Snoqualmie Falls, Washington

I cannot tell you how nice it was to take some time away from New York City and see some of the beautiful nature that the Pacific Northwest has to offer.  To see the towering evergreens, and the wild flowers and we were incredibly lucky with sunny blue skies!


Snoqualmie Falls is beautiful and a very popular tourist attraction.  Not only for it's natural beauty, but also for the fact that it is the location for a very popular television show called Twin Peaks.  The lodge that you see above the falls has been in operation since 1919.


Enjoying the amazing day and wonderful view.

We drove a bit out of the Snoqualmie area, along one of the small highways there, where Mariam had previously seen a bunch of wild blackberries growing.  Unfortunately we were too early for blackberry season...but I imagine when they start growing they will be everywhere!  Fortunately for us, the blackberries aren't the only attraction!  There was a clear lake just waiting to be photographed.



Absolutely no retouching of the colors here.


The towering trees with their high canopies and the sunlight shining through we a sight to be seen.

We stopped at one of the bridges on the Snoqualmie River.  There were people swimming in the river, and frankly that seemed like a desirable thing to do...it was getting quite warm. 



Felipe on one of the bridges.


Some of the Twin Peaks graffiti.


More Twin Peaks graffiti, this one about Agent Cooper (played by Kyle McLaughlin).

It was a beautiful area to visit, and really we could have spent all day there - if not more time.  But all the sun and the time difference started wearing us out...so we drove back to spend the rest of the afternoon lazing around the apartment.  Just like a vacation should be.

A Journey West - Our Seattle Visit from the Start

Arriving to Seattle, the view of Mt. Rainier from the plane.

The Seattle Skyline





Directly after picking us up from the airport, Mariam and Elijah drove us to a small park in the Queen Anne neighborhood.  It was a beautiful spot to start off our visit in Seattle.  It had an amazing view of not only the skyline, but also Puget Sound.  We were pretty tired, but had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant nearby.  We didn't last for very long that evening - given the time difference from New York City to Seattle, but had a nice evening catching up with the two of them.

On Saturday we did quite a bit.  Mariam and Felipe and I got up mid-morning and went to the Seattle Urban Craft Uprising at the Seattle Center.

It was a craftacular time! hahaha.  There were a lot of really cool vendors and we had a good time looking at all of the unique stuff.




The craft show was just the beginning of the day...we got back to Mariam's apartment and were trying to think of what we wanted to do, because at that point all we had planned was for dinner and games in the evening with a couple of mariam's friends.  Apparently we were feeling very ambitious because in the end we decided to take the drive to Snoqualmie Falls that afternoon.  But that's a whole other blog post, so look for that one next.

Some Thoughts on Turning 30

Taking a moment at Cannon Beach, OR to contemplate my birthday...

A little over a week ago was my 30th Birthday.  A lot of people look at their 30th birthday as a scary, anxiety provoking milestone.  I can say with certainty that it was not for me.  I really enjoyed my 20's - when I think of everything that I did and what I accomplished - I feel content.  My college experience was everything I wanted it to be (maybe with less A's than I wanted), I moved to New York City and accomplished my masters degree in a subject I love, I traveled to Europe for the first time (and what I thought would likely be the only time....boy was I wrong!), and I met my amazing husband, who I can safely say is the love of my life.

I had hard times during my 20's too...and things happened that will affect me for years to come.  My father was ill (gravely on several different occasions) and eventually passed away from cancer, I lost a friendship, one that felt more like family, and I made an unsuccessful attempt at gaining admission to a PhD program (but I did try! and boy it is competitive!).  These things were all difficult, and made an indelible impression on me - but it is for that reason that I don't feel bitter or allow them to mar the view I have of that time period in my life.  Both the good and the bad have made me the well rounded, semi-flawed, self-conscious and hopeful person that I am.

I look forward to what my 30s have to bring.  Who knows what will happen or where I'll end up.  In the meanwhile, to all my family and friends who read this blog - thank you for helping make my life what it is, and I can't wait to see where this decade goes.