Weekend Happenings

After a bit of a cool and windy week, we were blessed with sun & warm temps this weekend.  We definitely took full advantage of that!  On Saturday we visited the rose garden at Pt. Defiance Park (wish we could have spent more time there--it's small but fantastic) then headed down to Lacey to do a hike from Jerry & Brenda's neighborhood down to the Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve before having dinner & playing a rousing game of Pictionary.  On Sunday Jennifer, Clarissa & I did a 3.5 mile hike at McCormick Forest Park in Gig Harbor, then had lunch out on the deck at the Tides Tavern before walking around the quaint waterfront.  Meanwhile Scott & Corey hit the car show at the Lemay Car Museum and Scott promptly got sunburnt.  Ouch!  It was really great to get to spend some time with our friends this weekend!

I am obsessed with these Rock and Roll roses. 

 

 

J for Jennifer

C for Clarissa.  Unfortunately we couldn't find the S.

The Tides Tavern where we had lunch.

Late Birthday Celebration in Seattle

Since my birthday fell on a Thursday this year, we decided to postpone our celebration until everyone was available.  Today we drove up to meet Gabby at her apartment in Seattle.  We visited Golden Gardens Park and then walked around Ballard.  We had a yummy lunch at a local restaurant (Li'l Woody's) then checked out the farmer's market.  We also stopped in to get some ice cream for me at Salt & Straw and some lava cakes for the other three at Hot Cakes.  I think Corey is obsessed with this place!  Afterwards we drove back to Gabby's apartment in Queen Anne, then walked into Freemont and saw the famous Fremont Troll.  This is a very popular attraction in Seattle; it's hard to believe this is the first time we've seen it.  It was pretty cool.  It was a great day!

The beach at Golden Gardens Park.  

Gabby went for a dry swim as the water was too cold :)

We saw lots of sailboats out today.

 

 

 

Hike at Federation Forest State Park

This will be my last Monday hike with Corey for a while as she heads into her new job next week down in Olympia.  We decided to go explore Federation Forest State Park which boasts over 12 miles of trails.  When we left home it was still overcast & cool, but it was warm & sunny at the park.  We hiked a few different trails and covered a bit over 3 miles.  We encountered lots of pretty bridges, old growth forest, wildflowers in bloom and views of the White River.  We didn't see one other person on the trail the entire time, which made it much more enjoyable.

The White River was well named.  The water looked really white!

Tree hugger!

 

Father's Day and Wicked

Today we celebrated Father's Day in Seattle.  The girls & Scott attended a showing of Wicked at the Paramount theater.  This was Corey's first time seeing it, but the rest of us had seen it when we were in London a couple years ago.  They all agreed it was fantastic.  While they were there, I spent a few hours just hanging out & exploring the downtown area.  I got a baguette from Pike Place Market which I enjoyed with a yummy boba.  After that I did a little shopping.  We all met up for a late lunch after the show at the Cheesecake Factory, which is always delicious.  Glad that we could all be together for Father's Day this year.