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!)
At the end of December we headed south to San Diego for a long weekend in celebration of our 12th anniversary. Our destination: the San Diego Wild Animal Park. We’d talked about going for years but never made the trip. With three kids it seemed like the perfect spot to celebrate our anniversary family-style.
The Hilton in Shinjuku is just blocks from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government complex. The complex is, to say the least, quite an impressive set of structures in a city filled with them.
I had a few more Japanese delicacies on my last trip Japan that I wanted to make sure and capture. Kyoto was fairly sedate, with another trip for kushiage being the highlight. I think I’m growing fond of shrimp heads, honestly.
Just on the edge of town in Kyoto is Arashiyama. The touristy prefecture is famous for cherry blossoms in spring and brilliant orange maples in the fall. The timing wasn’t right for either but no matter. We were there for the monkeys. Continue reading
The last day of my 2007 trip to Japan we visited the city of Nara just to the south of Kyoto. Nara is famous for two things: Todai-ji and the many tame deer that roam the city. Continue reading