Following my stay in Cologne I had a very quick 30 hour stay in Paris, France. We arrived via train at sunset and had an early morning meeting the next day with a publisher. I then ran (literally) around the city snapping photos until it was time to leave that evening and head back home.
Look, kids! It’s Kölner Dom! Groß St. Martin!
Given travel time by plane and train I arrived in Cologne at night. Normally this means you miss out on really seeing a place. In the case of Cologne, however, night time was the right time to arrive.
Last summer on the way Gamescom in Germany I had a brief stop-over in London to visit a few game developers. As always, it was a whirlwind trip. I was, however, able to sneak in an afternoon of sightseeing in the Cotwolds, which included the Rollright Stones, Warwick Castle and many a fine pub.
Behold! Nearly a year in coming, our pictures from visiting Mt. Rainier are finally here. We wanted to take the kids to see a mountain – a big mountain – and Mt. Rainier clearly qualified.
I met the love of my life in Bagley Hall at the University of Washington. I literally picked her out as soon as I took my seat in class as the girl I would pursue at my new school in my new town. I was surprised, later, to find her on my bus back to Woodinville (the beloved 522). It must have been fate.
One of the very first attractions I visited on moving to Seattle was Snoqualmie Falls. Snoqualmie was always a go-to attraction when we had visitors and it remains one of my very favorite places to visit. In the rainy season the entire falls can be a wall of water while in the summer only the center comes thundering down.
We arrived in Seattle in the middle of blueberry season so, naturally, we spent many of our afternoons picking delicious berries at the peak of freshness. Those that weren’t gobbled immediately (Henry is well known for this) were saved for the blueberry’s most noble purpose: Marla’s blueberry pie.
Nothing beats an excursion to Catalina Island except an excursion with good friends. We took a day-trip to the island with our friends the Engles and had a blast. The trip started a little rough, with Emma E feeling a little sea sick but there was no evidence of it once we arrived back on land and were ready to start the adventure.
Emma and Henry went on their first fishing expedition this year. Granpa and Henry had gone on a special shopping trip to prepare and came back with a fishing hat and a fancy Spiderman rod. After practicing his casting at the farm the previous day, Henry and Emma were ready to rock.
Our last visit to Broad River Bison was an exciting one. The bison were grazing in a brand new pasture! On previous visits we’d seen them in nearly-bare pasture. With two pastures available rotation is possible, which gives the grass a chance to regrow. The gorgeous green hillside made for some dramatic photos. (Patchy cloud cover helped, too!)
