Seattle sunsets.

This summer has produced some of the most incredible sunsets I have ever witnessed. Seattle < yet another reason to love you.

 

Lazy post, three.

Our Chicago pals, plus two of their favorite couples, descended upon Portland last week for their big summer trip. We were lucky enough to join them for part of it - their final night in Portland and then a couple days on the coast in Cannon Beach, OR - before they headed to wine country to round out what sounded like an incredible trip overall. Geez, Portland, Beach, Wine country. Not a bad way to spend eight days with your best friends.

They stayed at the Ace Hotel in Portland and if you haven't been there I highly recommend it. The design and decor and the Stumptown Coffee in the lobby make for a great experience.

 

We drove to Cannon Beach on Saturday and though initially it was chilly the afternoon sun, the wine and a volleyball made for an awesome day. We played for hours and watched the sun go down during an all-out, uber intense volleyball session. It was nothing short of awesome.

Let me just also say that our Chicago friends, Dave and Jen, are two of the greatest people. We were married within two weeks of each other. We spent four days in Rome on our honeymoons together. And yet again, we managed to find a way to meet up and have the best time ever. I'm happy to call them friends.

 

Lazy post, two.

Tyson on a Seattle ferry usually means super things on the other side. In lieu of a San Juan kayak trip this summer, we opted to meet Lindsay and Matthew just outside of Olympia, WA for a two-day paddle and camping on Anderson Island. It didn't suck and in fact, it was awesome. Summer 2012 has been loaded with weekend get-aways and though it has been very, very busy, I have had the best summer yet.

Lazy post, one.

Earlier this summer we traveled to Maui for a wedding. A quick trip but great to feel the sun on my face and the sand between my toes. The wedding was super duper fancy too. Which was awesome. 

 

Ms. Helen.

Tyson was three years old when he visited Mt. St. Helens on a family road trip. He hadn't been back since. I had been to the visitor center years ago with my parents and looked out at the giant crater left behind from the blast in 1980. Last weekend we climbed MSH and reached the summit looking down into that crater. Though I try to think I'm a mountaineer, and kinda wish I was, the mental struggle of the climb is incredibly challenging for me and I often find myself frustrated and uttering the words, "I'm not having any fun." To which my new friend and fellow climber replied, "It's type two fun! You know, the kind that isn't fun in the moment but is super fun to look back on when you're done." This, my friends, is true. I'm extremely happy to be done. And yes, to some extent, I can now see the forest for the trees and the bright spots in the experience: The summit was amazing. The views and the clarity of the day afforded us the ability to see all of the neighboring peaks - Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson. And the fact that we lugged our snowboards up meant we didn't have to walk down, which, was really the best decision I've made in a long time. Six hours and some change to get up, twenty minutes to snowboard down plus an hour or so to walk out of the trail. We secured our permits for the climb months ago and even though the weather looked bleak in the days leading up to the climb, we could not have chosen a better day.

On the trail hiking up and up and up and up.

The climbing team: Tyson, Lisa B. and Pete, and their friends Katy and Dana. We made it to the summit and peeked over into the crater!

Photo courtesy of Lisa B

Mt Rainier off in the distance <<<<

 

And a beer at the car thank you very much.

Whitcomb:::::

Tyson and I decided to have a little date night last night considering it was FREE Thursdays at the Seattle Art Museum and my friend Andy was showing is furniture at a Pop Up shop in Belltown. Andy is the man behind Whitcomb and Company and also the guy I've worked with as an apprentice sporadically over the last few months. I personally think he is a genius but more than that he is just a really, really nice guy. He was featured on Design Sponge in 2011 and soon his furniture will be featured in Martha Stewart Magazine! We spent some time geeking out over that sitting on the very couch below last night. Super exciting! I love when good things happen to good & talented people.

It was fun to bike all around town night-riding and no stop in Belltown would be complete without popping into Shorty's for some pinball and Buck Hunter! A great night with my sweetie. 

Running for hours.

We arrived in Newport, Oregon late Friday night. We had specific things to do: FINALLY actually register for the marathon happening the next morning - you know, the one for which we had been training for four months - then check into our hotel, and prep everything for the 5am wake-up call. Luckily things went off without a hitch! We had a five hour drive and five and a half hours to make it to registration before it closed. We arrived with four minutes to spare. We then checked into our hotel, set out all of our race clothes and morning food, and iced our legs before turning out the light. This was now official business.

The race too lacked much of the drama one may anticipate when thinking about running 26.2 miles. We were nervous for sure and this being Tyson's first marathon race definitely made things special. But when we crossed the start line and the race began we just ran and ran and ran, and did some laughing and singing and cheering. We did an oyster shooter at mile 11.

The scenery was beautiful and even the little spritzes of rain couldn't touch our good time. Tyson and I both agree that we had a total blast running this race together. It wasn't until mile 22-ish...maybe mile 23 that I started not having fun. Then by mile 24.5 I was actually very close to throwing up. Deep breath. Another one. One foot in front of the other. And when it was all over I nearly fell over with an asthma attack. But we were done! We did it! With a PR to boot: 3:55:51.

Once I was able to breath we made our way over to the tent that served runners a free bowl of clam chowder and a beer, and from there the celebrations began. We ate a lot of food. We showered and changed. And then we drove around Newport and checked out the views.

The weather cleared up and the clouds and rain burned off to leave behind warm sunshine.

We drove north along the coast, with spectacular views around every bend, until we saw this spot of paradise = The Pelican Brew Pub nestled up right on the sand looking out at an amazing view of the ocean. Sitting there in the sun I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and also a little pang of curiosity as to why I am so lucky.

When we made it to the campground just outside of Cannon Beach it was a pleasant surprise to find it was FREE on account of State Parks day! Suhweet! There was no question that it didn't matter if it was a sleeping pad or a bed, we were exhausted and sleep would be easy to achieve. On Sunday we headed into the little adorable town and had brunch, coffee and one last walk on the beach.

This was such an great weekend! Considering we ran a marathon, which was huge and really the whole reason for the trip, it was great to end up piling on so many other amazing experiences. And riding along in the car next to Tyson on a road trip is just the best. We have the best time. 

I'll end with this amazing set of signs we saw at a turn-off for a viewpoint. Wow. All good things.