Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Rock 'n' Roll 10K Cunningham Seawall, Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC

Usually I would not plan a weekend away just to run a 10K. Since taking one wrong turn on my runs through the woods can turn a 3 miler into a 5 miler, paying for a 10K seems a little silly. This one was different. My sister and I ran the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in June. Shortly after, I received an email advertising the Vancouver half-marathon and 10K. If you ran both Seattle and Vancouver, you get a huge shiny medal with a seaplane THAT MOVES between the cities on a map. I had to have it. Seriously, look at this thing!

Vancouver is one of my favorite cities to visit. It's beautiful, clean, friendly and has great food. The 10K ran along the seawall from one end of Stanley Park to the other. Every mile (kilometer?) of the run was gorgeous with calm waters, fall leaves, sweeping views... aaaahhhhh! I was in seventh heaven stopping to take photos every five minutes. The best part was that I was surrounded by Halloween costumes. I ran with Ariel, Sebastian, Flounder, and Ursula. I sprinted (ok, ok, pranced) by the Mad Hatter. A family of minions and Gru jogged by at a water break. It was awesome! Mike and I ran the actual wall for parts of it which totally stressed out the ladies behind us. They were really sweet. In the end, I was all smiles with my giant glittery Pacific Pursuit medal.
This was my second trip to Vancouver. The first was with a couple of friends seven years ago when I first moved to Washington. This time I went with family. We explored Gastown and watched the steam clock while trying fancy coffee and great food. We took the Seabus over to the market at North Vancouver and explored Granville. Definitely worth a visit. Oh and if you're looking for brunch, Scandilicous has the most fabulous waffles and can accommodate celiacs and vegans!

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Driving the Emerald Isle: Ireland in 5 Nights

After Iceland, we visited Ireland for a few days with a stopover in Oslo. At the airport, Emily and I met a super friendly Irishman on the bus to the plane. He explained all sorts of things we needed to do and try with the utmost exuberance. We thought he was an anomaly, but, as it turns out, Irish people are incredibly happy and friendly.
Our first day we explored Kilkenny. I saw a castle on the map and decided that was how we needed to start the adventure. So, we headed into town to explore the castle and walk around the city. The castle is huge and has been restored, housing paintings of those who lived there before, beautiful tapestries and costly furniture. The curators were excited to tell us about the rooms, furniture, and the city. On recommendation from our B&B and a guy at the castle, we went to Kyteler's Inn for dinner, drinks and live music. Lovely! There was folk lore and poetry thrown in. It was rather touristy, but super fun with awesome food.
Emily had a birthday the second day in Ireland. So we set out to spoil her rotten. After an enormous Irish breakfast at the B&B, we headed to Blarney to kiss the stone and see the castle. It was an overcast day. We waited in line at the castle for about an hour to kiss the Barney Stone. Mike refused to do it. Basically you lay on your back and upside down kiss a greasy rock. There are rumors that the locals pee on it, but the guard told me it's a wives tale. The rock didn't have the faintest hints of urine smell, and I don't know how anyone could get into the castle to do so. There are fences, locks, and cameras everywhere. It is a castle after all. Emily and I washed our mouths with sanitizer after anyway because that's a lot of mouths.
Since Em is a whiskey girl, we went to the old Jameson Whisky Distillery and caught the tour. It was actually fascinating. The triple distilling process means that Irish whiskeys are definitely gluten free. They walked us through the whole process including the sprouting and drying of the barley, the stills, and the aging. I now understand why it's so expensive to buy old whiskeys. It isn't whiskey until it's been aged three full years. Emily enjoyed a tutored tasting of four higher end whiskeys. Basically we all left buzzed and happy.
The next morning we got up to drive the Ring of Kerry, a 178 km loop of highway with some of the magical vistas of the emerald isle. Terrible weather made this far less thrilling than we had imagined. The winds were intense, blowing moderate rain sideways in huge gusts. Fog and heavy clouds distorted views. It was an adventure, but we couldn't spend much time out of the car.
The Gap of Dunloe was our first section and my favorite part. It's a super narrow road into a valley of high cliffs and waterfalls, sheep and ruins. It was so windy that the waterfalls were blowing away, as in the water was not hitting the ground! I've never seen anything like it. It was beautiful and unique. The sheep were spray painted bright colors to differentiate the flocks. My next favorite stop was a cool ancient stone fort built on a hill among the tall grasses. It was still in great shape.
The weather broke about the time we entered Killarney National Park. There were flooded fields everywhere. The drive from there was beautiful, all 17 km of it. There was a sprawling lake complete with a rainbow nestled in a wild green valley. We hiked to and above Torc Waterfall which was churning with brown water from the heavy rains. We walked through the fields along the Ring of Kerry Trail to Muckross House, a huge estate in varying states of remodel. The house was closed, but we explored the gardens.


We went to a fabulous whiskey bar in Killarney for dinner. Emily bought a flight of Irish single malts. She and Mike developed a good appreciation for the differences in Irish whiskeys on this trip. I'm not that tough, so I stuck to wine. We walked up the street to explore the town. There was a street performer dressed as Donald Trump with a Bernie pin singing parodies of American tunes with lyrics making fun of Trump and Clinton. How embarrassing to the United States that these are the best we could muster. We were given a sample of the most heavenly caramel ice cream sundae ever and had to buy ice cream at Murphy’s. Yummmm!
The happy Irishman from the airport had recommended Dingle. It's a shorter loop than the Ring of Kerry out on a peninsula. Since we had the time, we decided it could be worthwhile. Spoiler alert!! It was! Ireland is already a super lush, gorgeous, country. Dingle is quintessential. It has the seaside farms with stone fences, white-capped waves and white sheep. There was a spot a whole bunch of people were stopped. So we got out to take a picture of the Blasket Islands to the West. We hiked all the way out to the end of a rocky peninsula to watch the waves crash on the rocks... and do handstands, because, why not?


Our last day in Ireland, we visited the highly acclaimed Cliffs of Mohr. I thought about skipping it if the weather was terrible, but I'm so glad I went. We walked all of the way out along the edges of sheer cliffs up to 700 feet tall in a strong side wind with gusts up to 45 kmph. It made us walk a little sideways and a little meanderingly, like we'd been heavily drinking. Being next to a super high cliff like that with such crazy winds was a little bit disconcerting at the beginning. We walked to Hag's Head, an abandoned, crumbling tower. The walk is about 10 km round trip. It was beautiful, awe inspiring. We spend some time taking silly pictures trying to demonstrate just how windy it was (and failed). Our host for the night had said we would be there for 30 minutes. Ha! We spent 3 hours!


The drive back to Dublin was beautiful, but arduous. We finally made it to the cute airbnb just before 7. We cleaned ourselves up and caught the Dart train to Temple Bar. The people watching was really interesting. We had drinks at a few bars with live music. Last we found what ended up being my favorite bar: the Norseman. Its sign proclaimed the bar was established in 1696. The vibe was great! It was full of people singing along with the musician, some playing some sort of rowdy card game.



Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Iceland: Land of Glaciers, Volcanoes, Waterfalls, and Fuzzy Horses

I've been obsessing over Iceland for three years. Several of my good friends have gone and had marvelous trips. Emily, Mike and I planned a trip for last September, but ended up having to push it back to 2016 due to a wedding. Psh! Other people's happiness... So, I finally visited and it was more amazing than I could have imagined. My dad and step mom decided to join us on this adventure.

After an overnight flight where we saw a glimmer of Northern Lights, Mike and I arrived early in Keflavík. Picking up the rental car was a bit of an adventure. The keys told us the car was a red Chevrolet Cruze. By red, they meant some sort of mauve gray. Mike and I walked the entire way around the building looking for a red Chevy. We found Dad, Lorrie, and Emily at the airport easily and went straight to Blue Lagoon for a soak.
Iceland, Blue Lagoon, hot springs, hot water,

Blue lagoon was delightful on our tired bodies. We explored the whole thing, basking in the warm milky waters and painting our faces and shoulders with silica mud. It was early enough in the morning that the lagoon wasn't too crowded. The sun was very bright though. The feel of the place is very cool. We drove toward our destination of Grímsnes. We stopped in a tiny coastal town to find food. It was about $15-18 for a simple bowl of soup with some bread.  

The landscape in Iceland is amazing: dried chunky lava covered in thick moss. It's basically plains and plateaus along the coast, with distant glaciers and volcanoes. Iceland is home to 130 volcanoes. It is 37,000 sq miles with a population of 330,000, 200,000 of which live in Reykjavik. We stayed in Grimsnes near Selfoss in a darling little cabin with a bedroom, kitchen, sleeping loft, and living space. Emily and Mike immediately went to nap while Dad, Lorrie and I went to the store in Selfoss to stock the pantry. I made dinner and we waited for the sky to be dark enough to scout the Aurora. We saw a light green glimmer before the clouds moved in.

Geysir Geyser Icleand Golden Circle Tourists

We woke leisurely working through the jet lag. After breakfast, we headed out to explore the Golden Circle beginning at Geysir closest to the cabin. This is exactly what it sounds like. There is a geyser that shoots a big plume of boiling water into the air every few minutes. There were lots of tourists, but the view from the hills above was lovely.

Geysir, Family time photo Iceland explore

The next stop was Europe's largest waterfall: Gulfoss, the Golden Waterfall. It was as crowded as expected, but powerful and beautiful. Absolutely worth a stop. We spent over an hour walking around and taking pictures.

Iceland Gulfoss, Gullfoss, beautiful waterfall

Next Faxi Waterfall is a much smaller falls on the same river. This was cool because it was not crowded. A salmon ladder ran along one side and fly fishermen were casting below the falls. Beautiful! Afterward we stopped at the Secret Lagoon, a natural swimming pool. We walked around and checked out the geothermal greenhouses, but didn't feel up to paying the $25 each to swim.



Kerið is an amazing 6000 year old crater with so much beautiful natural color. We walked all around it and learned it is a natural amphitheater and is sometimes used for concerts. Based on the depth of the lake in the bottom, scientists can measure the health of ground water.
Iceland self tour

We completed the Golden Circle at Þingvellir National Park. This park is home to Silfra, a lake formed between the edges of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The nerdy explorer in me demanded I dive those icy, crystal clear waters. The cheapskate in me said no way. The budgeter won out. :( Also in the park is Oxofoss waterfall.

thingvellir national park silfra tectonic plates

Riding the fluffy Icelandic horses was really high on my list of things to do. They're everywhere, happy, furry horses (not ponies) in every color. I booked a two hour tour with Nupshestar for the whole family. I learned that Icelandic horses have extra gaits. One is a fast, smooth trot called a tolt. The other only some have. It's called pace, a flying, smooth gait about the speed of a gallop. We rode though a big valley with views of a river and Hekla volcano. It was beautiful! Definitely a highlight of the trip. The company does three day tours into the highlands. I want to come back and make that happen.

Nepshestar, Iceland, horse, family ride, riding, horseback riding,a dventure explore

The Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon came highly recommended and the pictures of it are phenomenal. It was a 4 hour drive from the cabin so we packed up and left early. An hour into the drive we found Sjelandsfoss Waterfall, a towering beauty that you can walk behind. The sun hadn't yet kissed the falls and it was not crowded with tourists. Beautiful. We glimpsed Skogafoss and choose to save it for the way back.

Waterfall, Iceland, early morning, no crowds, tourist, water nymph

The drive along the south coast is stunningly beautiful. It's a low traffic, peaceful, two lane highway into ever evolving plateaus towering over quaint little farms of white, red-roofed houses, flocks of shaggy sheep, and herds of beautiful Icelandic horses. Many of these farms were nestled under the most fantastic green cliffs with their very own waterfalls.

Iceland, Jokulsarlon, glacier, lagoon, glaciers, beautiful, must do, explore, zodiac

Jökulsárlón was immediately everything I had hoped for: huge chunks of blue and black-streaked ice towered out of the river leaving the lagoon. It was phenomenal, awe inspiring. We quickly jumped out of the car to stretch our legs and take a thousand pictures of the icebergs in the lagoon. We booked a zodiac ride to the glacier. They dressed us in thick, warm life jacket suits. The driver wore a Sponge Bob beanie and was kind of the strong silent type. He took us to a few big icebergs giving us some info before heading out to the glacier. There were harbor seals watching us bobbing up out of the water while we listened for the ice to break, hoping a piece would fall into the lake. The smaller icebergs are carried out to sea by the river. Some of them end up on the shores of the black sand beach at the mouth of the river. Its like a big, icy sculpture garden.
Family photo, nerds, that hat is the worst! Iceland

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon Iceland Beach black sand

On the way back to Vik, we stopped at Fjallsarlon Glacier Lagoon, which is much smaller with no outlet. That makes the water surface perfectly smooth, which means awesome pictures! Vík is a thriving metropolis compared to most of Iceland, but probably actually no more than a village. It has a beautiful black sand beach that was used in Game of Thrones.

Fjallsarlon Glacier Lagoon Iceland, off the beaten path must see adventure

Right near the farm we stayed for the night was Skógafoss Waterfall. Skogafoss is a huge sheet of water that crashes down on the rocks. There is a hike to the top with a platform that intimidates anyone with a fear of heights. The trail then continues up into the highlands to a glacier. No one was interested in walking that far.

hottie, Iceland, waterfall, Skogafoss

We spent the night on a farm called Stora Mork. It has two guesthouses with bunk rooms and kitchens. We had a full floor to ourselves. Everyone was exhausted from hours of car time, particularly Mike who did all of the driving (thanks, babe). Emily and I sat up with our cups of tea watching the stars and hoping the Northern lights would make an appearance. They did, faintly. Suddenly they brightened to full color rippling green and pink. We scrambled to wake everyone else up, but they missed most of it by the time they got dressed for the cold. Emily and I watched for another hour, but though they were present, they didn't flare again.
Iceland sunset, farm, gorgeous
We had to pass the Seljalandsfoss waterfall on the way out. Everyone did their own thing that morning meaning we left later than planned. Since it was much later than when we'd passed it before, it was crazy crowded. Next to it is a hidden waterfall called Gljufrabui. We had to take the time to explore that one. It was worth it!

Iceland waterfall, Icelandic water

Reykjavik is the major city in Iceland, where most of its population lives. It's home to an iconic cathedral called Hallgrimskirkja, a shoreline sculpture park, and an amazing opera hall. We spend an afternoon exploring the beautiful city and had dinner at Glo, a natural food restaurant with food that was both delicious and vibrant (and gluten free). It was by far my favorite meal out on the trip.
Gorgeous sun voyager sculpture in Reykjavik, Iceland


My overall impression of Iceland is that I didn't have enough time to do everything I wanted to. A friend had said four days was more than enough time. I thought six days were far too few. If you're considering visiting Iceland... GO!! Rent a car, find some Airbnbs, and go exploring! 

Iceland Icelandi waterfall, pingvellir, thingvellir national park

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Meteors and Fog on Mt. Saint Helens

Way back in February, some friends asked if we wanted to climb Mount Saint Helens, you know, that active volcano that erupted in 1980. Of course we did. It was on my bucket list. We drove down to the Climber's Bivouac where the trailhead is and spent a couple of extra days and nights doing a bit of exploring, but mostly eating and hiding in our tent from the rain and chill that made no sense for mid-August. The group visited the lower Ape Caves (huge lava tube) and this fun little trail with a tunnel to crawl through. I picked wild blueberries and huckleberries to throw in my oatmeal. Yum!
The goal for climbing the volcano was to start late at night, climb under the light of a thousand staaaaars (sorry, I had to sing that like Ed Sheeran), and enjoy sunrise from the rim of the crater. Seven of us were in the group including two teenage boys. We started hiking at 11pm Monday night. The first two and a half miles were on a fairly typical PNW trail through tall trees hanging with moss towering over burned and broken stumps. A huge mudslide is visible from parts of the trail. Wildflowers dot the brown earth as if the Mountain is trying hard to make one of her many scars into something pretty.
The tree line marks a stark transition into a boulder field of volcanic rock. Parts of the mountain that blew off in one eruption or another ring the volcano. The way up is marked by wooden posts with reflective tape wrapped around the tops. I won't say it's a path or trail at this point. We were simply looking for a reflective beacon to appear in the beam of our headlamps and finding a way to get there, scaling boulders and winding around ridges. That continued for about another mile and a half. Mike, mountain goat and monkey mutt that he is, decided to go straight up a ridge rather than follow a steep, but semi-defined track to the side.
Rain and mist, clouds and fog came and went. The weather was moody, constantly in flux. The group was damp and cold. We stopped among the boulders to rest and watch meteors streak across the sky during one period of clear skies. The stars were amazing! More than can ever be seen with all of the light pollution at home. The peak of the meteor shower was a few days away, but that didn't make the ones we saw any less exciting.
Shortly after this point, the younger of the two boys was freezing and struggling to move forward. The night had cooled to somewhere in the 30s with gusting winds. He and his parents opted to find shelter and hunker until light to warm him up. The other four of us continued on. Eventually, the mountain plateaued slightly and the boulders disappeared. The fog surrounded us heavily so there was no point in looking at anything above the ground. This is the last mile. It is an ash field with fairly defined paths. There's no getting lost because you just go up and up and up. It's steep, the wet sand sliding beneath my feet. I was glad to have my trekking poles. I strove for one hundred steps at a time.

Finally I reached the rim (first!). It was 515AM. The sky was beginning to lighten, though fog hung heavy and oblivious to the cold winds ripping through it. I bundled the older cold teenager up in a space blanket and went exploring. There was nothing to see, but it felt good to be doing something. At 550AM the sky was light and sunrise had clearly come though we couldn't see it. Now there was some detail in the frozen rim of the volcano. I could see icicles hanging from the glacial outcropping above the crater. It was time to head back.
The route down took less time, about 4 hours. The fog persisted until we neared the boulder field. At that point, there were clouds below and fog above. The view was breathtaking and disorienting. The clouds below appeared to be sloping downward into the volcano on the west side. On the east side, rays of warm morning sunlight stabbed through the cloud layer.
One particularly exciting moment was when a boulder I was standing on rolled out from under me and into the back of my leg. Somehow it turned a different way than I did rather than breaking my ankle. I have some solid bruising. Within a few seconds another rock above me dislodged and barely missed both me and Mike. No one was hurt, but it cleared our tired minds. The tree line and trail back to the bivouac were a welcome sight. The bright greens of the trees and mosses were almost startling after the lunar landscape I'd been staring at for the past 8 hours. I really want to do this hike again when it's a little warmer and a lot more clear. Last time the group we joined climbed St. Helens, the temperature was in the low 80s and it was beautifully summer. Next time, Ms. Volcano, let's see all the beauty you can offer.

*photos in no particular order or even relevance to the story. Sorry, but the first 2/3 of the hike was dark, and photos of nothing are not exciting.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Wine and Beaches in Westport, WA

When I moved to the PNW and started my first grownup job, I was assigned a mentor. Adraine was awesome. She knew how everything worked in the shipyard, was well-respected and had fantastic fashion sense. To top all of that, she was a mechanical engineer when women engineers were rare, pioneering the way for those of us to come. She's been through the sexism, the cold shoulders, the changing workforce, and thrived. I know I'm making her sound old; she's not. When she offered her Westport condo for a weekend, I couldn't say no. I rounded up some of my favorite ladies and chose a date.
Five of us, including Adraine, drove out Friday night to the beautiful Washington coast. Westport on the Sea is a condominium complex on the sea (obviously) next to a state park and the tallest lighthouse in Washington. It's home to lots of charter fishing, sandy beaches, and crashing waves. There are a whole bunch of these condos for anyone to rent as well as many that are privately owned.
I woke up early Saturday and went for a run on the beach and park trails right outside the condo, stopping here and there to pick up perfect little sand dollars and dip my toes in the frigid water. It was a dream! A foggy marine layer hung over the water and the waves thundered against the beach. Cathy and Melissa put together a delicious breakfast while I was gone. Three of us headed out for a beach walk while Kate and Adraine hit the gym. I think I walked about 8 miles that day. My neck and shoulders burned through the marine layer.
For lunch we visited the beautiful Westport Winery. They have delicious food with gluten free options (YAY!) and a ton of wines. Adraine and Cathy are members which means free wine tastings!! Splitting my samples with Kate meant I could try about 12 different wines. I like the reds, while she likes the dessert wines. Each wine had a sassy description and a song pairing. The Smoky Nor'wester was my favorite. It's description was "Maserati intensity, like a good spanking." The song: Life's Been good to Me by Joe Walsh. It was perfect for my mood and the weekend.

The grounds at the winery are gorgeous. There are different themed gardens, a large chess set, and a mini-golf course. I want to go back and play wine-drunk mini-golf. We wandered around the tiny town, checking out souvenir shops and buying candy.
Cathy, Adraine and I decided that we just had to pay a visit to the hot tub.  The pool was crowded with kids and vacationers, the BBQs well used and wafting grilled meats. Everything about it screamed SUMMER! After our soak it seemed totally right to practice our handstands on the lawn before heading back. We made a gorgeous salad for dinner and played games until the wee hours.
Sadly, we had to leave fairly early Sunday morning to go spend some time with our spouses, but I had the most fantastic time with good friends, having great conversation, and doing whatever came to mind at the moment. Many thanks to all the amazing women who joined me and especially to Adraine for her company and a great place to stay.