Catching Up On a Few Weeks!

Hello!
Happy Sunday! I have literally nothing interesting to report about this weekend since Trav has been very sick and we haven't left the house at all. Although I hate to see him so sick and uncomfortable, it was a good excuse for me to stay in, relax, and catch up on the blog (in between laundry, cooking meals for the week and cleaning). Very exciting, I know : )

Since prior to this weekend things have been very busy with work, traveling and more out of town company, I've fallen quite behind on the blog! So today I'll be throwing two posts into one, I'll try to keep it as short as possible (with the exception of lots of photos).

A few weeks ago we cashed in our our City Passes (discounted pass to do all the tourist activities in Seattle). We figured we might as well explore all the main attractions in the city while we are still somewhat "new" here. Our weekend included trips to the Seattle Aquarium, the Boeing Museum of Flight, the Space Needle, the EMP Museum and a harbor cruise. I'm glad we were able to pack most of this into one weekend, it was fun to see everything, especially since much of it was within walking distance from our house.

Here are a few pictures from our touristy weekend:

Some new friends at the Seattle Aquarium

This sleepy otter stole my heart. He was sucking on his tail!

Downtown Seattle view

Port of Seattle - my inner supply chain nerd was loving this. Trav wasn't quite so excited.

EMP Museum 

Museum of Flight - this made me think of my Grandpa and his love of/previous career in the aviation industry. Papa, you would have loved it here! 

Having my own "Maverick" Moment...as many of you know Top Gun is my favorite movie of all time. I geeked out a little here...

We got to check out the inside of a former Airforce One aircraft, the one that carried Kennedy! 

Last weekend my little sis Jamie was back in town for Labor Day weekend. It was great to have her back again after just a few short weeks since her first visit with our friends Steph & Katie. We took the opportunity to drive up to Anacortes and take the ferry over to Friday Harbor. As some of you know, the San Juan Islands are a very special place for our family, as we vacationed there by boat for many years when we were kids. 

The "boat trip" as we called it always the best part of my summer and I looked forward to it every year. Although I loved it then, as an adult I've come to appreciate those trips even more as I have such special memories of my family together, out on the water doing what we love. I also realize what a unique and amazing vacation it truly was, an experience I can't explain in words. Just to give you a visual, my poor parents were trapped in close quarters on a boat for two weeks with EIGHT young women (since they allowed us each to bring a friend). You can imagine, things got a little crazy at times, but it always brought us so close together as a family. Those memories are what drove my desire to move to Seattle few months ago, since it was how I fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and all it has to offer. 

It was so great to be able to go back there with Jamie, and to bring Travis with too so he could experience a few of the places he's heard us talk about for years. Once we landed at Friday Harbor, we grabbed a quick lunch by the water and then drove over to Roche Harbor, one of my all time favorite places on earth. Roche Harbor is just a short drive across the island from Friday Harbor, and it is one of the most unique little places I've ever been. Not much had changed since our last visit years ago, with the exception of a small housing development popping up on the hill above the harbor, and a few more boat slips. Other than that it still has the same classic, nautical, Americana, Fourth of July feel to it. 

Here are a few photos from our day on San Juan Island:

Waiting for the ferry in Anacortes

 Just off the ferry at Friday Harbor

A "meat pie" for Trav at lunch at Friday Harbor

Roche Harbor - Hotel De Haro

Some huckleberry ice cream didn't hurt...

View of Friday Harbor from the hilltop

We officially fit in around Seattle now since we have Keen's...I have to say as resistant as I was to their not so cute design, they are SO comfortable. 

 Time to catch the ferry back to Anacortes! There's just something about the Washington ferries that I absolutely LOVE.

Well that was a lot of catching up! As usual, we find a lot of things to keep us busy out here with an adventure at every turn! In a few weeks we'll have more visitors, my sister Molly and her hubby Kelsey, as well as my parents a week later. I guess we have to enjoy it now since winter in Seattle won't entice any visitors : ) Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend and is now enjoying the start of fall - my favorite season! 

Cheers!

KP

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