Road Trip to Seattle

Last weekend was epic. That's right. I said "epic", perhaps for the first time on this blog.

Around midday last Friday, 3 friends and I headed north to Seattle to see our favorite band The Head and the Heart. This band has a great sound, thought-provoking lyrics and an energetic stage presence but more importantly, they also give me an overwhelming sense of joy when I listen to them play live and get to sing along. Also, as luck would have it, my friends and I even ended up on stage with them for one of their songs. It was amazing!

After the concert we spent the night in Seattle and awoke on Saturday to continue our road trip via ferry to the Olympic Peninsula. The drive through the Olympic National Forest was beautiful and our night spent at a cabin in Forks, WA standing by a fire, hottubbing and playing games was a nice night of living the simple life. We even had time to stop at a beach on our way home on Sunday.

I was sad to see the weekend end but am happy that these people are in my life and we have many adventures such as this one ahead.

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Entering Seattle by highway

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The Head and the Heart

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On stage!

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Leaving Seattle by ferry

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A proper Northwest name for our trusty boat

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Lake Crescent and the road

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A group shot with my fellow, awesome road trippers

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Kalaloch Beach

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A very welcoming warning sign

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Standing on a beautifully colored beach log, not knowing what to do with my hands

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An artsy shot of Liz smiling her catching smile

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Barely hanging on

Fire!

It's a cold night here in Portland and I have this to keep me warm!

First Hike of 2011

Yesterday, a group of friends and people volunteering for Reach the Summit (a program in which I participated in 2007 to climb Mt. Hood) came together for a winter hike. We headed to the beautiful gorge to do Hamilton Mountain, an 8 mile hike with 2000+ elevation gain. It was a great way to start off the year and to spend some quality time with good friends.

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A snow-filled view of Beacon Rock and the gorge

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Snow covered moss

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A happy group taking a break for some food at the top

Holidays in the NE

For three years now I've been traveling to the NE for the holidays. I seem to end up in a different town or a different state but I never fail to find that bitter cold that envelopes that part of the country during the winter. Burr.

This year I visited my Antarctican friend, Eric, in Boston. We met originally in 2008 while wintering at Palmer Station and have since visited each other occasionally for hijinks around the US and Canada.

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Eric was our chef in Antarctica and this is the adorable restaurant he works in now:
Ten Tables

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I did a bit of volunteering and peeled all of these cipollini onions

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The Montreal Biodome

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Ecosystems abound in under this dome of science

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Birds of a feather

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The first time I've seen these guys since I left the Ice...I must admit I got a little emotional

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Getting sick again, the last dinner in Montreal was some soothing Vietnamese Pho in Chinatown

Bluebird Day

I finally made it up to Mt. Hood for some skiing for the first time this season. It was an amazing afternoon spent with a good friend on the slopes. We had blue sky, lovely sunshine and no lift lines. Thanks Vestas for giving us a day off while almost everyone else had to go back to work.

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Brilliant view

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Fellow boarders/skiers hanging out in the sun at the midway hut