I found the red October!

So I never really finished my post about Hawaii....eventually it will happen. But so much has happened since then thats worth talking about that it feels like a digression to go back that far :) It has been exactly one year that I have lived in Seattle now. I have ranged from an initial gutteral hatred for the place, which morphed into acceptance of a mediocre city, which then grew into love and appreciation for the beauty of this place...and now I have settled on really liking it here, but knowing that my heart lies back east. Its a seemingly good place to be for the time being, but knowing that I will eventually head back east sometimes gives my current state a very temporary feeling. Annnnyway, enough about that. The rest of this summer was beautiful, though I didn't get to enjoy it nearly as much as the first half. I hopped in with both feet to the school application process and stuck my nose in my computer for a good two months, working on odds and ends, essays, logistical details etc. In addition, I found out that I had to move AGAIN.....I have now moved 5 times since leaving Maine a year ago.....awesome. So we did a really hectic, frustrated house search and ended up in a cute but sub-optimal daylight basement apartment that has more quirks than perks. I found myself getting really stressed and unsettled, so I decided to dedicate october to refinding the mountains and sucking up any last sunlight and maybe even foliage I could before a loooong rainy "winter" sets in. So, first I set off to Granite Peak which is a nice close hike. Its about 40 minutes outside the city and I decided that would be a perfect hike to do on my own. The view from the top is a full 360 degree view of the mountains, including Rainier, and its steep enough for a workout but only about 8 miles round trip. I put some hot apple cider in a thermos, packed my book and my flute and set off. I met a girl on the trail and she was hiking solo too, so we paired up for a bit but I really had wanted to just spend some time with myself so I let her go ahead after a while. The best thing about this trail is the meadows near the top and how all of a sudden Mt Rainier (a huge gianormous volcano) pops out of nowhere.
What gianormous mountain? Oh THAT gianormous mountain?

When I reached the top I found a spot all to myself. I was so excited for hot apple cider. I'm not sure why, but I kind of assumed the thermos wouldn't work and that my cider would only be luke warm...so i took the cap off to feel. It seems I was right, no steam. So I went to take a chug at which point I realized I was HORRIBLY wrong and it was still scalding hot, so I pulled it away but managed to pour it all over myself in the process. So here I was, at the top of this beautiful mountain, now covered in scalding hot apple cider, which would soon be sticky....and I really didn't have a complaint in the world.
Mt Baker in the background, and my fluting shadown in the foreground :)

After finishing the rest, slightly more cautiously, I ate some lunch and played my flute for a while. It was so relaxing for that to be the only sound I could hear. That day was just what I needed. So the next weekend I planned to do another hike. But I wanted to go much deeper into the mountains, to something more difficult so I called up my friend Sam and we planned to do Cascade Pass. This is my favorite hike, and I posted pictures of it before. So, Sam and I drove up north for 3 hours (the last 20 miles of which was on a dead end dirt road). We got about 3 miles away from the trailhead when we stopped in front of giant orange baracades that said "road closed for road work". REALLY? You couldn't write that at the BEGINNING of the 20 mile dirt road? Just a thought. We just sat there and laughed so hard. But there was a different trailhead about a mile back that neither of us had ever tried so we decided to do that one. This one was called Hidden Lake Trail. We had no clue about the length or elevation gain of the trail, but we figured if there was a lake it had to be pretty. The trail started out really steep, just winding through some meadows, then it traversed across the face of the peak in front of us and took us up through some snow capped peaks. The further we climbed the more we were absolutely floored by the view.
Mt Baker in the background..

The whole day was a comedy of errors (all of which were of the 'had to be there' variety, so I wont bore you....suffice it to say we had tons of fun). This is now my new favorite hike. I couldn't get over the view from the top, with the lake (and it certainly was hidden), we could see Mt Baker, Glacier Peak, Mt Shuksan (all of which are amazingly beautiful glacier capped mts in the area) along with some incredible mystery mountains :)
Look at how hidden it is! They tucked it right in the middle of nature there!

So October is now coming to a close and I feel like I've given summer a proper farewell. There is so much more to be said, about all that lies behind and ahead in my world right now. But I'm signing out for now.

Hawaii :)

So, when I was 10 we had an exchange student from Japan named Masa live with us for a summer. Our families have stayed close and he flew into Maine for the weekend for my brother's wedding, so when he told us that we were invited to his wedding in Hawaii we were all on board. My family booked a trip to Hawaii and then about 2 weeks before the big day, we found that the wedding was being postponed due to some pregnancy complications the bride was having (all are well now). So now we had these tickets and no wedding, so we turned it into a family vacation (not a bad deal really). We had planned the trip around convenience for the wedding and I will speak for myself when I say if we had planned the trip on our own accord I think a few things would have been different (namely location). We stayed in Makaha, which was dirty...quite dirty and didn't seem to have any of that purity or natural beauty that I had associated with Hawaii. BUT we had a lovely time and it was great to see the family! And we did see some really incredible and beautiful things/places.

The first day we went to a Buddhist Temple in the northern part of the island which was really neat. It was a replica of one in Japan and was built to recognize the first Japanese immigrants into Hawaii.....I think.



And there were black swans...


Then it was onto the Polynesian Cultural Center, which is this ridiculous and amazing theme park that has exhibits for all the different Polynesian Islands. Most of the people who work at the park are students at the nearby university and are working their on scholarship, which is awesome, and nearly all of them are natives of the island they are representing. All of the islands have performances that teach you about the history, culture, traditions, dance etc of that island. It was really incredible to see so many young people so in touch with their heritage and culture. It was hard to believe we were in America. All of these cultures had such a deep appreciation for the earth and for life around them, it was amazing.
Me and Tim and Manda at the "cultural canoe pageant" in front of an ancient fijian structure.

A little performance


The next day we went to the beach. To make a long story short we all (except mom who is immune to the sun) got very, uncomfortably, burnt. But in the meantime we had a nice relaxing day. Manda and I rented a paddle board (which looks exactly like a surf board, but you stand on it and paddle around with something resembling a canoe paddle. It took us a good few minutes to figure out exactly how to get it into the water....after that obstacle had been met, it took us about an hour and a half of floating around trying different approaches and stances and failing miserably each time, before we decided that we would just sit on the beach. So we took a break for a bit and then got a second wind after watching some veteran paddle boarders. All of a sudden it made much more sense and we were all able to do it fairly easily (perhaps not gracefully though). Here's a pretty good collage of the paddle board experience.....compliments of Tim.


More to come....bed time for now.

Cascade Pass

So this is Cascade Pass. This was a hike that we did the day after 4th of July (otherwise known as the 5th of July). We got as early a start as we could after a long day of sun and festivities at gasworks park for the fourth. *Sidenote: after living in Boston for 5 years I never once spent fourth of July in Boston and never once saw the Boston fireworks....crazy. But the Seattle fireworks exceeded my greatest expectations* Anyway, the drive up to Cascade Pass was about 3 hours and got more and more amazing the further we drove. Eventually you get onto this dirt road that goes for about 20 miles and ends at the trailhead. The hike up to actual pass was 3.7 miles and then you can pick from a few different trails once you get there, so we went up the Sahale Arm just far enough to get an even more ridiculous view. I felt like I was hiking in the Alps or something, all the surrounding mountains (and there were plenty) were still snow covered but spring had brought out a lot of rock on them too, so to see the whole range was just amazing.

This shot was the trail up, almost to the pass. If you have good eyes you can see Shadle....hes the Bavarian looking dude


This is at the pass..


This is the view from the Sahale Arm.

Mmmmm colors...


This is Alicia and Corey coming over the ridge. Something about this picture is just screams 'Sound of Music' and Von Trapp family. :)


There was this natural lake nestled in the mountains that was unbelievable. It looked slightly chilly..


And here is me and Alicia


This was an absolutely incredible, refreshing day of breathtaking views and lovely people. We had so much fun and it was just what I wanted.

The Slug

I was walking home after going to the gym tonight and I stepped over what looked, at first glance, like a big acorn. Then I did a double take and realized that it was a snail, I love snails! And I see them so rarely, I got disproportionately excited! He was huge, probably two inches long with a big green and yellow shell. And I thought, gosh you are so much prettier than a slug. Then I thought, now wait a minute, it takes all kinds to make the world go round, those less beautiful serve no less of a purpose (yes I turned my snail sighting into an existential internal dialogue). Then I remembered that upon sighting an absurdely huge slug while hiking the other day I decided to look up what purpose they served; they must bring more to the table than slime right? So I looked it up. It turns out they are incredibly important......and they have tongues!! Who knew?!
So here's a bit about the slug:
Their 'skin' is not waterproof and they must remain damp at all times in order for their bodies to not dry out, which is why they are always out at night, after the rain, under rocks etc. That is also why they shrivel up when you put salt on them, and yes they do have nervous systems, so yes that does hurt them, so stop it. They have eyes, and tentacles, and mouths WITH TONGUES AND TEENY TEENY TEETH!! Which leads me to their purpose. A large part of the slug diet is made up of decaying vegetation, animal feces and carrion (which is a fancy word for dead animal carcass). So by processing these materials and excreting them back into the soil, the slugs are returning the nutrients of those materials back into the earth much quicker than would happen if the decaying process just ran its course. Those very nutrients are what make soil fertile and able to foster the growth of crops and plants that we as humans depend on for consumption, occupation, economic development etc......not to mention that nearly every other species on the planet also depends on some plant or another. Further more!...Research is being conducted (as we speak) at the University of Washington to determine the chemical structure of the slime that the slug excretes and see if we can use that to learn about mucus related disorders like cystic fibrosis. Pretty sweet! So my dear snail, you may be pretty, but can you process enough decaying material to support the entire ecosystem AND cure cystic fibrosis? Probably not.

A little me time

So I have been needing a day, just for me. I've been going and doing so much that I have been ignoring myself and it was starting to wear on me, so I decided to take myself on a date. I shut my phone off when I left the house this morning and set off for the Bellingham area (up north). Someone told me that there is a nice hike up there somewhere on Chuckanut Drive, which is one of the most scenic routes in the country (as proclaimed by a historic sign posted at one of its view points). I didn't know where this hike was, what it was called, how long it was, or really even how to get to Chuckanut Drive. All I knew was I had to take the highway north, so I did. There was conveniently an exit called 'Chuckanut Drive', so I assumed this was my stop. As soon as I got off the highway I was in the middle of farmland, alpaca farms, organic produce stands......and a japanese plant store, it seemed a bit out of place, but lovely nonetheless. After a while the road narrowed and it was just rocks on my right and the cliffs into the ocean on my left. It was kind of like the Kangamangus Highway, but on the ocean instead of a river. I'm sure it would have been stunning, but I picked the only day this week that was overcast. I eventually got to a state park area that looked like people might hike around there, so I parked and just started walking. I asked some people where the trailhead was, and they said 'which one?', so I said something like 'meh, you choose'. They pointed me in the direction of the same one I had intended to hike (which I knew because the one I was looking for had a lake on top, and this one was called Fragrance Lake). The hike was exactly what I needed, it was a nice easy hike and the lake at the top was so quiet and serene. I just felt like I was in the middle of nowhere and that I was the only one for miles. Of course I wasn't and there were a few families here and there, but for the most part it was really quiet. I walked around the lake until I found a log to sit on and eat and read a bit. I lounged and just soaked in all the nature I could. It reminded me so much of Maine, just a beautiful hidden treasure tucked in the woods.


After a long while I hiked back down and decided that since I had no idea where Chuckanut Drive would take me if I kept following it, I should find out. I took it for a few miles of beautifully winding turns and ended up in a ridiculously cute town called Fairhaven (which I found out later is part of Bellingham). I parked and walked around for a couple of hours, went to a bookstore, sampled some fudge at a card shop, went to a fair trade market, looked at pottery I pretended I could afford, found a glass firing cafe where you can go and make designs with glass and have them fire it in a kiln. We used to do that with Boppa (my grandfather) when we were little, so I got really excited, but they couldn't fire it till next weekend, so opted out. Then I went into a bakery and said 'Hey I have a quick question for you....where am I?' So she told me some things to see and said that if I wanted to walk to downtown Bellingham I should take the boardwalk and I'd be there in 20 minutes.


So I started walking and then realized the boardwalk is actually a built up boardwalk IN the ocean, not next to it, so that was really pretty. Then it brought me to a gorgeous park, there was a group of people doing cappoiera (I have NO idea how to spell that), and another group of people playing bongo and conga drums. So I kept walking, happy to be soaking in all of the happy people, but my legs were tired and there was no sign of any downtown. So I asked a lady how far downtown was and she laughed.....then pointed about 3 miles down the coast. Oh. I turned around and walked back to my car. After driving to downtown, I found that everything in Bellingham closes at 4 on sundays, which was convenient since it was 7. So I walked around a bit, completely content to do nothing and just walk. Eventually I got back in my car and headed back towards Chuckanut (as soon as I had finished my hike the sun came out. perfect.) so I wanted to see the sights with a better view. I saw a bit more but it was still pretty hazy. Anyway, it was just what I needed and I was so relieved and excited to have all that time just for me.

Spring :)

Yup. This is where I live. The weather has been amazing this week, and a friend of mine from Boston was in town for a conference so we've been gorging ourselves and enjoying some sites. This is Golden Gardens park, which is an amazing combination of beautiul beach, sail boat docks, rocky coastline....oh, and those mountains there.

Lake Serene

So I'm sitting in my bed listening to a litte Indigo Girls goodness, as I often do when I'm feeling supremely satisfied with my life, reflecting on an amazing day. Went for a hike with my girl Kate today out to Lake Serene. The trail winds through the woods and gives you glimpses of a babbling brook here and there. All of a sudden you can look up to see that the snow cap that has been suffocating the mountain top all winter is now melting down into a water fall that is pouring down the entire face of the mountain. Amazing. Every once in a while the woods open up and you can see where you are.......in the middle of a national forest with no civilization to be found. I was telling Kate that I love being in the mountains because it makes me feel like I have a secret that no one else knows. Of course, it was memorial day weekend, so everyone and their brother was out, and this wonderland was no secret. But somehow it still feels like your own spot. Anyway, as we got up closer to the top we got into the snow and we hiked about 3/4 of a mile in the snow in 70 degree weather in t-shirts. Anyone who knows me knows my love for snow....but nothing tops being in snow AND a t-shirt. So we get up to the top and there's no question as to where this trail got its name; the lake is nestled right at the base of Mt' Index, which is a massive granite face that stands nearly 6000 ft. So we climbed out onto some logs that were floating in the lake and picnicked (how the heck do you spell that?) there. After enjoying some much needed pb&j sandwiches and chatting with some fellow hikers, we explored a bit and headed down. We stopped to visit with Kate's folks on the way home and sat with them at their fire pit and devoured a gourmet meal from dairy queen. All in all, just an amazingly refreshing day and just what I needed. I felt rejuvenated and recentered.....funny how the mountains will do that.