Seattle Patriot

Upon learning that our long-anticipated trip to Holden was going to be thwarted due to forest fire requiring evacuation of the Village just the day before we were to leave, we decided that we would have to make other arrangements, and quickly set to work on the planning. Unable to decide the details for a 5 day trip in fewer than 24 hours, we decided just to get a head start, and figure out the rest along the way – quite the undertaking for a family of advance planners. We packed up and headed to Victoria, Canada for our first stop.

We visited all the major attractions, saw Butchart Gardens our first day (pictures pending from Mom’s camera) and decided there was no way we could fit Victoria into 20 hours, so decided to stay another day, in which we got in some light hiking, played games, took in the sights and sounds of the beautiful city.

Next, we moved on to Winthrop, Washington. I’d never been to Winthrop before, and couldn’t imagine what a town with a population of about 350 people could offer, but off on the adventure we went. It was GREAT! Similar to Leavenworth’s Bavarian theme, Winthrop has adopted a western theme, and it was just like visiting the old west without the scary old west things (e.g. bandits, random shootings, etc.). We took a walk at night and could see all the stars. It would be a great place to come back for a honeymoon, and Ciara tells me it has great cross-country skiing in the winter. I’m sure I’ll be back! On our way out of town, we also went horseback riding in the hill country and it was fantastic. Second only to our ride in Ireland, the horses were very responsive and we got a great amount of trotting and even some cantering up the hills (go Ben!).

Our last stop was Grand Coulee, to see the Grand Coulee Dam, which none of us had ever seen before. It is truly an amazing feat of engineering, and really puts almost all the other dams of the world to shame (and is happy to tell you how much better it is). We saw a “slaser” show – where they let water spill over the falls and played a giant laser show (music and designs circa 1981). It was hilarious and informative all at once. Hope you all enjoy the photos! (And video likely to follow!)

Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m done. HUGE HUGE HUGE “thank you!” to everyone who was incredibly supportive of my over the past 7 weeks (not to mention the past 3 years). It took about 3 full days for me to recover, but I guess that makes sense for a 3 day test, and by Monday of this week I was finally feeling myself again. Now that I’m back in action, I have 5 weeks before I start work, and I plan to use every second of them!

Thursday we had a great time catching up with Alex, who was in town with his lovely girlfriend, Elizabeth. We ate at a great place, to which we all agreed we would return soon…if it weren’t in Burien. Friday I finally got to spend some time with the family, and it was great to catch up on everything that’s been going on during my absence. Ben is deeply ensconsed in his new work at Aquent, and despite the fact that it sounds incredibly challenging, he is rising to the occassion as always. Emily went to present at a conference for college speakers, so she was gone for part of the weekend, but back on Sunday! I went to Jessica’s musical (she’s amazing!), and would recommend you all go, except it closed on Saturday.

Although I missed the whole softball season this summer (thanks a lot, WSBA), I got to see Dad play in the tournament on Sunday. Despite a heart-stopping collision, he must have batted about .750 and pitched 7 great innings. We’re all in agreement it was a far superior tournament than the Cunninghams/Cresseys had last summer, with a family trip to the emergency room.

Monday we had a great good-bye dinner for Alex at Piatti – the only thing missing was Alex… The weather has been beautiful, and I’m SO GLAD I can finally take advantage of it, so I’m getting outside every moment I can! Yesterday Ciara and I resumed working out together (and when we’re back on evenings, Jess can join us too since she’s finally done with rehearsals!) and I had almost forgotten how nice it is to workout OUTSIDE for a change, rather than sitting on a recumbant bike reading through notes. BLECH! Last night we made Happy Hour at McCormick & Shmick where we could each get a cider/beer and half pound hamburger for $5. FANTASTIC deal. I hear they have one across the street from my firm, so you know I’ll be enjoying that more soon. We headed out to Safeco to see the Mariners lose in a spectacular show of zero offense and near zero defense (was the final score 0-8?) – they’d already hit two home runs before Jess and I even made it to the seats! Still, a beautiful 75 degree evening and a great day for baseball. (And we poured out some Kettle Corn in your honor, Trace!)

There are still 5 full weeks to go, so stay tuned for more fun, and let me know if you have any bright ideas. In the works is berry picking, croquet, picnics, more karaoke, book club (Ciara!), Culinary Club coming up on the 12th, Volleyball (I go on Mondays if anyone wants to join me), and much much more! Looking forward to spending more time with everyone SOON!

As promised, here are the photos from the big day (aka my last day of freedom until July 26 at about 2 PM)! I’m still expecting some more photos (hint hint) from a few of you, so perhaps there will be more later!

Thank you to everyone who made my “big day” so special. Thank you also to everyone who helped me survive the roller coaster ride that was law school!

We took our time getting ready to leave on our last day – as though no one was ready to admit our trip was almost over. We had a leisurely brunch out and came back to finish packing up and cleaning. Heading back, we took the scenic 101 highway up the coast, and stopped in Seaside, OR, for some afternoon fun. After walking the promenade for a while and exploring Main Street’s attractions, games, rides, and amazing array of candy we rented a Surrey for better transport (and some serious exercise as it turned out!) and rode all over town. It was an overly eventful ride, complete with almost crossing the highway, Y-turns in a vehicle that doesn’t back up, steep hills and questionable breaks, going through a drive-through mail stop, the old Saltworks from the Lewis & Clark expedition, and even a box of free stuff (you’ll see me looking through there and getting two great finds – 2 workout videos from the late ’80s!!).

When we finally had to get back on the road, we bouyed our spirits with sing-a-longs and Kit Carson’s for dinner. Let’s just hope that was enough fun and excitement to propel me through my whole bar review course!