Seattle Part 2

After spending a few days in Portland we headed up I-5 to Seattle. Not to ramble here at the start but I-5 has to be one of the worst highways in America. It was so busy and conjested that it what should have been a three hour trip lasted closer to five. Not a good way to travel when Kellen is a little bit under the weather and we had already made plans to meet Davin in Seattle, but as always, we had to adjust to things that were outside of our control and make the best of it.

We finally made it to Seattle and had to make a quick stop at the expo to pick up the race packet. Then we were able to track Davin down and catch up for dinner and the rest of the evening. Seattle has a great waterfront area and so we ate and walked along the piers, checking out as much as we could.

While we didn't want it to rain the entire time that we were there we were excited about some rain. We can't imagine going to the Norhwest and not experiencing any rain.

One of the must-do's was to visit Pike's Place Market. On Friday night we got into town a bit too late to really see the market but we wanted to get a picture of this sign so we went and walked around anyway.  

The next day we were up early so we could make it to the race on time. Jill and Kellen dropeed us off and then met us at the finish line a couple of hours later. The run was one of my favorite this far as the majority of the route was along a waterfront and it didn't seem as crowded as some of the others that we have completed.  

We met up with Jill and Kellen at Safeco Field -- home of the Seattle Seahawks.

The rest of the time in Seatlle was a blur as we went from place to place. Everything in Seattle seems to be within a few miles of each other and so we were able to squeeze everything in. We spent time at Pike's Place Market, the Space Needle, the Ballard Locks, Olympic Sculpture Park, Pioneer Square, the flagship REI store, Discovery Park, and took a ferry ride to Bainbridge island.

Davin added to, and may have taken from, the gum wall.

Kellen loved the fresh flowers at Pike's Place Market.

Going to so many places required us to keep a frantic pace that may have been even more difficult that the run but we were able to get everything done and enjoyed every minute of it.

Rock and Roll Number 4 Portland/Seattle

We decided to combine race #4 with a trip to the Northwest to see some wonderful friends. Ashley, Jill's college roommate, and her husband Jeff and daughter Molly Scout moved out to Portland over a year ago and so we decided to make that the first leg of our trip. We flew into Portland a few days before the race so that we could spend some time with the Weston's.  

Our first day there we took Molly Scout and Kellen to the Portland Children's Musuem. Each room had it's own theme and it was a spot that the kids could really get down and play as we had no worries about them messing anything up.

One of Kellen's favorite rooms was the Construction Zone. They had a lot of trucks and loaders that were just his size and since the material was chopped up rubber peices there was no mess or worries about him handling it. I'm pretty sure that we spent more time in this room than in all the other rooms combined.

One of the highlights of the Portland area was our trip to Multnomah Falls. The waterfall is located about 30 minutes outside of Portland but it is certainly worth the trip. The falls are 611 feet tall and so it was difficult to get the whole thing in the picture frame so that others can see the magnitude of it. In this picture you can see the bridge above and there was a paved path that made it easy to get to. 

Molly Scout and Kellen loved hiking as well. We only let them do the short walks as their little legs wear out pretty quickly.

 

In addition to seeing the main waterfall we also went on a longer hike while there. This hike started out a little rough as Kellen wasn't feeling well and fought us a bit as he was getting into his backpack. But once we got further up the mountain we were able to see the water flowing down and the lush surroundings and he settles down a bit. The mountains are glacier topped so as they start to melt off the water rushes down. Of course Kellen and I had to stick our hands in the water and it was freezing cold. He wanted just to sit there and play in it all day but it was so cold we just had to dip our fingers in and then move on. The rest of the trail was just as much fun though as everything was so lush and there was so much vegitation it made us feel like we were in a rain forrest.

One of the other highlights of the trip was visiting Jeff's job but I'm not sure if we can post pictures or not so we will err on the side of caution. He works for SAWSTOP and you can check out the video of their company http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3mzhvMgrLE. I freely admit that I am not the most handy, industrial, or knowledgable about tools but no matter what your experience level is, this is one awesome product. Jeff was gracious enough to let us come to his work and I even had the chance to test the product out. By far, one of the coolest things that I have seen, so it was awesome just to see how it worked. Again, I'm not the crafty, woodworking type, but this was certainly something that I would want to have.  

Overall, we loved our three days in Portland and are so thankful for Ashley's, Molly Scout's and Jeff's hospitality. They were great, the area was great, and we can't wait to make a return trip to the area.  

Happy 7 Year Anniversary

June 5th was our anniversary and Mark suprised me with a short little get-away to Eureka Springs. His mom was already watching K for the day and when I got home from work, my bags were packed and we headed out.

For many years we have talked about staying at a Bed & Breakfast but it just never worked out. But Eureka Springs is full of B & B's and so this was a perfect opportunity to try our first one. We were pleasantly surprised at the whole experience as the accomidations were very nice and it was great to just walk downstairs and have a four course breakfast already prepared.

While there we were also able to enjoy shopping and just spending some quality time together. The uniqeness of Eureka Springs is something that we always enjoy as they certainly have some specialty stores that carry items that can't be found just everywhere.

We really enjoyed our little get-away and although it was only one night it was a great way to celebrate a fantastic seven years together.

Our parents are always glad for us to take these little get-aways too as that means that they get to watch K. Mark's mom watched him on Friday and then on Saturday

our prarents met and he spent the rest of the day with Grammie. We went to pick him up but we had to make a quick trip to the fish hatchery first as K loves to go and feed the fish.