Memorial Day Hike: a chronicle in pictures

As many of you know, I come from a family that enjoys hiking. Growing up, I spent many a spring/summer/fall day hiking at Babler State park or Rockwood, and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I was pretty excited to try out some of the great hiking trails I've heard about since moving here. Amy's roommate Luke is an avid outdoorsman (likely descended from a line of yeti-people), and he recommended a trail to us for our Memorial day hike. He was even kind enough to lend us a guidebook and parking pass...thanks, Luke, if you're reading this! We learned that the total hike was 7.2 miles, with an elevation gain of 2000 feet, passing Bridal Veil Falls, and ending at the aptly-named Lake Serene.

On Sunday night, Amy and I geared up for the next day. I purchased a backpack and water bottle (as I haven't used a backpack with two straps since highschool), and gathered up supplies including but not limited to: my Leatherman, a flashlight (just in case), Band-aids, extra socks, a windbreaker, toilet paper, and trash bags. I felt pretty confident that we were as prepared as possible for whatever might happen. 

We set out on Monday around 10am. The drive to the trail head took an hour and 20 minutes, due east into the Cascades. The weather was lovely, and had been lovely all weekend, and Amy and I noticed that traffic heading back towards Seattle was quite backed up. Oh well, we said, hopefully by this evening it will be better...

We parked in a large gravel parking lot, and set out. 

 

Here we are, fresh faced and excited at the beginning of our hike. The forest was beautiful and very pacific-northwest-y...with lots of moss everywhere. 

Amy crossing a treacherous bridge. It was just a small creek about 5 five feet below. 

The trail was pretty flat and only mildly strenuous for the first leg. It was cool enough under the trees that t-shirts and long pants were comfortable.

By the time we reached Bridal Veil Falls, the t-shirt had come off, and the spray of the waterfall felt so nice. Kinda like those misting showers on a hot day at Six Flags :)

You just don't get waterfalls like this at Rockwoods.

So refreshed, and ready to keep going. Little did we know what was waiting ahead...

As we climbed, the views got prettier.

Amy hugging a giant log.

Lest you make the same mistake, let me take a moment to expound on an elevation gain of 2000 feet. It may seem like nothing, when you're at the gym working out on an elliptical machine or stationary bike. But when you're climbing a mountain, it is endless rocks, stairs, and switchbacks of DEATH! I did feel, on several occasions, that my heart was likely to explode. Thankfully, it didn't. Equally nice was having a hiking companion who was willing to let me rest whenever I needed to (for the prevention of an exploding heart). For a very long time, I could no longer be bothered with taking pictures, as it took all I had to make it up the mountain. 

On our way up, we passed several people heading back down the trail. Occasionally, in desperation, I would ask if we were nearing the top. One charming 10-year old boy in a shark t-shirt replied, "Not really. It's still pretty far." I wanted to launch the kid off the side of the mountain.

We finally reached this waterfall, which I knew from the map was close to the end of the trail. 

On crossing the water, we met with this site:

Yes, that is our trail disappearing beneath two feet of snow. 

But never fear, some intrepid hikers before us made a trail on top of the snow. Sure, it was melting and slippery in places. Once my leg went through to the knee (thankfully without injuring anything). And there were places where there was nothing stopping you from sliding a very long distance down the mountain if the snow trail should happen to give out. Continuing on was perhaps not the smartest or safest decision we've ever made, but after climbing up the mountain, not making it all the way to the lake was unthinkable.

And we got views like this one.

Here's Amy, at the end of our 1/2 mile snow field and on top the world. We were about to go around a bend and reach our lunch destination, Lake Serene.

One photo (or several) really cannot capture the magnificence.

We also decided it was kind of a bummer that snow still covered so much of the lake. 

But it was warm and sunny and beautiful, and full of happy people (and several frisky dogs) who had reached their destination. 

We relaxed on this log and ate our lunch. Few meals have been so satisfying in my life. 

I drank WAY more water on the way up then I was anticipating. I ended up filling this water bottle from a briskly-flowing, ice-cold stream we had passed on our way through the snow field. I was thirsty enough to risk it. So if I start to go crazy anytime soon, tell the doctors it's probably due to some sort of parasitic encephalopathy from drinking mountain water.

The "trail" near the top.

Wouldn't mind building a little log cabin and having this view every day.

The way down was easier on the muscles, but harder on the joints. Amy and I were kind of silly (not to mention exhausted), and she decided she really liked this 'rock statue.' She has an equally ridiculous picture of me posing as a mountain gnome outside of a cave. I will add it to this post when I get it from her.

Miscellaneous:

- The couple who passed us on the way up who were running. They passed us again on their way down (while we were still going up).

- This hike was supposed to take 5 hours. It took us 6. I told Amy that an obese-person modification addendum needs to be put in the guide book. 

- It was very strange to be comfortable in a tank-top while walking on/surrounded by snow. It made my brain hurt a little.

- Did you know you could get blisters on the instep of your foot? You can, and they can be two inches long. 

I'm glad we did it, and glad that no one fell off the mountain or got eaten by a bear. Of course, that traffic we had passed on the way to the trail head now reached the trail head. Two-lane highway going into the mountains + city-dwellers who love camping/hiking/rafting + holiday weekend = seriously annoying traffic jam at the end of a very physically strenuous day when all I wanted was a bottle of Vitamin water and a shower. Whatev. I'm just glad that my legs still work and haven't decided to secede from my body because of what I put them through. Thanks, legs! And thank you, readers. What did you do for Memorial day?

My Big Fat Leavenworth Weekend

My friend Amy and I really love the church we go to. We've been attending since September, but find it challenging to get involved because we both have pretty variable schedules. So a few months ago we decided to sign up for the women's retreat... and this past weekend we attended it.

The retreat was located in Leavenworth, WA (www.leavenworth.org) a Bavarian-themed mountain town about 2 hours east of Seattle. The drive out on Friday was beautiful, once we got past Seattle traffic.

Amy and I stopped by the side of the road to admire the view and take a photo shoot on the way there. Please note the tiny crescent moon that can be seen directly above Amy's head.

Through the pass. Amy and I discussed how we would survive an avalanche should one occur while we were driving. We decided our best option would be to roll down one of the back windows so we could escape from the car once it was buried. Any thoughts?

There was a patch of hillside across the street from our Inn that was fenced in and contained three goats. This goat stared at me as I approached and I took its picture. 

The May pole at the center of the Bavarian shopping district. 

The weather was gray and rainy on Saturday, but we went for a nature walk and shopping trip anyway. There was a cool trail that wound around the river and through woods. It was crazy to me how green it smelled. I guess I haven't really been away from city in a long time. 

The shop devoted entirely to large lifelike dolls was only the tip of the iceberg of kitschy, ridiculous things on sale in Leavenworth. The dolls featured in this picture were about 3 feet tall...I should have stood next to them for sizing purposes, but didn't want to get that close in case they turned into zombie dolls tried to kill me. It seemed quite plausible at the time.

This delicious cinnamon roll explains the "big fat" part of my weekend. Each morning there was a breakfast buffet complete with omelets made to order and so-tasty-they-have-to-be-loaded-with-fat baked goods. Add the baked potato bar for the lunch, the bavarian bratwurst at the beergarten for dinner, and the cute welcoming bags of M&M's that greeted us on arrival...and you start to get the picture. 

We awoke on Sunday to blazing sunshine. The dining room was on the top (4th) floor of the Inn and filled with windows. It was an enjoyable place to dine.

This adorable man in lederhosen played a song on his Alphorn each morning. He's been doing it for 25 years. 

Oops, I forgot to remove my name tag. 

View from the balcony.
Charming decorative deer heads on the wall in the dining room. I like to pretend that they can communicate with one another telepathically and spend their days exchanging snarky commentary about the tourists. 

Amy and I were thrilled to find a 'picnic spot' on our way home. We enjoyed delicious Subway sandwiches on a rock next to a river.

This hawk ate lunch with us. We saw him swoop down from his nest and grab a fish out of the river. 

Amy was very, very glad she didn't fall in.

It was more difficult than you'd think getting up on that rock in flip-flops.

My toes started to go numb in the 3 seconds that they were submerged...

Because this slab of snow and many others like it feed into the river. I still want to go white water rafting though. I will buy a wetsuit if necessary...

Amy's favorite sign. She likes that it just declares: ROCKS.

So, it was fun meeting/hanging out with women who go to my church. The three other girls in our room were pretty great, and we exchanged contact info with several people we met. That said, I'm not sure that I'm a women's retreat kind of person. Not going to elaborate much on that...

In five days I'm flying down to meet my family in St. George Island! Things I'm looking forward to:

-my niece and nephew...both of whom are cute little chub-chubs out of the 'slug phase' 

-three dogs to cuddle with

-white sand beaches

-an ocean that is warm enough to swim in

-kayaking!

I will post about it soon...

Jack Attack! or Cats n' Racks

My friends Kara and Jon accepted guardianship of a little black kitten last week, when a friend of a friend of theirs found a litter of kittens in a tree stump. They weren't sure whether it was a boy or girl, so they decided to call it Jack. Jack was a timid and terrified little fella, who didn't really know how to play and be a kitten. Amy and I went down last weekend to meet him (by default he is a 'he' until further notice). I brought him a present from a new pet store that just opened by my apartment. I basically walked in and told them "I've never had a cat or been a cat person, but I want to get a present for my friends' new kitten. What do you recommend?" The store employees directed me to what I like to think of as the Kitty Fishing Pole. It's a thin rod about two feet long, with some heavy duty string that has a 'bird' at the end of it. The Kitty Fishing Pole is also reminiscent of the Ribbon Dancer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttWINLCf7Og&NR=1). When you move the rod around, the 'bird' flutters through the air. At first, Jack was timidly curious.

What is that thing? Did it just move? I'm going to check it out...

Then he was entranced, and became brave enough to swipe at it and chase it a little.

After a few hours, he was a different cat. He was pouncing, doing backflips, and finally climbing up his kitty tower like King Kong to try and snatch the bird out of midair.

When he was all worn out, it was cuddle time. His adoptive parents were only mildly horrified by this Cats n' Racks pose. Check out the origins of Cats n' Racks at www.cuteoverload.com  but be prepared to quickly scroll past the Ferrets n' Racks picture that will haunt your dreams forever.

Jack liked to watch the moving screen. He thought he could catch it with his paw. So cute.

In non-kitten related news, I have decided to become a runner. I experienced running euphoria last Saturday (and the aftereffects of lovely endorphins flooding my brain), and also think it's a good way to set fitness goals for myself. My dad is quite excited. I even went running after one of my 8 hour workdays this week, and it was difficult and exhausting and there was no euphoria, but I did it anyway. Maybe in a year I'll be ready for a half-marathon. 

On the work front, I've had some trying times. They've been scheduling me to scrub a LOT lately, which I love doing, but it's certainly challenging. I scrubbed spines for 12 hours on Friday and Monday. On Friday, the cases were all pretty manageable and I didn't feel too overwhelmed. But on Monday, our second case (which lasted around 9 hours) was a doozy. I was pretty terrified, and had to give myself pep talks during my lunch and dinner breaks (Hard things make you stronger...hard things make you stronger...hard things make you stronger). The surgeon is nice and a good teacher, but he's also German and very VERY quick. So, I survived the case without any huge errors (although I did drop a couple of instruments on the floor and didn't mix the bone graft soon enought), but I wasn't really satisfied with my performance. All week, people have been making comments to me about being the new "Spine queen" and how they heard I did a great job...and it's driving me crazy. I don't feel like I did a great job, I feel like I did an adequate job. I don't think that's deserving of praise. 

But scrubbing the huge spine case helped me feel more comfortable scrubbing other things that I was afraid of/intimidated by before. Yesterday I had to scrub an ortho case that would have freaked me out last week. They changed it at the last minute from something really simple to something more complicated and with lots more instruments. And I rocked it. I feel like I did a really good job. If someone were to compliment me about that case, I would accept it. 

I can't wait to get married and change my name. Now that I'm off of orientation, they put my last name up on the board instead of my first. Which means I have people (sometimes the same annoying person every day) asking me how to pronounce my last name. If I tell you once, I don't want to tell you again. It is seriously one of the most irritating things a person can say to me..."how do you pronounce your last name?"

It is fun to live in a city with an MLS team. For reasons not solely influenced by this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredrik_Ljungberg I am a Sounders FC fan :) Just to throw it out there...on July 25 of this year, the Sounders are playing the Chicago Fire in Seattle. I think that would be a great time for certain members of the Chicago fam to come out for a  visit. Think about it, people...

Christ is Risen

I've been thinking a lot about freedom lately. What it is, and what it means to "live in it." To a large degree, I'm learning that it's a choice. Every single day, I can either pick up the chains that bind me and draw them more tightly around myself, or I can choose to let go of them. A huge part of it is just realizing that the chains exist. 

Today I feel freer than I have in a very long time.

God is good.

Diarrhea on the Rocks, and other Seattle misadventures

I sometimes feel like my life is being taken over by passwords. At work I have 3 separate passwords for things. Then there are my two email accounts, my bank account, my twitter account, and my netflix account. And all the bills that I pay online (three). And it isn't 'secure' to use the same password for everything. So that's 11 passwords that I have to somehow keep track of. Ridiculous.

Today I went to the gym, forgetting that it is the official "Grand Opening" (nevermind that they've been open for a month already) and was faced with mass chaos. Balloons everywhere, a full on band (playing music that was not ideal for working out to, but whatever), and lots of personal trainers lurking around looking for unsuspecting fat people. Unfortunately, one of them swooped up on me while I was using one of the weight machines. Since I couldn't think of a good enough reason not to, I was forced to endure a free personal training session. Oh. My. Gosh. I don't think my legs are going to work at all tomorrow. And then of course I got talked into signing up for a personal trainer for the next six months. It's soooo expensive. I can only afford the once a month option, and had to be very firm with the guy (who wanted me to sign up for the 4 sessions a month option, which costs $200 a month! can anyone really afford that during these tough economic times? I sure can't.).

So last weekend Jon and Johanna came to visit me. It was great to see them, but I felt a little bad that the weather was so crappy while they were here. As they said, gray and rainy is pretty much exactly what they expected of Seattle. I picked them up on Thursday evening at the airport around 9, and took them straight to their hotel (as I'd worked 4 days in a row and was beat). I think they're going to do a blog post, so I'll let them tell you about the hotel. 

All three of us agreed that we really wanted to sleep in, so we didn't get started till late morning on Friday. I took the bus to their hotel, then we walked downtown, stopping at Top Pot Doughnuts on the way. We went to Pike's Market, which was as usual, packed with people. Jon expressed that this was exactly what he imagines hell to be like :) After picking up lots of goodies at Pike's and a quick stop to buy some Aleve at Walgreen's, we hit all the stores that Jon and Jo wanted to go to. 

There is something very tiring about wandering around a city all day shopping, so we decided to take the Monorail back towards the hotel when we were all done. It was positively posh compared to the bus (although it cost the same), and we enjoyed our monorail experience immensely. We dropped off J-squared's portion of the day's loot, and they freshened up for dinner, and then we hopped on a bus to my place.

My friends Amy and De met us at my apartment, and we all relaxed and chatted for a little while. Then we all met my roommate at Ray's Cafe...my go-to waterfront restaurant for visitors to Seattle. We had a lovely dinner (although I'm always surprised at the quality of waitstaff at Ray's...because it just isn't on par with everything else). One pregnant and very thirsty member of our party, after trying unsuccessfully to flag down a waiter to refill her glass, got up and walked over to the drink station where she picked up a water pitcher and brought it to our table. I kind of wanted to pump my fist into the air and give a loud "woohoo!" or an old school "you go, girl!" but I refrained. 

Saturday was cold and rainy (where Friday had just been cold and cloudy), so we planned on indoor activities. First, we went to the Hawaii General Store (the only place Johanna said that she had to visit while here). It was full of terrific Hawaiian things, and had a very friendly proprietor who told us which restaurants around had the most authentic and delicious Hawaiian food. One of them is in a town about 20 miles north, but since it was on the way to the outlet mall we were going to, we decided to check it out. By the time we left the General Store, we were pretty much all ravenous. We enjoyed some spicy rice cracker mix and refreshing Guava beverages in the car, and began our trek...eager for the highly-recommended Hawaiian plate lunch awaiting us in the north. After a wrong turn off the highway, which lead us through a beautiful forest and to a great bluff/view of the water, we finally found the restaurant. As we drove up, I noticed that the Open sign wasn't lit up, and there was a note taped to the door. It read "Sorry, we are closed today for a luau." And that is the story of how we got Humpbacked by Hawaiians.

Saturday night was my friend Amy's birthday party/charity event. She ended up getting this party space donated in the back of a great Thai restaurant downtown. You can read more about it here: iwillnotforgetyou.xanga.com and the charity the proceeds went to here: www.sharingonline.org/orphan-relief

There was delicious Thai food and a DJ, and lots of fun was had and money was made for a good cause. We didn't stay till the end, because apparently I am a grandma now and am exhausted by 10 pm. Although to be fair it had been a busy week and I didn't get my customary night of 12 hours of sleep. The title of this post comes from a cocktail that my roommate ordered that night. I believe it was called Spiced Thai Iced Tea and was a signature drink of the restaurant. We all decided that Diarrhea on the Rocks would be a far better name, as that is exactly what it looked like.

On Sunday I picked up J-squared for the 11:15 service at my church. We stopped by Winchell's donuts on the way to get Amy and De, and Jon and Jo were lucky enough to have an authentic Seattle-crazy-person encounter. There was loud ranting about how "THIS CITY IS ALWAYS KEEPING PEOPLE DOWN!" and I can't remember the rest of it. I'm glad he was there,  but it would have been cooler if they got to meet pops-out-his-eyeball-guy. Maybe next time...

The weather was actually really nice on Sunday, so after church we visited the Fremont troll, then wandered around Ballard for awhile. We spent quite awhile in Archie McPhee, where one can purchase anything from bacon-flavored jelly beans to a creepy rubber owl mask. We headed back downtown for dinner...to the only remaining Hawaiian restaurant available to us. The food was pretty good, but the ambience really made me wish that I was at the beach (as in, the warm kind where you get tan and go swimming without becoming hypothermic). Then I showed Jon and Jo where I work, at the top of a gigantic hill. We called it an early night, so they could pack and I could do some adult chores (filling my car up with gas, buying groceries, etc).

Monday was kind of low-key. After checking out, we went back to Top Pot Doughnuts one more time. On the way, I became highly confused about the rules for driving on a one way street with four lanes that are separated in the middle by Monorail pylons. Anyone who knows the rules should let me know ASAP. I just waited till a light came up, then crossed over to the side I needed to be on, but I'm not sure if that's legal. The day was colder then we were expecting (and none of us were appropriately dressed), so after a quick stop at Patagonia we went and hibernated in my favorite Barnes & Noble. Then grabbed a quick lunch before heading to the airport. It's crazy how much has changed since the day last August that I dropped my mom off at the airport. I remember sobbing as I drove away that day, wondering what I was doing on my own in a strange city that might never feel like home. And now, 7 months later, it does feel like home :)

Notable firsts for Rachel thanks to Jon and Johanna visiting:

- Tried Ahi Tuna for the first time. Pleasantly surprised.

- Clocked numerous hours driving downtown in the thick of things. Also parallel parked downtown many times. Have overcome my silly fears about driving/parking downtown and feel that this may revolutionize my social life. 

- Tried Spam Musubi for the first time. Found it to be a delicious treat. Will hereafter refer to appetizers by their hawaiian name, pupus (pronounced poo-poos...heehee).

For absolutely no good reason, I don't have many pictures of the weekend. Those that I do have are kind of blurry. I'm just going to blame it on my eldest brother's strong anti-camera feelings. I'm pretty sure that Jo got a lot of good pictures, and hopefully she'll post them soon. These are the ones that I have: 

Jo and I, ready to take on the city in our rain hats. 

J-squared and the troll, plus one annoying kid who would not stop climbing on the thing so we could get a picture without him in it. 

Cool fountain at the city center. It's not in the picture, but there was a large crowd just off to the right whose various members were trying to see how close they could get without getting wet. 

Congrats on making it to the end of this very long post! Now you must leave a comment. 

Miscellany on my mind

I will be spending the next three and a half days enjoying Seattle with Jon and Johanna. But for now as I sit in bed and drink my coffee, I will spew out my random thoughts/happenings since my last post. 

- Work was pretty great this week. I got to circulate in spines on my two 12 hour days...which I seriously love doing. Then I got to scrub a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder), which I've never done before (but I was with a patient surgeon and things went well). Then yesterday I got to scrub in Hands with a surgeon who I worked with for the first time last week. He walked into the room yesterday and looked at me and sort of cocked his head to the side and asked, "are you Rachel, without glasses on?" I said that I was, and that I was impressed that he remembered me. And he said, "well you did a really good job last time." I know I shouldn't live for the approval/praise of other people...but it sure feels great when you receive it.

- On the way home from work yesterday, I did something that I've never done before. Actually exited a bus 2 stops after getting on because I couldn't handle the LOUD drunken obnoxiousness in another language that was happening a few rows behind me. It was 3:30 in the afternoon and I could smell the alcohol, and could still hear them with the volume turned all the way up on my iPod. So I got off and caught the next bus. And it was worth it.

- I was wondering the other day about why shopping is so enjoyable. Does everybody feel that way, or have the pleasure circuits in my brain been specially wired? I can vividly remember being in second or third grade, going to the Science Center and wandering through the gift shop. I just wanted to see (and touch) everything there, and pick out what would soon belong to me. It's sort of the same feeling I get today when I walk into a store that I like. I wouldn't call myself a Shopaholic, but elements of that book/movie certainly resonated with me.

- My niece and nephew are incredibly cute. And it stinks that I'm so far away from them. I think I knew that would be the hardest part about moving here. But at least we live in an age of Skype. I love seeing them respond to my face on the computer. Last night Xavi was sticking his tongue out at me and smiling whenever I said his name. Pretty great, but not quite as good as being there. It's amazing that when you're a baby, people love you just for being (at least they do if you're blessed enough to have the amazing kind of family that I have).

That's it for now. You can expect a J-squared Visit Seattle post in a few days!

Springing forward is not enjoyable

- Each day when I get off of work, I exit the hospital through the doors right outside the Emergency Department. Frequently there are patients milling around outside, lately in 30-40 degree weather wearing only hospital gowns, who proposition me for cigarettes and/or a light. They are often standing or seated in a wheelchair directly beneath a large red NO SMOKING sign. I think that the irony of the situation is probably lost on these people.

- Earlier this week I had to work with a notoriously unpleasant surgeon. I set up the back table with all the instruments, then I was relieved for my lunch break. When I got back the case was underway, and the surgeon was loudly berating my relief person. The tension in the room was thick, and nobody was saying much. As the circulator was tying up my gown, she whispered in my ear "don't feel bad if he yells at you." And I was determined not to. I got a report and took my place next to the surgeon. I handed him what he asked for, and responded pleasantly whenever a response was necessary. And he was fine for the rest of the case and throughout the following one. Not that it will always happen like that, but sometimes being respectful and polite to someone who is being a jerk causes that person to realize "oh, I am being a jerk" and maybe then they will decide to stop being a jerk.

- The construction on my building is entering the final phase, which unfortunately means there is scaffolding outside my window. Last night as I was trying to fall asleep there was a loud clank of metal out on the scaffolding, and I spent the next twenty minutes forming an action plan in my head for a possible intruder. I need to buy a baseball bat. The upside to Construction: Final Phase is that the scaffolding will soon come off the other side of the building, and we will be free to enjoy our patio again! Now I have to find some good patio furniture. My dream is to find a great deal on some Adirondack chairs, but the chances of that are slim.

- Spring is coming! And with it...thunderstorms. Apparently they're kind of rare here, someone told me "the sound of thunder usually gets absorbed into the mountains." So the other night on the news, they spent 10 minutes talking about this thunderstorm, showing pictures of lightning and saying things like "look how eerie it was over Bellevue earlier with the dark clouds." Seriously, people?! Thunderstorms?! I guess I didn't realize that they weren't commonplace everywhere.  Then yesterday I was driving to a friend's house (while it was sleeting) and I saw a huge flash of light. It totally confused me until I heard the thunder a few seconds later. I guess because it's cloudy and rainy here a lot, it seems like there isn't much warning for the prospect of thunder and lightning. So maybe the freak-out is justified.