Afternoon Tea at FogRose Atelier

I forgot to post about our afternoon tea at FogRose Atelier in Bellevue on Sunday, February 19th.  There were 5 of us: me, Teresa, Jen, Michele and Gabby.  Forgot to take a group photo, but we did get a couple of the food. It was a very upscale place with excellent service. The service was a little different in that, instead of each of us getting our own teapot, we just placed our empty teacup by the edge of the table and they would come by and fill it with whatever variety of tea we wanted. I began with Earl Grey, of course, but then ventured out and tried their Lychee Green tea, which was super delicious.  We all agreed it was fantastic and would definitely return!

This was Gabby's tray which was nut-free.

The tray I shared with Michele.

Gabby filled in their little guest book.

Harvey Turns Two!

Yesterday our little boy Harvey turned two years old! He is such a sweatheart and pretty low key except when it comes to other dogs and kids.  Hopefully when Nova arrives they will become best buds.  He loves belly rubs, playing tug of war and long walks in the woods with Rosie.

On his favorite perch in front of the window where he can watch and bark at everyone and everything. 

Gabby & Ethan's Peninsula Adventures

Gabby & Ethan spent a few days out on the peninsula last week.  They stayed at Lake Quinault Lodge for two nights and spent three days exploring nearby.  Here is her write up and some pictures (sorry, some are probably out of order). Looks like they had a great time!

On Wednesday, we drove to Lake Quinault and walked some of the trails in the Quinault Rainforest. We hiked to Cascade Falls and ate sandwiches at the top of the waterfall. We also walked along the lakeshore, which had a lot of recently downed logs and driftwood we had to climb over. We checked in to our room at Lake Quinault Lodge, rested up by the fireplace, and got dinner in the hotel restaurant.

On Thursday, we woke up bright and early and drove north on the 101. The trees were still covered in snow but luckily the highway was clear. Our first stop was the Hoh Rainforest, where we saw a herd of Olympic Elk and walked the Hall of Mosses trail. Next, we drove up to Neah Bay and got lunch at the Warmhouse Restaurant, which was super yummy. After lunch, we drove to the Cape Flattery trailhead- the road was pretty icy and there was snow on the ground at the higher elevation. It was nice to hike this trail in the winter when they weren't so many people. The sun came out while we were hiking, and we got great views of the water and sea caves in the cliffside. After our hike, we drove back south and raced the sun to get to Kalaloch Beach and see the Tree of Life. We just barely made it as the sunset was getting dark! To finish out the day, we got dinner at Kalaloch Lodge and drove back to our hotel.

On Friday, we checked out early and did an easy .5-mile loop through the Quinault Rainforest. We headed south through Ocean Shores and took a long walk on the beach at Damon Point State Park during low tide. After grabbing lunch at a local Mexican restaurant, we drove back home to Seattle, stopping in Tumwater for gas, a car wash, and some Dairy Queen. All in all, a great trip!

Some highlights of birds we saw: pelagic cormorants; lots of ravens and varied thrushes; black oystercatchers; surf scoters; a first-winter bald eagle; and some hooded mergansers!

Lake Quinault Lodge

I think this is Cascade Falls.

Their fancy room at the lodge.

They got super close to the elk!

Cape Flattery

She looks cold!

Kalaloch Beach at sunset.