The Goeth-Stroms do Seattle

Good evening!
I am rounding out this Saturday night catching up on the blog since technically I'm a week behind! We have been very busy with visitors, work and business travel over the past few weeks, so last week's entry is a week late. 

Last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting some out of town guests. Our good pals Steph and Katie Goethke had been planning for months to come out and join us for a visit in Seattle. As if that wasn't exciting enough, little sis Jamie (aka "bones") made a last minute decision to come join as well! When the Engstroms and Goethkes get together, it's always a recipe for a real good time. Our families are so close, we've just gone ahead and given ourselves a hybrid nickname...the "Goeth-Stroms." 

We had quite the busy agenda while our guests were in town, trying new restaurants, exploring different parts of the city, whale watching, hiking, strolling the farmer's market...the list goes on! I have to say the hike was one of my favorite parts. I took the day off and led the ladies through the woods on the trail to Wallce Falls. It was a misty but beautiful day in the forest! Steph was a real trooper, making the best of it even with an injured foot. Although I think I overused the phrase "we're almost there, it's just around the corner" a few too many times for her liking : ) Here are a few pics from our journey on the trail. 

 Stumps for everyone

  The "action shot" to show how athletic these two are

Saturday we got up early and drove North to Anacortes to do a little whale watching. It was a brisk day on the water, very gloomy but that made for great conditions to spot whales and other marine life on the water. We spent five hours out and about cruising near the San Juan Islands in search of our finned friends. After several chilly hours we were able to locate a few different pods of Orcas! It was amazing to watch them in their natural environment, hunting and socializing with each other. We even saw a few spy hops! 

This little duck was cold

A few other pics from the weekend...

We were sad to see our visitors leave, we had such a wonderful time having them here! Hopefully they got to see the variety that we've come to LOVE in Seattle - tons of neat city spots to check out with just a quick 30 minute drive to amazing wilderness in almost any direction. We are falling more in love with our new home each week we spend here as we continue to discover new experiences. 


Miss you all, take care. 
Cheers!
KP

A Birthday to Remember!

Good evening!
Happy Monday, sorry this post is a day later than the usual Sunday ritual. We had a busy day yesterday and I just didn't get to it! As many of you know, we spent the weekend in Vancouver, BC to take a little vacation for my birthday. Trav went all out planning a great weekend full of exciting plans and surprises. I am so lucky! He truly made it a birthday to remember.

We started our journey by taking the Amtrak train on Friday morning. It was about a five hour ride since the train stops several places along the way from Seattle to Vancouver. It was a fun way to travel, especially since we were pretty close to the water for a majority of the trip. Since I work in Transportation (and I am a nerd in general), I have a higher than average enthusiasm level for trains. Trav was nice enough to oblige my desire to travel by rail : ) He did enjoy the extra leg room versus the usual air travel though!

View from the train window, you can see we were very close to the beach most of the ride!

Once we got into Vancouver and cleared customs, we went to grab a quick lunch (and margarita) before heading out on a tour of the city. The afternoon tour stopped at a lot of key highlights in the city and it was a great way to get a quick overview of many touristy spots. A few of the highlights were stopping at Stanley Park, Harbour Center Tower and Granville Island. 

Harbour Tower was a great place to visit since it gave us a birds eye view of the entire city in all directions from the center of downtown Vancouver. 

We explored Granville Island down by the water and visited some of the local markets and shops. This included a stop at a handcrafted broom shop. My inner Harry Potter nerd was thrilled by this. I was so tempted to buy my very own version of a Nimbus 2000. We were even able to watch the brooms being made by the shop owner, it was a very unique process. 

A view of Lionsgate Bridge. Designed by the same architect of the Golden Gate Bridge. You can see the similarity, just a smaller scale. 

The Totems at Stanley Park.

As if Friday's fun wasn't enough, I had no idea what I was in store for Saturday! Trav wouldn't give me any hints on what he had planned, so we left for the day heading to an unknown destination. We wound up at Grouse Mountain, just across the water from downtown Vancouver. Getting up to the top was gorgeous, and I still had no idea what was in store. Once we arrived at the top I found out what the surprise was...We were going zip lining on the highest peak in the city! 

As if my excitement weren't at a 12 out of 10 already...the mountain had a few other things to offer before the zip line adventure began. We had "breakfast with the bears!" The two grizzlies were orphaned with they were just a few months old and were found in the while underweight and near death. They were brought to the sanctuary and are living happily on the mountain. 

Once we said goodbye to the bears, it was time to get the adventure started! There were a total of 5 zip lines, each had it's own unique set of scenery, speed, height and length. What an amazing experience it was, flying up there in the mountains with water on one side, mountain peaks on the other. 

Surprisingly, I wasn't scared or nervous at all. The whole experience felt very safe, I didn't question it for a second. There was a moment when it was all over, however, where I realized that my entire existence had just hinged on a steel cable. I guess that's what people mean when they talk about living in the moment. That feeling really represents what we've been trying to do the last few months in this new chapter of our lives in Seattle. It has been a very special experience and we are discovering new parts of ourselves along the way. 

Trav took a video of our flight on one of the lines: click here

After our zip lining fun was complete, there was one more stop in store. The Eye of the Wind is a large windmill on top of the mountain, which has an observatory on top. We made a quick stop up top to take in the amazing 360 degree view. 

And we caught part of the lumberjack show on the way out...why wouldn't we?!?

Saturday night we walked around the harbor and Stanley Park for a few hours to unwind on our last few hours of vacation. It was a beautiful evening and it was so nice to just relax and take in all the gorgeous scenery. 

As you can see, we had a pretty phenominal trip. I couldn't have asked for a more special way to spend my birthday, especially my first one far away from friends and family. I've already started thinking about how I can return the favor for Trav's birthday this January...hopefully I can meet the very high standard that has been set! 

As for this week, we have some familiar faces visiting. My sister Jamie (bones) is coming tomorrow! Then my favorite twin sister duo, Katie & Steph will be joining us on Thursday. This should make for one exciting week and weekend! We are so excited to have them! Until next time...

Cheers!

KP

Franklin Falls

Good evening!
We are winding down on this fine Sunday after a lovely weekend, hopefully you are doing the same! Trav and I have both been traveling for work over the last couple of weeks, so it has been nice to spend a weekend at home together. 

We both had great trips though, I went to Ohio and Trav was back in Oregon on a job site. I had the odd experience of flying through Minneapolis/St. Paul on my way to Ohio. It felt very strange to just pass through what has always been home. It was nice to have some familiarity at the airport though! I even saw one of my former coworkers from Target on the flight back, small world. Being in the field has been a great experience for Trav since he gets to see his work in action. If I didn't know any better I'd think spending the entire week away from me was enjoyable or something :) 

I can't help post this shot of him at work all suited up in his construction gear...

His work outfit is in sharp contrast to the getup he decided to try out at Target this weekend...we both love TMNT so we just couldn't help it. Also, it's a rare occasion when you find footie pajamas in a big enough size to fit this tall drink of water. 

We enjoyed a wonderful hike today during the gorgeous Seattle summer weather at Franklin Falls. I had heard great reviews for this trail since it's relatively easy and has a great up close and personal view of a large waterfall at the end. We really enjoyed it and it was nice to have a quick and easy hike that was less than an hour outside of the city. This will be a great place to bring our many upcoming visitors during August/September to share the amazing outdoor environment in Washington. 

Part of me wanted to dive right into the crystal clear pool at the bottom of the falls, especially since several ambitious dogs were showing me how great it looked. We didn't jump in, but had a nice stop for lunch before heading back down the trail. 

Not much else to report this week. Just gearing up for a wonderful little vacation next weekend to Vancouver, BC. Trav has planned an entire weekend of fun for my birthday with an "adrenaline rush surprise" that he will not share details on. I am a bit nervous since he has been wanting to go skydiving for a while now. I'm really hoping that this birthday isn't my last...falling out of a plane wasn't on my wish list : ) I do love surprises though so I can't wait to see what's in store! You'll have to check back next week to see what we did. 

Cheers!

KP