  Although it's a bit of a drive, I would like to come back in the summer with our bikes.  We didn't see Mt. Rainier today, but supposedly there are great views to be had when the skies are clear. 

Clarissa & Jen at the trail head.

On a clear day Mt Rainier would be visible from here.

Our lunch spot

Day 66: Walk to the High School

Didn't take any photos today, but wanted to document the beautiful weather we had.  Wow!  Our high temp hit 67 degrees in Tumwater with mostly sunny skies.  Winston & I walked around the block & once around the track this evening.  So lovely to walk around in short sleeves and not feel cold!  Tons of other folks were out, too, enjoying the first and last day of warmth as the forecast calls for rain starting tonight and extending through the rest of the month.  Spring is taunting us, once again!

Cherry Blossoms @ UW Quad

On Sunday morning Scott & I headed up to the University of Washington to see the cherry trees that are blooming at the Quad.  I knew these were popular, but I didn't know how popular until we arrived and found several hundred other people with the same idea as us.  The blossoms were beautiful, but I would have preferred to view them in a more serene setting.  Not sure how possible that is in a big city.  Still, I'm glad we went.  It was fun to walk around the campus a bit and look at the beautiful architecture.   Afterwards we had a wonderful lunch at Joey Kitchen in the University Village.  Their food was so good.  Unfortunately, we had to rush through our meal a bit to make the 1 o'clock ballet.  I think we'll have to come back some time when we have time to savor our food. 

 

 

A secret garden we found.

It had some pretty Rhodys blooming.

 

I thought this sign was pretty clever.

 

 

 

My chicken sandwich at Joey Kitchen.  So good!  It was very hard to stop eating those tiny fries!

Scott liked his fish tacos, too.

Day 64: Tacoma Volksmarch (#3)

Today Jennifer, Clarissa, Winston and I completed a 6k volksmarch in Tacoma near Pt. Defiance.  We didn't walk to the zoo, however, but went down to the water instead.  It was really cold when we started (in the low 30's) but quickly heated up.  The sun did break through a few times.  We enjoyed great view of the water & also spied some cool older homes.  It was one of the more scenic and hilly volksmarches.  

Clarissa was nice enough to walk Winston so I could take pictures.

We spied this deer

We couldn't get a photo with the flag because it was hanging on the 2nd floor of the VFW.  Luckily another walker was nice enough to take our photo in front of one of the pretty houses.

Lots of cool artwork on the walking path. 

Day 62: First Day of Spring!

Happy first day of spring to everyone! I hope yours was as good as ours!  The rain went away and we had blue skies today with temps in the low 50's.  Winston and I headed back to the Capitol grounds to check out the cherry trees that have finally bloomed.  They were gorgeous!  What a way to herald in spring 2014.

Winston was happy to see such splendor!

 

 

No More Braces!

 

After 3 long years, Corey finally got her braces removed.  She will have to wear her retainer every day for the next 9 months or so until she gets her permanent tooth.  She has surgery scheduled during  spring break for her implant.  Hopefully it goes well & her recovery is easy.  The crown won't be placed until next December.  It will be a relief when it is finally over!

Future Cougars of Color

Corey participated in the Future Cougars of Color event at WSU on Friday & Saturday.  It is a pretty sweet deal.  The school picked her up by charter bus early Friday morning, took her to WSU, provided food & lodging (at a local hotel) and then gave her a $1000 yearly scholarship just for going.   The kids attended some workshops and got some pointers on what to expect as freshmen.   She had a great time and made friends with a girl from Puyallup who will also be attending WSU in the fall.  It's a great way to get these kids excited about WSU!

Here are some photos from her visit:

Corey and her friend she met, Abby.

Stole this pic off Instagram.  There she is on the left in the white coat (2nd row).

She and Abby attended a Zumba class during free time.  She said it was a lot of fun.

There she is!

Pretty pic of the Columbia River she took from the bus on the way home.