Snowshoeing

A friend invited us on a snowshoeing trip to Mt. Hood last weekend.  The goal was to hike around Trillium Lake.

 

 

The snow was shallow and icy. We probably didn't need our snow shoes but we rented them, so we might as well use them.

 

 

A snow bird came and posed for us during lunch.

 

Look at my snow shoes!

 

Mt. Hood is supposed to be behind these clouds. 

We hike around 6.5 miles.  It was a fun day with sub-par snow.  Someday we'll have to come back and snowshoe on powder.

All I want for New Years Day is...

Whenever Sandi and I go on vacation, especially camping, I crave a savory, snacky-lunch.  Bummer that Sandi doesn't share my enthusiasm ("its not a meal").  She must love me because New Years Day lunch came and we filled our table with all the good finger-food we could find (not shown are the wheat crackers that made it on the table shortly after this photo).  

 

So happy!

Moolock Shores

Sandi and I have talked about going the coast in the winter for a storm for a few years.  This December we decided to make the trip.

 

Moolock Shores is a little motel between Beaverly Beach and Newport.  The Central Oregon coast is a great place to watch waves crash against the rocks. 

 

view from our hotel room. 

I was a little surprised that we never stepped foot on the sand.  The tide was either too high or it was too rainy.  The wind and rain woke me up at 3:00 AM.  It was fun to listen to knowing that the cabin was solid. 

 

 

Devi's punchbowl

These next photos are from downtown Newport.  Incredible surf. 





A Day in Seattle

I promised Sandi a date in Seattle over Christmas.  We originally planned on seeing the usual suspects: Space Needle, waterfront, Ferry to BI (for lunch) and Pikes Place.  We modified our plans over breakfast that morning and came up with this:

Starbucks just opened a new roasting place called "Starbucks Reserve."  The line outside is to purchase coffee.  We walked in just to look around.

 The photos don't do this place justice.  The colors and décor are very warm and inviting.  Dark leather, copper and wood mix with the smell of roasting coffee and comfortable chairs.  Its an easy place to relax if you are playing more than just the role of a tourist. 

After lunch at an Indian buffet near the Convention Center we headed over to the Underground tour.  I remember going on it (and enjoying it) as a kid. Sandi had never been. 

 

I love Seattle for all the reasons that one should love a city.  But have mercy, its history is sordid and repulsive.  I marvel that a city so steeped in corruption and incompetence from its early days can be so vibrant and healthy today (acknowledging present challenges).

 

We are walking on what used to be the streets of Seattle and looking at the first floor of a building. 

 

If you walk near First and Stuart you may see stained-glass areas on the sidewalk.  This is a very of it from the underground.

 

From architectural disaster to an architectural work of art, we walked over to the Seattle City Library. 

 

 

Neither of us had been inside of it so we took our own little tour.

 It was kind of a maze how the different floors worked together.  As we took the escalator all the way up we were confused how people got to the intermediate floors.  It wasn't until we started walking down (imagine driving a car around and around a parking garage to descend to the street level) that we figured out what was going on.  There were a ton of computer terminals and a lot of tables/cubbies to study.  I'm not sure if I would enjoy using it as a library, but I think I could work on my laptop for a hours there.

 

As we began our day with Starbucks, so we ended it.  From the library we walked 1st Street towards Pike's Place Market. 

 

Sandi wanted to get 'Market Spice' tea and I wanted to see the original SB location.

 

Mission Accomplished.

 

Christmas up North

Sandi and I had a great time up north with my parents on Christmas Eve.  I tried (and failed) to get a picture of everyone.  Sorry Sandi and Dad and Dwayne.

Though I don't have any photos to prove it, Christmas Day was a ton of fun at the Needs.  Imagine: a day eating snacks from Trader Joes and Zuppo Tascano.