Weekend Getaway with TV

Elias and I decided last week that we needed to go to the mountains this weekend. At least for a night. The weather has been nice and the hikin' itch has been a-itchin' so we looked up some B&Bs (I know, we should have gone camping but a bed and breakfast is soo nice) and found a good place called Roaring River (check it out: http://theroaringriver.com/ - we had the The Tall Firs Room). I think my parents are rubbing off on me except they didn't decide to start frequenting B&Bs until they were in their 40s. They have turned me over to the wonderfully dark side of traveling at a young age. :) Anywho we only booked it for one night since we can't really afford more.

On Friday night we went and washed our cars as a couple (so romantic, I know - almost beats our PBS nights) and then went to dinner using one of our Groupons (those things are amazing). We went to this place in the Wallingford neighborhood called Julia's which was supposed to be a real veggie friendly place but kinda lacked in the creativity department. The place was kind of dead for a Friday night in a hoppin', young neighborhood for 830PM but I shouldn't complain. We practically had the place to ourselves and one bottle of wine later the waitress was mopping the floors and we were heading out into the dark night. It gets dark at ~9PM! Crazy how fast the short winter days turn into long summer sunny days.

Saturday's alarm clock rang way too early. We agreed to help out Elias' Honor Society Club out with some trail restoration for the Humane Society (yes, I did see puppies and it was amazing). I tell ya all the kids there looked to be about 16 years old, holy crap! When did I become an old lady! Elias and I got straight to work ripping up blackberry bushes and tearing through roots and trees. One kid asked in awe, "Have you done this before?" I said no but felt some pride for my northern MN adventures. :) Elias was kicking down trees and showing the kids who's boss. It was kind of hilarious seeing him be all manly. Another interesting thing was that the majority of the kids were Asian and not only that they all (even the non-Asian kids) seemed to have an accent and be able to speak multiple languages (talk about being a baddass). I find that a lot of people (old and young) come from all over the place here in Seattle.

Later in the day we finally headed up to the B&B where we found ourselves sleeping in a room with a turqouis ceiling, doilie drapes, painted wicker tables and a TV so small I had to pull a chair right in front of it to see. Although we were stuck in an 80s time warp the place was great. It was clean and right by the river with a GREAT view. We were also right next to Mt. Si so we thought we would hit up Big Si Trail in the morning and take a visit down the road to the highest waterfall in the US of A: Snoqualmie Falls. So we don't have a TV in our apt for good reason (we would watch it too much if we did) but when we are in a place that has TV and we are in control (or I am in control) of the remote it goes downhill. It is like a roller-coaster obsessed child going to a theme park with only roller coasters as rides. Seriously we plopped down on the bed and watched The Food Network for like 2 hours (I guess I was in the chair in front of the bed squinting at the TV but Elias was in bed).

Once we pulled ouselves away from cable we were able to regroup and refocus our efforts on the goal at hand: hiking. We drove down to Snoqualmie and took the mile long trail down to the outlook, hopped over the fence and (against the rules) found ourselves a rock to sit on and a better view of the falls.

 Stopping for a pose on the way down to the falls.

 Yes, this tree is growing on top of an old stump and yes, it does have moss growing on its branches.

This is part of the Puget Sound Energy Center. 

Our rock with the view. 

Exploring.

Cool lily pad-like/bamboo-ish plants by the falls. 

A fun tree I found on the way back up the hill. 

Us. 

The view from the Salish Lodge.

We ventured up to Salish Lodge (at the top of the falls) afterwards sipped on some refreshments and ate the most delish panini sandwich.... yummm.... roasted pear, goat cheese, roasted tomatoes, carmelized onions, and oh yea just a whole lot of yum. Elias got his usual bourbon, me some wine and we looked out over the falls in the lodge that costs $800/night for a room. Hey if you cant sleep where the rich sleep, you might as well eat what they eat because dang, it is good! :)

We headed back to the B&B for yes, some more Food Network. The morning came with a knock on the door and a basket of Breakfast on our front step. Corn fritters, sausage and the best part: a pear baked with cream and maple syrup. The fritter needed some salt and some spice but it reminded me of good old fashioned cooking. I should have taken pics, sorry. Elias and I day dreamed about what our future B&B would be like but then couldn't resist it any longer. The Food Network came back on (I guess it was really my fault more than anything). So remember how I said we were going to go on that hike? It didn't happen. Yes we were sore and tired from the long day but truthfully I blame it on The Food Network. This is why we won't get a TV.

After we left our beatiful mountain oasis stuck in the days of our birth we went to Costco and stared at the Big Screen TVs. Elias drooled a little and I thought about last night's episode of The Iron Chef and let out a sigh. We then moved on to get our toothpaste and granola bars in oversized packages that will last us for the next year. Next time I think we will just go camping. :) I don't think they have cable in campgrounds.

A couple more points of interest. When we got home we were CRAVING hotdogs after watching and episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri so we got some dogc (of course veggie for me) and this is what it looked like...

Umm... yes that is sauerkraut in a can. It was delicious. 

I always have to throw in a sunset from our living room window. 

Did I mention how cool my grandma is? :)

A

Loving Relationships

So I just watched a movie on the live stream of netflix called Ira and Abby. Depressing! It was a terribly stressful movie with freaked out/tweaked out characters that made me squint throughout most of the movie because I wasn't sure if I really wanted to keep my eyes open to watch it. After all the messed up relationships and people cheating on each other they decided people don't have a good reason to get married. Call me sentimental and a bit of a sap but it was deflating and sad. Maybe because it almost seemed like they had a point! ha! Maybe because I was one of those girls (along with millions of others) that dreamed about being someone's bride. Their one and only, their best friend, their partner-in-crime, etc. etc. So anyway if you want to be stressed out and feel down on the act of marriage it is a good one to watch.

That was from last night... I just didn't post it.

Tonight we have tango lessons. I am a little nervous. I don't know why but it gets me feeling anxious. It will be fun no matter though. :)

It is sooo beautiful outside today! I wish I would have been able to leave work early and just go on a lon walk outside. There is still so much to explore in Seattle. I could use a day by myself to wander the streets some more.

Well not much else to say for now.

A

The Fast

So my family was recently in town and that means the double F: Food and Fun. Elias and I decided that after a couple of overindulgent days with the ma, pa and auntie we would attempt a cleansing diet. I don't know if I truly believe in these diets and well to be honest, it was Elias' idea. But anyway we read online a little and discovered that most of what you could find with a quick google search was crap. That and we didn't want to spend a ton of time looking into the matter. So we made up our own little dittie of a diet. We started with cutting out meat, eggs and cheese on a Sunday (Talk about a killer of a cut! Me and cheese are like PB & J). This was okay since we still felt like beached whales for the first couple of days after the fam left. We cut out was sweets/baked goods on the following Wednesday (not bread though people, please). We kept alcohol and coffee until that Sunday (this was hard, the coffee headache was a b*tch). Then the saddest day came, the following Wednesday we gave up bread and grains. This was to be followed by a final cut of fruit and veggies the following Sunday and a week long fast with lemon water and smooth move tea to keep us regular. So Thursday went well after giving up bread. Then Friday night came.... and we had pizza. The whole thing went to hell.

The pizza had cheese and veggies and it wouldn't be the same if we didn't indulge in some wine and beer on a Friday night after a long work week. It really was my fault. I planted a seed in Elias' head long before we broke our pledge to cleanse our bodies. I mean come on! It is Friday night, "date" night. We have worked hard for the money for 40 hours this past week! So with a little pursuasion we found ourselves in the local pizzeria hanging out on a Friday night as it should be, with beer, wine and pizza. :)

So in truth this isn't the end of the story. We went to our friend's place over in the U-district and decided to indulge again but this time in some hard liqour. Please don't get me wrong, my party days are long gone but they offered me belvedere with green olives. Who passes that up? Not I! So we sat until the last hours of the evening discussing all that can be discussed between transplanted young couples trying to make home in the big hippie city of Seattle. Finally we ended our night with sleep.

So what is the price I pay for these shenanigans? I woke on Saturday morning with laryngitis and without a voice. I sit here now on Sunday evening drinking a glass of a delicious IPA (Pliny the Elder) still with a crackly voice and wondering if I just wouldn't have broke that fast, would I still be able to talk?

So tomorrow I reinstate the fast. I return to the planned schedule of lemon water and smooth move tea to keep me with BMs. I hope my voice returns with my refound pledge of sacrificing food.

There is so much more I could share but that is a story for now. Oh and I wanted to say Elias and I started tango lessons last week. Very basic steps to so far. They make us dance with everyone which was kind of a bummer 'cause I wanted to be with Elias the whole time but I am dealing with it. ;) I did meet this really cool dude, can't tell if he is gay but absolutely hilarious. Our teacher is a half pint, seriously little but has a demanding presence. It's on Tuesday nights. I will keep you posted!

Much love.

A & E