Top 10: Parents Visit

The weekend before last, Josh and I enjoyed a visit from my parents. We really lucked out and had some awesome Seattle fall weather. We ate at some great restaurants, and did some fun activities. So I'm happy to report we all had a pretty fantastic weekend. Here's the top 10 from the weekend ... in photos! (so you don't have to listen to be babble so much). 

1.  Ferry to Bainbridge (and back)

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Ferry Ride to Bainbridge & Back

2. Drinking on Bainbridge

(Bainbridge Organic Distillers and Bainbridge Island Brewery)

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3. Beautiful fall colors (Nothing you'd see in San Diego)

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Fall leaves

4. Standing around a BIG-ass pumpkin

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Standing around a BIG-ass pumpkin

5. Celebrating Josh's Birthday! 

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Celebrating Josh's Birthday

6. Round and Round in the Great Wheel

(with a scared mom)

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Seattle's Great Wheel (aka Ferris Wheel)

7. Roaming the Ballard Farmer's Market

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Ballard Farmer's Market

8. Touring the Chihuly Glass Museum

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Chihuly Glass Museum

9. Drinking Coffee

(except for Dad, he drank tea) 

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10. Wearing funky flip flops

(a gift from the nail salon) 

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Jan & Heather's funky flip flops & pretty nails

For more photos - go here.

Across the Sound to Victoria

Life has been pretty hectic lately, especially with work. But fear not, I'm am dedicated to telling you about my exciting life. The latest edition in my exciting life is the trip Josh and I made at the end of September across the Sound to Victoria, BC. 

My good friend, Irene, from Holland, and her boyfriend, Jochem, were journeying through Canada and we decided to rendezvous in Victoria. Josh and I took Friday off to make it a nice, long weekend. To get us there, instead of driving and all that crazy hassle, we hopped on the Victoria Clipper. The Clipper zips you from Seattle to Victoria in just under 3 hours. Easy breezy.

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Victoria Clipper

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Boarding the Clipper

We arrived by 11am in Victoria, and we were ready to explore. Oh wait...make at 1pm because we got trapped in a random security check at the border control. Wah-wah-wah.  

We met up with Irene and Jochem at our "hotel" - an apartment we booked through Home Away. Then we began exploring the city together. We began with a stroll through Beacon Hill Park. We saw peacocks, dogs, dogs chasing peacocks (no joke), ducks, and pretty views. We also cross a "medieval bridge" (in photo below). Not quite sure how it was medieval, but whatever, we get it...very old.

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Heather & Irene at Beacon Hill Park

The exploration continued on past Thunderbird Park (aka a bunch of totem poles), Parliament, Fairmont's Empress hotel, and then along the waterfront. 

Thunderbird Park, The Empress, and Parliament

After all that walking, we needed a tea break. We found ourselves enjoying a spot of tea at Silk Road Tea near Chinatown. (Fun fact, apparently Victoria's Chinatown is Canada's oldest Chinatown.) After our tea, we explored some more - you guessed it, in Chinatown. There was a cool, narrow alley called Fan Tan Alley. (Another fun fact, Fan Tan Alley is Canada's narrowest street. Boy, am I full of facts, or what?!)

Fan Tan Alley & Chinatown

That pretty much sums up our first day. Now on to the second day, Saturday. Saturday brought rain. Lots of rain. We heard it was the end of the cyclone that hit Hong Kong. But we were troopers, and we will have fun even in the rain. So take that rain!

Jochem and Irene had a rental car, so we drove out to Duncan for some fun outside of Victoria. Duncan has a very nice farmer's market, even in the rain. In fact, when I stopped to look at the Victoria Island Salt Co. stand, the guy said we would take whatever salt we wanted because it was wet and would never re-sell. Score! (got some fleur de Sel and flavored salt - our lucky day). So my favor in return is to tell you now...to buy salt from them -- debts are now returned.

Next, we found ourselves some lunch, cookies, and a view into the rainy bay at Cowichan Bay. After lunch, it was still raining, so we took a scenic route back towards Victoria. We stopped for a quick look at a scenic lake - and a 5 minute break in the rain!

Lunch in Cowichan Bay

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Happy Heather & Josh at lake near Cowichan Bay

We made a pit stop at Mattick's Farm, which we thought we be more of a farm than a shopping center. Turned out to be the latter (dang it, I hate not having Internet Internationally for reasonable prices - raise fist up in anger). And we wrapped up the day with a cocktail at the famous Bengal Lounge in the Empress hotel.

Sunday was our last day. And it was still raining. We started our day with some munchies at Murchie's (sorry had to). Then we checked out the new Victoria Public Market. And by new, I mean, opened just a few weeks ago. And best part - it's inside! No wait, the best part was the cheese. Nom nom nom, cheese in my belly. We had to take some home. 

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Bengal Lounge, Murchie's Tea, and Victoria Public Market

We left Victoria via the Clipper at 2pm Sunday. And so ended our exciting weekend with friends. We did have to take some dramamine on the boat back - as advised by Victoria Clipper team members - because of the choppy, stormy weather. But we got back to Seattle without a scratch (or anything of that sort).  

In conclusion, it was a fantastic trip.* And we give Irene's boyfriend, Jochem, our approval as a new friend.** And of course, it's important to get our approval since I mean...it's us. (I'll get off my high horse now).

Good trip, good friends, good times!

P.S. Didn't get enough pictures. Check out the album. 

*Wow, I sound like I'm writing an essay. It sort of feels like an essay with the amount of writing I did here. Hope that's okay. Do you like essays? Wait, let's call it a novel, that sounds better

**Sorry, I didn't mention, we hadn't met him yet. Holland is a bit far away.

Vashon Sheepdog Trials

Have you seen Babe? It's a movie based off Babe, the Gallant Pig, which I read when I was in elementary school. It was through this book and movie (and our family dog, Maggie, who was a border collie) that I learned about sheepdogs. Yes, I learned about sheepdogs at a very young age. And I believe it was all preparation for this weekend when Josh and I when to the Vashon Sheepdog Trials this past weekend at Misty Isle Farms.

Although I knew about sheepdog herding and that they did competitions (like in Babe!), I didn't know much beyond that. This weekend, my berth of knowledge on sheepdog herding was vastly advanced.   Let me share some of this new found knowledge with you.

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First, the sheepdog itself. Generally it's a herding dog, like a Border Collie or Australian Shepard (more here) who are naturally inclined towards herding. It's in their blood. With some training, you can get these dogs to herd animals (fear not, nobody gets hurt in the herding). 

The handler, who is the dog owner, trains the dog to herd the sheep. The handler actually plays a big part in the herding because they are watching the dog and the sheep. The handler will give commands to the dog using a whistle, or sometimes yelling out to the dog. For instance, we heard them instruct the dog to "lie down" a lot to help slow the sheep and dog down in order to make the next move on the course. 

For the competition, the dog must through the field, fetch the sheep, bring them through fences and gates, and then get in the pin, all directed by their handlers commands. 

To start, the dog would run down the field to the sheep that were on the opposite end. As you can see, it's a large field. Probably why a whistle is needed! 

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The Course Field

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Running down the field

Then the dog must round up the sheep and bring them back down the field and bring them through the gate. As you can see in the video, the dog & sheep were going pretty fast and missed the gate they were supposed to run through.

Dog Trails - Racing Down the Field from Heather Brown (O'Neill) on Vimeo.

Once the group is near the handler, then they need to circle a tree, and then bring the sheep through two more gates - a gate on each side of the field. If only the dog's had the sheep's password - bah ram ewe!

Herding sheep through the fence

"Bah Ram Ewe"

After the two gates, they come back around to where the handler is standing. The handler picks two sheep, and the dog needs to sort them. Then they put the herd together again, and then round them into the pin. Here's another video where they dog and handler successfully get the sheep into the pin.

Dog Trails - Into the Pin from Heather Brown (O'Neill) on Vimeo.

And they need to do it all in 11 minutes! These dogs are super smart, super speedy, and super cute! And I'm sure the handler says, "That'll do Pig" eh hem, I mean, "That'll do dog" at the end.

We had a great time watching the event!

(psst! More photos in my gallery - just scroll down)

The Spectators

Lucha Libre in the Park

To me, "lucha libre" sounds like free lunch. I know it's not (I didn't take Spanish for six years for nothing!). In fact, it's far from it. It's wrestling, but an entirely different kind of wrestling. I had actually never heard of it before, so this was an entire world of sports I did not know existed before August.  

I learned that lucha libre means free wrestling. It's a type of wrestling that's much, much more than just arm strength and  grappling on the floor. It's gymnastics meets wrestling - it's jumping, and acrobats. It originated in Mexico, and is second to soccer in popularity. And not only that, but they wear awesome costumes and masks...at least the luchadores in Mexico do - some other luchadores skip that part (lame).

As it so happens, there was going to be lucha libre right here in Seattle. Honestly, I didn't really want to go (side note: I don't think I really understood what it was until after I witnessed it). Our friend Aaron and Josh talked about it, and how awesome it sounded, and for me...meh. But being a good sport, I decided to give it a whirl. What else was I doing that afternoon anyways? Plus, Josh is patient with my TV shows and frozen yogurt needs, so I figured I could do this for him. 

The event was down at Duwamish Waterway Park - near West Seattle. It was a nice, sunny day. A perfect day for some lucha libre. They had two guys introduce the wrestling match. The first match was the Mexican luchadores. There was Sonic and Blue Steel. I gave them those names...but they did have names, I just don't remember.

Then came the couples match (note: that's not a technical luchador term). One was wearing a crazy tiger costume and the other a red, white, and blue eagle costume. Then there was a girl in black & yellow, and a guy dressed like a girl with a wig and all.

Tiger Luchadore

It was quite hilarious. The luchadores would taunt each other - like "I will crush you" and then they'd involve the crowd to cheer or boo. The kiddos loved it, and there was quite a bit of cheering. 

The one girl (the real girl) was crazy. She'd climb up on the side and then jump.

Flying Girl Luchador

Then there were a few matches with American luchadores that didn't wear masks. Booo. The masks are way cooler. There was one guy that was like Mr. Machismo. He basically wore a speedo with a bow tie. No pictures of that one for you - this is a family blog people!  

I probably should have bought a mask for Halloween. Dang it! 

Luchador Masks

And that is Lucha Libre.  

Oh, and if you're here in Seattle, you can train to become a luchado. That's right; the people that brought the event are Lucha Libre Volcanica, and they're waiting for you to sign-up!

Fight & Win, Go Sounders!

After living in Seattle for 3 years, Josh and I decided it was about time we go to a Sounder's game. We heard that the games were a lot of fun, and we definitely found out why! 

We went to our first game on Saturday, 8/3. I was excited to see what all the hub-bub was all about with the Sounders. Generally speaking, I'd rather play the game, than watch it. Although I do remember enjoying the Real Madrid game I went to Madrid (which I later learned had some very famous player involved - ha, I just went to be social - sorry soccer fans). But I was curious if I might enjoy watching soccer since I did play it competitively during my younger years. 

We parked in Pioneer Square, which is apparently the "thing" to do. Everyone that walked beside us to the stadium was geared up in their Sounder's paraphernalia - all pretty much green.

Then we arrived.

I could feel the excitement buzzing around me. There was a band playing, people were crowding around drinking and eating, and just a overall all cheery jive. 

We found our seats, and we were very impressed with how close we were to the field (section 105, row U). I almost felt VIP. Almost.

Once seated, the real excitement began. Now, let me tell you, there is a ritual to being a Sounder's fan. And somehow everyone knows about it. Josh and I just rolled with the punches and followed the fans around us.

First, the clapping. Suddenly people raised their hands up. Just raised them, and after about a minute, the hands all slowly started to come together. Slowly the clapping began - the whole stadium coordinated, mind you. Then it grew faster and faster, until it began a wild, rage of claps.  

Next, the announcing began. Players from the other team were announced. And after each name of our opponents, there was a big "boo" from the crowd (aren't we good sports?! ha). Then our team was announced. Again there was a ritual...the announcer would say the players first name, and the crowd would follow by shouting of the last name.

Time out: okay, and this might be the exact order of events, but you get the general idea.

Then, came the fire from the goal posts - yes fire. There were two blow torch type things on the end of each goal post, and those fired off at the very same time that the field (and I learned later that both the goal post fire & fireworks boomed when the Sounder's scored). 

Oh, and the fun doesn't stop there. 

One thing that the fans loved to do was hold up their Sounder scarves with "Sounders FC" facing the field. My favorite was the scarf that said, "Pride of the Northwest." Guess I need a scarf now. 

Of course, there was all the National anthem. They brought out a flag and everyone. I love that!  

More cheering. There was also a moment when they let off a bunch of green streamers. 

Now, here's the kicker.... Little did we know, we chose THE game as our first. The latest Sounder player was announced before the game. The new guy came out with a announcer wearing a hoodie. Funny thing: Before I caught on to what was happening, I thought he must be some famous rapper because they played this video. But this was an incorrect assumption.

The announcer dude said, "So Dempsey, we hear you've been touring the West coast looking for a new home. Did you find anywhere you like?" Then Dempsey unzipps his hoodie to reveal the green Sounder's jersey. The crowd went completely wild. Even a flag that said "Keep Calm and Dempsey Watch" was raised. (This guys must be good. I bet he probably has a pretty big ego, too. I would too if people held up signs and cheered for me like that - ha!)

After all that, the game started.  And we stood the whole time. Everybody stood the whole time. I felt I might be shunned if I sat. That, and I wouldn't be able to see anything. But it all added to the fun & excitement. Look at us having a good time:

Heather & Josh - Sounder's Newest Fans

In my opinion, we owned the game. We had control most of the time. We saw some penalties, some yellow cards, some corner kicks, and some good passing.

Sorry, here's Soccer for Dummies if you don't know what I'm talking about. 

The cheering kept up throughout the game. There was one section at the end of the field, which I believe is called "the nest" that cheers the whole time. You look over there and the fans are bouncing up & down the entire game. They hold up flags, and then did some crazy arm "wave" thing where they held up their arms to the left, and then to the right. It was like a sea of arms waving. Pretty wild stuff. 

At the end, we beat Dallas FC (btw, we played Dallas), 3-0. Booya! There was even a great penalty kick at the end.  

Playing the Game

We left the game as Sounder's newest fans. I definitely want to go again this season. It was a fantastic time (probably helped that we won, but hey). I even have a Sounder t-shirt that I wear proudly. 

Gooooooo Sounders!!!!! 

Farms, Barns, and Root beer in Snohomish

First and foremost, let's get this pronunciation correct...it's snow-hoh-mish. Or, at least that's how I think you pronounce it. HA! I'm not a Seattle native, so I'm still learning. But I'm pretty dang sure that's how you say it (not to mentioned, I looked it up). 

I'm glad we got that covered. I feel like I can tell you about Snohomish, now we both know how to say it.

The other weekend (to be exact, I'm talking about July 27th), Josh and I adventured up to Snohomish. We didn't go out with the plan of exploring Snohomish, but that's the beauty of it, we just sort of ended up there. Here's how...

We started off just going to taste some root beer. Now this, we had every intention of visiting. It's a root beer store in Lynnwood (which happens to be in Snohomish County) that has over 100 different types of bottled root beer. Yes, over 100 brands of root beer exist in this world. The store is called (believe it or not) The Root Beer Store. Clever, eh? We learned of this awesome store from a show in the evenings here called Evening Magazine (yet, another clever name) where they featured the store. Maybe it was hot when we watched the clip, but that root beer looked delicious. 

We discovered they were not joking about the 100 brands of root beer. There were rows upon rows of root beers. The staff really knew their root beer too. We'd both never really thought about there being different root beers, and the differing tastes. It was quite entertaining. The main differentiator seemed to be strong versus sweet. The two they steered us towards were the Dang! Butterscotch and Frostie Vanilla root beers. So we bought those and a few others. Before we left, we shared a tasty root beer float in a frosty mug. Slurrrrrppp!

Slurp...The Root Beer Store

100s of Root Beers

And the root beer is where the afternoon plans ended. Yet, it was still around 3pm, and weren't ready to go back home. Josh realized we were in Snohomish, and suggested we go visit a veggie stand. I was doubtful - a veggie stand? Really? We want to visit a veggie stand? Alllrighhhty then. So Josh plugged it into the GPS and off we went.

I drove doubtfully still unconvinced of Josh's veggie stand plan. But I drove onward trusting him and my GPS. 

We reached a road that winded down and then suddenly before us was open farmland. The sun was shining down, and my doubtfulness vanished. I secretly smiled to myself at the beautiful scenery (I say "secretly" because I was not quite ready to tell Josh he was right about this adventure to a veggie stand). 

Soon after reaching the farmland area, I saw a super-cool barn. I thought to myself, "oh man, I bet that'd be a great photo." But I whizzed right by in the car. Then another thought came to me, "what would Don Brown do?" And I knew the answer immediately without question: I had to pull over. 

Now pulling was another thing. It was a single road with barely space on either side. But I wasn't going to let this opportunity slip. I found an open driveway, and pulled in. I turned around, and managed to finagle my car in a small dirt spot along the road just down from the super-cool barn. 

Before reaching the barn, I was greeted by some calves. Hello Norman! I started to snap some photos, and Norman made his way towards me to say hello (or maybe in hopes of more food). Norman #296 was licking his chops in this photo (or was he picking his nose...hmm). 

Norman, the cow

After the cows got boring, I moved on to the main event, the super-cool barn.  I really don't know why I think this barn is super-cool. I think it's just that it's old, and has a cool picture on it (dude, that's deep).

Super-Cool Barn

As I was snapping shots of the super-cool barn, a  lady started yelling at us from a window of the house across the street. I thought for sure she was mad that we were taking photos of her property, and was going to tell us to leave (sad that I jump to that conclusion). To our surprise, we weren't getting shoo-ed off at all. Instead, she was directing us to go down the road further by the wheat for the best shot. Still shouting over the road, she explained that the wheat with the field and barn made a perfect shot. What do you think? A perfect shot?

As were were by the wheat, the lady came over to chat (whose name we learned was Barbara). We learned that the barn has been in her family for over 100 years, and the farm homes (e.g. the one she was shouting from) were built in 1910. The farm had cows (as we saw), sheep, and pigs. The two farmhouses were also hers and she rented them out for long stays (through VBRO). The one house, the one she shouted from, was her "White House" and was so cute & quaint. 

We chit-chatted for a bit, and since we had never been to the area before, she steered us to downtown Snohomish where there was a river and nice boutiques and pubs. So the adventure continued onward. 

Following her directions, we landed in the downtown area - it was cute as a button. Antique shops, boutiques, and pubs (just as she said) lined the main street. The buildings were older, and had so much character.sd

Josh and I roamed the town, and enjoyed the evening. We stopped in a few shops like the Uppercase Bookshop and Faded Elegance (those were my two favorite shops of the day). Then, we wrapped up the evening with dinner at Fred's Alehouse. Before heading home, we took a peek at the river. 

And that was our unexpected adventure. Who would have thought at a random idea to go to a veggie stand, would lead to a barn, that would lead to a nice lady, and would land us in a new part of Washington. Oh life, you're crazy! But I do love these life surprises. It's just nice to come across such unexpected treasures. 

I urge you to jump in the car, and see where it takes you! 

A Lovely Day: Kirkland Uncorked

How the heck is it already August? Holy moly! I think I say this every month, but seriously, how is it already August? Summer is going way too fast. And it also makes me feel somewhat guilty that I'm only just now writing about something we did in mid-July. I feel like such a slacker. Ugh. I swear, I've been busy. That and generally after being on a computer for 8-10 hours a day, I really don't want to spend more time in the evenings at the computer. It's for my eyes, they need to look beyond the screen. 

Okay, no excuses. And I'm here now. That has to count for something. Right?

Let me transport you back a few weekends to Saturday, July 20th when Josh and I went across the bridge (here in Seattle that means we went to the East side - Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, etc). Okay, joke:

Why did Heather and Josh cross the bridge? 

To get to the other side. (Hmm, that was so much funnier when I was 8 yrs old...)

Sorry, I won't use that joke again. Lame. Let's be adults again. We went to go to Kirkland Uncorked. Kirkland Uncorked is basically a food and wine festival where local wineries and restaurants come and you can sample all their stuff. 

Kirkland Uncorked

To my dad's disgrace, I'm not a huge wine fan. So I'm not sure why this festival appealed to me so much. Maybe it was because I saw that Diane's Delights would be there with Lemon Riesling cake pops. Yea, most probably that. But I did see that there would be quite a few rieslings. And sometimes those can be sweet, and I do like myself a sweet wine. So we decided it would be fun.

We went on Saturday around noon with the plan of eating the restaurants samples for lunch. Good plan. There were about 10 different restaurants sampling out pulled pork sammies, grilled salmon, chicken kabobs, shrimp salad, etc. And it was all quite delicious. And to finish it all off, I did get a Diane's Delights cake pop. It really did make the whole visit to the even worth it. Those cake pops are just too good (Diane is the gal that taught me to take cake pop, so in my mind she's the cake pop master). 

Diane's Cake Pops (photo credit: Diane's Delights Facebook page)

Food Sampling

Although the day started out gray, the clouds burned off and we had a very sunny, nice afternoon. We watched a cooking class, but by then it was too hot to sit in the direct sun (and surprise, Josh and I got burnt). It's okay, we'll tan (bahahaha, me tan? That'll be the day). The cooking class was a calamari salad. Given that I don't like calamari - it's the tentacles; they scare me - it haven't tried to make the dish at home. But I sense I might be boring you with the details now. Let's move on. 

We did sit and enjoy the festival.  See our smiling faces...(notice Josh wearing sunglasses? They're new. This is the first pair of sunglasses he's owned since I've known him - so that's like 10 years. Isn't he hot in those glasses?)

Enjoying Kirkland Uncorked

Really the rest of the story is that we went from booth to booth tasting different wines. My favorite was Silver Lake Winery's 2012 Roza Riesling. It was nice and sweet, but not dessert wine sweet. Just something nice for a warm, summer day. 

Runner's up include: 

• Sky River Meadery: Sky River Solas mead *
• OS Winery: 2012 Riesling

* Funny story about my mom and mead at Bunratty Castle. Ask me about it someday. 

Wines of Kirkland Uncorked

We ended the day at the Boat Show and touring some cool boats. Wish list: a yacht. Please Santa?

So that's that. A nice day in Kirkland eating, drinking, and looking at boats. Can't get much better than that. 

Captain Heather on her future yacht

Something Fishy

Something is fishy, something is very fishy... 

That something fishy would be the Ballard Seafood Fest. Surprise! It's supposed to be fishy; it's a seafood fest. The very name has fish in it

That's where we spent our Saturday afternoon this weekend with my friend Beth. We all went together last year, too, but oddly enough we didn't do anything seafood related. In fact, the post was called Fried Goodness because Josh got a fried Twinkie. (Side note: did you know Twinkies are back?). This year we went with the purpose in partaking in the festival's name: seafood fest.

Our first seafood experience was to eat it. Beth and I got halibut tacos, while Josh got oyster sliders. We all gave it two thumbs up...or would this we six thumbs up? 

After lunch, we went to the lutefisk eating contest. Maybe not such a great idea after eating, but it all ended up okay.  

Okay, lutfisk. Now this is interesting. I know about it from my Swedish heritage. I'm 25% Swedish - on my mom's side, and more specially my grandmother. I grew up hearing the tales of lutfisk (I guess Swedish spell it without the "e"). My mom always brings up her Uncle George and how grandma would make it at Christmas for him. Uncle George apparently liked to let it slither down his throat. Ick! Let me tell you, it doesn't sound pleasant to let something "slither down your throat," does it? Lutefisk is basically a white fish that's dried, and then reconstituted in lye. I'm sure you're springing off your chair to go try some. ; ) 

Anyway, we decided to watch a lutefisk eating contest at the Seafood fest. There were three rounds where each contestant was given a portion of lutefisk. The person that ate it the fastest, wins. I know you're dying to see the video, so I capture it for you (this was the final round)..

I knew you'd enjoy that video. The grey haired guy won. He engulfed that fish. I think the trick was to not breath in the lutefisk fumes and just open your throat, and let it slither down. Hee hee. 

The rest is less exciting. We roamed around the booths, which had all sorts of goodies. Basically more like a regular festival or fair. But we got our fish experience, and now I feel complete with my Seafood Fest experience.  

On an ending note, here's a close up look at lutefisk along with the O'Lutefisk Christmas song we listened to when I was growing up - enjoy!

Lutefisk, want a taste? 

Into the Wild

Elf, Bison, and Bears! Oh my!  

That's right, Josh and I had a wildlife encounter the other weekend (yes, I'm a bit behind on my posts - deal with it). There is a wildlife park (or is it a wilderness preserve?) about an hour and half away from Seattle called Northwest Trek. We decided to leave the urban life behind for the day, and get up close to nature and animals. 

I think the best way to describe this place is to say it's like the Pacific Northwest's answer to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego.

Wait. Whoa whoa whoa. Time out people. This is serious. The Wild Animal Park is now called the Safari Park? What? I was just about to hyperlink that for you, and found this out. My childhood. My memories crushed. How could they? Why would they? They should have called me first before making such big decisions. Tear. Okay, back to the post...

It's like the Pacific Northwest's answer to Safari Park (just doesn't feel the same). If you don't know what that is, then I just don't know what to say to you. Oh alright, for your sake, I'll give is a whirl. It's basically animals in a huge enclosure where animals roam freely. Then they put people in a tram and bring you though for a look at animals in their natural habitat. 

Josh enjoying a sammie

Now, the Northwest Trek doesn't have quite the diversity of animals as the Wild Animal Park (I'm sticking to it), but you do get to see some pretty cool animals.

Before Josh and I went into the wild, we had a nice picnic lunch. We picked up sandwiches in Columbia City on our way down to the park . I got my sandwich from the Columbia City Bakery, and Josh got his at the Jus Bar. I thought mine was better, and he thought his was better. That's how we are. 

We took the 2pm tram and Sadie was our guide. The tram was a bus (I tell you this because I had envisioned a train type of tram). Josh and I were second in line, so we got prime seats in the first car on the left (note: if you go, sit on the left, better viewing on the ride). The tram ride was an hour long, and I never once got bored.  

The tram doesn't just go around the perimeter, but takes you though the enclosure. At one point, the Roosevelt Elf were right next to the tram, and crossing the road in front of the tram. I could have reached out and petted the darn thing. I decided not to since Sadie said not to, and I didn't watch to get a elk bite. But, it was pretty cool. 

When you go on tram rides such as this, rarely do you get to see all the animals in the enclosure. Uh hello, they are supposed to be in their natural habitat, so it should somewhat be like real life, right? I don't see you walking by a bison everyday...

Well, lucky us, we got to see every animal on the tram ride. That means we saw: Bighorn Sheep, Bison, Blacktailed Deer, Mountain Goats, Moose, Roosevelt Elk, Woodland Caribou, and Trumpeter Swans. Bam! All the animals. 

After the tram ride, there were still plenty of animals to check out on the walking tour. Although we had luck with the tram ride, we must have caught animal nap time. We didn't get to see the cougar, lynx, or wolves. Although, we did see the beaver & otter swimming, the porcupine & badger sitting, some owls perching, and the wolverine & fisher sleeping (we saw some others sleeping & sitting animals, too). 

All in all, a fun day, in nice weather, looking at cute (and sometimes interesting) animals. Can't beat that! To round out a great day, Ion the way home, I got a taste of a new frozen yogurt shop, Black Bear. It was like froyo Pacific NW style (in that the decor had a wooden bear, antler chandelier, etc) . Oh, I loved it. Yum! And Josh was happy with a Sonic limeade. 

Then, on the way home, we stopped for a sunny view of Mount Rainier at Clear Lake. That was that.

Rewind to the Fourth

Obviously since I blogged early on the actual Fourth of July, I didn't get to tell you anything about my day. Obviously. No, that doesn't mean that what I shared that day wasn't important (and if you haven't read it, what are you waiting for? READ IT). But I know what you really wanted was to hear about me. I mean, isn't that what everyone wants? To know what I'm up to? (Hmm maybe that's just me that thinks that....) Well, you're wish is my command.

Josh and I didn't do all that much in the beginning of the day. We were invited to our friends house for dinner and fireworks, so I decided to bring dessert. As you know from Baker's Corner, I love to bake and I seize any opportunity to try out a new recipe. However, I'm going to save the details for my next Baker's Corner post (oh, the suspense!). I will tell you what I made, though, and that's a peach galette. 

Our friends, Tricia, Torrey, and Kaia, invited us for dinner. Actually, they invited us to a BBQ to be more precise, which is a very important detail since this is a Fourth of July post, and what's Fourth of July without a BBQ really. I'll tell you...just a plain old BBQ. So we enjoyed some burgers, hot dogs, and sausages. Oh, and corn on the cob, broccoli salad, and baked beans. Can't get any more American than that! Nom nom nom. 

Then there was dessert. Tricia made a very cute, and patriotic flag cake with the most delectable frosting (I like that word, delectable). How to describe it...hmm....oh, I got it, like marshmallows & buttercream frosting's baby! HA! On top of that, we had the peach galette. Needless to say, we were not lacking in the sugar arena (no complaints here says my sweet tooth).

After food came fireworks. As you can see, we had some of our own to play with (thanks Tricia & Torrey). Kaia, however, did not like the loud cracks from the fireworks. She was too cute covering her ears! But the big show came later at 10:20pm. Yes, it stays light out late up at this latitude! I tried to take some fabulous pictures, but it just didn't work out. The best I got was with my phone, believe it or not. I know someday I'll be able to capture those fireworks for you like a pro. But this time, I just sat back and enjoyed them.

And that there was a true blue Fourth of July holiday. I even work red, white, and blue. Go America! 

Back Looking at Glass

We were back looking at glass. And why not? We enjoyed our visit to Chihuly Glass Exhibit earlier in the year (see post). This time we looked at glass at the Museam of Glass in Tacoma. We went down there on Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. Forget Sunday laundry and groeries, it's a 3-day weekend...be crazy. We're rebels like that.

So we headed to Tacoma for the afternoon. Want to hear something else crazy? Josh and I have not been to Tacoma yet. We've lived in Seattle for just about three years now, and have only driven through Tacoma. Sorry Tacoma, but you have an aroma (I kid, I kid). Oh, wait, I lied. I was there before we lived here. I stopped with my mom for dinner as we took at break from traffic to go look at apartments in Seattle. But still, not a real visit.

Sorry, I went on a tangent there - back to our recent visit. We started our visit to Tacoma with lunch at the Art House Cafe. Or should I say brunch (oh yea, it's Sunday). It was a cute, artsy restaurant (ha, Art House is artsy; had to). I enjoyed pumpkin panckes (yes, pumpkin in May, totally acceptable) and orange creamsiscle tea. {Time out} The tea. Now, that was something different, yet tasty. I discovered it was from the Mad Hat Tea in Tacoma. But, sadly, it was closed (oh Sundays).

Lastly, before heading to the museum, the drug store next to the resturant caught our eye. It was very retro-cool. I snapped a shot for you to enjoy. However, it was closed (oh come on Sunday, catch us a break).

Cool Tacoma Drug Store

Museum of Glass

Now onto the Museam of Glass, the main reason for our visit. Unlike Chihuly in Seattle, this museam was a collection of different glass artists. I do not know why, but the Pacific Northwest is a pretty big center for glass making. There is even a school in the area, Pilchuck Glass School. This museam features 92 works, which were all pretty amazing. And for reasons unknown to me, there is a big link to Austrialia. So the Pacific NW and Austrialians know their glass. This article talks more about it.

The coolest part, however, was the Hot Shop where they blow glass live for visitors. We watched as they created cool glass creations. For a kid, one of the guys made a little horse figurine in under five minutes - get outta here.

Another cool part was the Bridge of Glass. It was basically an exhibit on the bridge outide the museum with cubbies of glass creations. The setup was snazzy. Oh, and I bet the fountain out front is awesome at night.

Bridge of Glass

Outside the Museum of Glass

The last thing I want to share about the museum is the structure of the museum itself. It's shaped like a big cone. When you're watching the glass live in the Hot Shop, you look up through the top of the structure. I think it's supposed to be shaped like a kiln. Either way, another very cool thing about this museum. {Side Note} How many times have I said cool in this post? Quite a few...it's a good word. Cool.

Museum of Glass

I do have to say, though, having to decide between Chihuly Exhibit or Museum of Glass better, I'd say Chihuly. But, this was a very neat museum and a fun Sunday afternoon.

And Tacoma was nice, too. And thanks Memorial Day for giving us Monday off so we could enjoy Sunday sans-chores.

Work, Learn, Play

​Well, I'm pooped. I'm so glad it's a three day weekend. This was a long week, and I was super-duper busy (yes, super duper). My company puts on an annual conference called Interact, so this year it was Responsys Interact 2013 (bet you couldn't have guessed that one). And guess who was selected to head to San Francisco to participate...me!  

I packed my bags, and business casual clothes, and headed down to San Francisco on Tuesday morning. The conference was at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, which also happened to be where I was going to stay the night. So needless to say, I only saw the light of day once (for dinner just around the corner at Bluestem) between Tuesday and Thursday night. ​In fact, I didn't once step outside on Wednesday. Now that I think about it, that's sad. But that just goes to show how busy I was that week. I bounced between attending presentations, doing actual work, and talking with clients or co-workers.

​Responsys Interact 2013 Signage

​Interact

​Although I was busy, I'm glad I went. Not to toot my company's own horn, but we really pulled off quite a professional and well-run conference. We had some great speakers, shared some important industry trends and best practices, and had fun. 

There were some great speakers at the conference. The first being Burt Jacobs, the co-founder of Life is Good. His message was: Optimism Can Take You Anywhere. His positive attitude, and free spirit, was very inspiring. I also enjoyed learning about the company, and the positive impact is has on community.

Another inspiration was Captain “Sully” Sullenberger's speech, Inspiration in the Face of a Crisis. Yes, that's right, we had Captain Sully at our conference. I was shocked and amazed at his story of landing the plane, flight 1549, on the frigid Hudson River. At the end, the last passenger to get off the plane stood up and also spoke. Simply incredible. I get goosebumps thinking about it. He left us all with a important message about passion for your work, trust, and commit to always reaching for the highest standards. 

Another fun thing about the conference was the concert on Wednesday night. Honestly, at first I was ​unimpressed with who they decided to play. Who is this Michael Franti guy? Eh, a one hit wonder...but he turned out great. He came out on the floor with everyone and danced with us, and really got us jumping, dancing, and putting our hands in the air. You probably know him from the song, Say Hey (I Love You).

Check out all of us dancing and singing along with Michael Franti in my iPhone video to the right.  >>​

Another cool thing, was the guy that was drawing caricatures of folks at the reception - check mine out, or his blog.

After all this learning and entertainment, I was bushed. I returned home late on Thursday night. But I'm very glad I got to attend this awesome event. ​Go Responsys!

East Olympic Getaway

​Last weekend Josh and I took a much needed getaway to the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula. We started Saturday and went to Sequim to Port Ludlow to Port Townsend and back - see our route. 

For starters, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. The skies were clear, the sun was out, and we were enjoying it all. Saturday we were joined by our friends Aaron and Liddy. We caravanned ​out to Sequim and enjoyed some time on the Edmonds ferry planning what exactly we were going to do in Sequim (yes, it was that last-minute). We were debating snow shoeing one last time in the Olympics, or going hiking. Hiking won, and we headed to the Dungeness Spit trail.

Let me tell you...this hike was a TEASE. A serious tease. By the end, I was literally mad (okay, "mad" is a bit of an exaggeration; I did have a good time). But the whole time I felt we must have gotten closer to the lighthouse. But no. The lighthouse remained this tiny spot in the distance. However, before you start the trek, you lookout to the lighthouse and think, "oh, we can totally get there, no problem." That's a tease.

You might be confused because I haven't explained this trail, yet. So, the Dungeness Spit ​is a five mile, narrow stretch of land that had a lighthouse at the very end. Here's the website, check it out. It's very pleasant on a nice day - the ocean, the mountains, a lighthouse. I wouldn't want to get stuck on it with a high tide, though - yikes! 

​Dungeness Spit Lighthouse...Easy?

Hiking Dungeness Spit

Although all my whining about not getting to the lighthouse, I still enjoyed myself. Next time, though, we WILL get there. We'll just have to leave earlier, and maybe bring a picnic (wouldn't that be nice). Even better...I'll start a business where I can taxi people to and from the lighthouse on a boat. I will let people walk one way, and then I can bring them back. Too bad it's a wildlife refuge - that spoils my new business venture. Dang it! 

​I took a bunch of pictures, but I don't want to bore you with them all on this blog. Plus I have more to tell you about regarding our weekend. So check out a few of my photos - such as the interesting logs on the split, Aaron's balanced rock tower (talent, huh?), Liddy on a log (ha!), the never-ending spit, oh and so many more (see weekend album).

After our Spit trek, we ​all headed our own ways. Aaron and Liddy headed home to Seattle, and Josh and I headed to Port Ludlow were we were staying the night. Port Ludlow was such a charming place. It's pretty secluded, but so beautiful. It didn't hurt that when we arrived, the evening sun was shining down on the resort, the marina was glowing, and a warm breeze was blowing. After our Seattle winter, this could have been mistaken as heaven. I mean look at this place - gorgeous! 

​Port Ludlow Resort

We got a bang up deal on the night at the Port Ludlow Resort. Our room was facing the marina, a jacuzzi tub, a comfy king bed, and on top of that we had $50 credit to the Fireside restaurant included in our package. That night, we sat out on the patio overlooking the marina eating a delicious meal. 

There isn't a whole lot near the resort, but if you're looking for a relaxing stay with beauty all around, this is it. When I was sleeping in Sunday morning, Josh took a walk and saw a bald eagle (I'm jealous). Speaking of Sunday, we started it off with breakfast on the patio, then we headed out to part 2 of our weekend getaway.​

Sunday we headed out to the Finnriver Farm for some cider tasting. ​Now, I don't like beer, but cider can sometimes be acceptable. Josh is on a mission to get me to like at least cider (since beer seems out of the question. What can I say, I'm a cocktail girl). Finnriver Ciders are pretty dry for my taste (there is a reason I like to bake sweets - SWEET!), but the farm/cidery was fun to visit. We did a cider tasting, which was quite lovely on the farm.

They had us taste most of their cider products alongside a plate of cheese. My favorite was the Spirited Apple Wine (wait, that's not cider!). ​I also liked the berry cordials that they poured over fromage blanc. 

​Finnriver Cider Tasting

We hit up another cidery after Finnriver called Eaglemont. ​They seemed to have more selection than just cider, but meads and wines. They had a few ciders that were slightly sweeter (yay!). And their ginger cider made it into Sunset magazine, too. Check out what we tasted: Homestead cider, Ginger cider, Quince mead, Apple dessert wine, and Malbec port (my favorite there).

To wrap up the weekend, we visited Port Townsend for lunch. I was impressed with the cuteness of this town. I always love brick buildings with old paintings (this is sorta hipster of me, I know). 

​Port Townsend Buildings

We ate lunch at a tasty placed called Fountain Cafe.​ Then we walked around town a bit - looked out at the port, the mountains, and ended it all with a nice iced tea at Pippa's Tea. That was it - we had to head home to do laundry, groceries, and the usual Sunday-before-work chores. Sigh. But it was a great weekend getaway. Yay for fun weekends!

​Port Townsend

​Looking out from Port Townsend

Walking with Legos

It really worked out for me to make it down to Encinitas last weekend. I had a client meeting in Irvine on Tuesday, so I just left early and got to spend the weekend with my parents and sister. As luck has it, it was the weekend of the MS Walk. This couldn't have made my parents any happier.

If you didn't know, my mom has MS (Muliple Sclerosis). We found out about it about ten years ago after my mom felt numbness and tingling in her legs. One memory sticks in my mind of us taking walks after dinner as a family, and her talking about this feeling in her legs. Interesting the things you remember. She described it as if your socks were lose and scrunching down, but they were actually perfectly fine.

Well, after lots of doctors visits, it was determined she had MS. ​But my mom is a fighter, and has a strong spirit and soul. She really is a trooper. And in recent years, she has been tackling the MS Walk. This was the first year that I got to join, and I'm so glad I did. 

​Yay Team O'Neill

The MS Walk was at Legoland on Sunday morning. {By morning, I mean early morning - way too freakishly early for me on a Sunday. Be there at 7:15am...gross.} Everyone met up in the Legoland parking lot. We had so many supporters for my mom. My dad's company, Vanorsdale, even sponsored it. Friends, old co-workers from my mom's teaching days, and Vanorsdale co-workers all showed up. There were about 25 of us in total, and all of for Team Purple Moo-vers and wearing our purple cow t-shirts.

Speaking of the t-shirts, my mom was very proud of these. She designed them. She submitted it to Custom Ink to run for best t-shirt - vote for it! The purple cow idea came from a conference my dad attended where the purple cow was a way to show that you need to stand out from the crowd. 

The walk was a big success. We got to walk around Legoland for 1.5 miles, and see the lego structures and whatnot (sadly, we weren't allowed on the rides, though). As we walked volunteers cheered us onward - mostly with moo's because of our shirts. ​We made it to the finish, and celebrated. 

What a great day (oh, did I mention the fabulous weather?) with friends and family supporting the MS cause! Go team Purple Moo-vers.​

​MS Walk Legoland 

Seattle's Past

​It's raining here today. I know what your thinking, "uh, no kidding Heather, you live in Seattle." Okay, fine, but I say, who cares if it rains, you just need to know what to do to keep entertained. For instance, a few weekends ago, Josh and I hit up a museum here called MOHAI. 

MOHAI = the Museum Of History And Industry. ​Not only is is a fun word to say, but the building is neat, too. It sits right on the edge of Lake Union. Apparently, the building was originally the Naval Reserve Armory built in 1941-2, with Moderne and Art Deco features. 

​MOHAI

That's the outside of MOHAI; the inside is also very interesting. ​It's true to its name and houses the history of Seattle. The majority of the museum is on the second floor. The exhibit is setup in way where you walk through the history. It starts out with the Native Americans that lived in this area, and the first settlers, and ends basically at present day. I goes over the logging and shipbuilding industries. Did you know it was the gateway to the Alaska Klondike Gold Rush? 

We ended up spending much more time there than we thought - probably about 3 hours. And it could have been longer, if we read absolutely every sign and go through all the exhibits in-depth. 

Here's some photos from the exhibits -including Lincoln Toe Truck (as in towing), the first UPS truck, a Ford truck (yup, Model T Fords were built here for a while), and a US Mail plane. Cool stuff.

​Inside MOHAI

So next time you're in Seattle and you find that it's raining, feel free to check out MOHAI. ​

Oh Easter, Let Me Count Thy Ways

I'm writing about Easter a few days after. So sue me. But, at least you get to hear from me. Better late than never!    

Anywoo, let's just dive into the details. My Easter was, well, it was great. ​Here's why:

1. Weather - It was a super fabulous weekend for weather in Seattle. Seriously, sunshine, and into the upper 60s. In fact, we may have even broke 70F. That's a great start. Especially when I think last year it was raining.

2. Church - ​My church, Mars Hill, is pretty cool. And I have to say, it pulls off a mighty celebration for Easter. Two years ago, we took up the entire Qwest stadium - that was awesome. This year, we had our Downtown church (btw, we're compromised of many churches) stream all the services live. You could watch anywhere, anytime. Like I said, pretty cool. Check out our Easter page chalk full of videos and photos.

3. Music - This sorta goes with #2, but we have the best bands at our church. Chad, the lead singer of Kings Kaleidoscope, is super talented. Listen to some of it, seriously. And look at him rock out. It's like a rock band at church. Cool.

​King's Kaleidoscope on Easter at Mars Hill Ballard

4. Friends - ​Tricia, Torrey, and Kaia Maben invited us to their home to celebrate Easter this year. It was so nice to be with people on such a special day. They also had their parents and friends over, so it was a nice little crowd. We also got to enjoy Kaia, who is just about three, have a mini Easter egg hunt. It was super cute. 

5. Sweets - ​What's a celebration without sweets? I made some special carrot cupcakes. I figured Easter...Bunnies...Carrots! I made these for the Easter brunch we had with the Maben family, but I took a few leftovers to work. I have to say, these were pretty darn tasty. In fact, I was told by a co-worker this was the best carrot cupcake she'd ever had. Now, that's a statement. Here's the recipe - Annie's Eats. I took the frosting recipes from my Joy the Baker cookbook, though.

​Carrot Cupcakes

6. Walk - On Easter afternoon, Josh and I took a walk (remember #1, good weather). This walk is probably my favorite in Seattle. It's sort of funny since we tend to go on this walk at time every year. I love looking out at the Sound, and then seeing Mount Rainier in the distance. Too beautiful. I just love Seattle. 

​Easter Sunday Walk

Happy Easter! Ours we great, hope yours was too!​

Snow Stroll

Today we picked up our snowshoes and headed out to the mountains. We wanted to get outside and feel the fresh air. After a hearty egg breakfast, and a delicious Peet's latte, we hopped in the car and started towards Snoqualmie Pass.

Joining us was our friend, Aaron. He is our outdoorsy friend, and got us into snowshoeing in the first place. It's always nice to have an outdoorsy friend when you head into nature...makes you feel a little safer knowing that someone among you knows something about survival in the wilderness.

Yes, I do think of these things. I mean there are avalanches, and all sorts of wild beasts out there - like bears,  oh my! Plus, I have a vivid imagination, and tend to recall movies like The Edge (side note: Dang! That movie was in 1997....I saw it in the theater; boy I'm getting old).

Our Wilderness Survival Friend, Aaron (He sure looks happy...)

We decided upon Lower Gold Creek, mainly because we didn't feel like driving far and we were pooped by the week. Work has been dang stress lately and I wasn't about to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn to go outside. I need my beauty sleep.

The trail was nice and gentle. Basically, it felt like a road that had been snowed on. There were a number of other folks out as well. Some with kids & sleds (although we weren't sure where they were going to actually sled), some with dogs, and some cross country skiing. The trail is just a gradual up-up-up, which doesn't seem too bad, but as you walk down, you find yourself saying, "oh, I really was going up, and my heavy breathing wasn't for nothing. nice." 

Josh and Aaron on the trail

Overall, it was a nice day outside. The trail was a good way to get "back in in the game" for us and snowshoeing this season. And I would recommend this trail, as an easy getaway. And it was nice to get back home in time for a late lunch.

Next time, and it won't be too far off, we will be taking on a more scenic and adventurous hike. Stay tuned. Or, check out some of our other awesome snow days in the Olympics at Hurricane Ridge, or Mount Rainer. 

Heather on the trail

Looking Glass

Yesterday Josh and I along with our friends Aaron and Liddy went to look at glass. Now, you might think that sounds boring, BUT it's not. I swear, it's crazy awesome glass and it's at the Chihuly Gardens & Glass exhibition in Seattle Center.

You may think, "oh, it's a bunch of boring glass bowls and vases." Um, no. It's towering spirals and psychedelic forms. Sure there is a "bowl" here and there, but most entire displays of glass. Look at this display of glass. It's called Mille Fiore - Italian for “a thousand flowers” It's a strange garden, but a cool garden.

Chihuly Mille Fiore 

Chihuly Floating Boat

There was about nine rooms all with something new and amazing. I think my favorite was the Ikehana and Floating Boat exhibit. The boat with the balls made me think of Venice and Murano, and my visit there - what a great place. It's no wonder it made me think of Murano - it's the island of glass. Chihuly visited Italy and found lots of inspiration. But the idea of putting the glass balls into the gondola just screamed Italy at me.

Another cool thing about these exhibits was the reflective surfaces they used throughout the rooms. Sometimes you couldn't figure out where the glass stopped. If you looked down you saw the glass reflecting back. The Chandelier room really captured the use of the reflective surfaces and the black room. Can you tell that these were handing from the ceiling?

Chihuly Chandeliers

Space Needle and Chihuly

There was a sealife room - made me think of Little Mermaid. Here's a close-up of the little sea creatures hanging out on this sculpture.

The art continued outside, where there was the Chihuly gardens. Out of the gardens sprang up reds, purples, greens, and all sorts of swirls and spirals. On this picture, I was able to capture the reflection of the Space Needle. I was also able to grab the Space Needle with the red swiggles. Or check this out with the garden and random blue neon spikes.

Being in the gardens made me wish I had been there for the Top Chef episode where they ate some tasty food in the Chihuly gardens. Wouldn't that have been nice. Aww well, we had a lovely day even without Top Chef nibbles. 

Dale Chihuly makes some pretty awesome glass. Now, go look at it. See all of my pictures on my Chihuly Flickr album. Or, better yet, go visit (there's even a free audio tour for your smartphone).

Heather and Josh at Chihuly Gardens

Aaron, Liddy, Josh, and Heather at Chihuly

Looking Back 2012

We're already 19 days into 2013. Crazy. I wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to 2012, and capture some of the great times. I've created a lovely slideshow to show what my 2012 looked like in pictures. You'll find pictures about...

• Trip to Zion National Park
• Going to Vancouver with the in-laws
• My parents in town (x2!) - Wine & Leavenworth
• Snowshoeing & Mt Rainier
• Chicago with family
• Meandering Seattle

Enjoy the show! Now, 2013, here I come!

Christmas in California

Christmas seems like ages ago now. Hard to believe it was just a few weeks. I've been back to work for a week and a half, been sick, had a sick husband, and cleaned up the house. I guess that might be part of the reason Christmas seems so long ago. 

But it wasn't that long ago, and I haven't told you much about my actual time off for the holidays besides teasing you with Swedish Coffee Cake. 

Josh and I had a great time for Christmas. It was about 10 days in California. We started by flying to my in-laws in Palm Springs (actually, Indio, but more people know Palm Springs).

We did some relaxing, some shopping, and got our nails done. On Christmas Eve, we took the tram up to get a great view of the desert. 

The tram rotates 360 as it goes up to give you great views of the city below. Although the top is pretty darn cold. So cold there was even snow. In 15 minutes you go from the warm desert ground, to the cold snowy top. But you get some great views.

Going up the Tram

Palm Springs View

Christmas Eve we went to Southwest Church to celebrate with the candlelight service. Then we enjoyed a nice family meal at Indian Wells.

We opened a few gifts on Christmas Eve, and the rest were finished off in the morning. Then the next part of the Christmas journey began. We packed up the car, and all four of us drove out to Encinitas.

Josh and I then spent time opening gifts with my family. We really rushed  because early afternoon guests starting arriving.

We had about 16 people at the O'Neill house for Christmas dinner. There was turkey, hame, potatoes, broccoli, jello, sweet potatoes, wine, cake, and cookies. It was an excellent way to finish off the Christmas holiday.

Brown Family at Christmas

O'Neill Family on Christmas Day

We stayed in Encinitas with my family after Christmas. Even though it rained a few times, we caught some breaks and enjoyed some sunshine (not to mention, warmer temps). We  headed out to Coronado and visited the Hotel Del (pic) and took a walk on the beach. Another day we went to La Jolla, but got caught in the rain. It was pretty awesome seeing the storm over the ocean coming towards us. There is a little more of a story here, but basically it ends with Josh and me getting soaked. But we warmed up with some delicious coffee at Bird Rock Roasters (BTW, another coffee find on our visit was the Lofty Bean in Encinitas - yay good coffee!).

What else did we do? Well, we enjoyed some time with family friends - the Hartleys, the Troglers, and the Richardsons. We ventured to the theaters and saw Les Misérables (worth a see!). And that's about it. Just some quality time with the families celebrating a wondering holiday. We flew back to Seattle New Years Eve into much cooler temperatures. 

La Jolla, A Storm is Brewin'

Because I can't post every photo, you may want to check out all my Wintertime photos on Flickr!