seattle – Sheila365

Fun visit.

Monte and I made a long weekend trip to Seattle to visit family – old and new. We have 3 new great-niece/nephew babies to meet, and my brother had a big birthday to celebrate.

The last time we were up in the Pacific Northwest together was 5 years ago. The last time all my siblings were together was over 4 years ago. So I was really ready for this trip 🙂

We visited the Museum of Flight just north of the SEA airport. This was my first visit, and I would recommend it. It has one of the largest collections of aircraft on display. We flew a flight simulator and did a barrel roll. We walked through a Concord, a 747, a 787, and one of the Air Force One planes from the Kennedy, Nixon, and LBJ administrations. The space flight exhibits are great, too.

After the museum, we drove to southern Washington to meet Byron, Rachel and Matthew’s 4-month-old baby, and my great-nephew.

The next day, we booked it back up to North Seattle and stayed with Patrick and Nga. We had a nice visit and a great dinner. And as a bonus, both their boys were home.

Sunset over the Olympic Mountains, the beautiful view from Pat & Nga’s home

Saturday morning we made it to Noreen and David’s. We took the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry, popped into Poulsbo for coffee and a walk along the waterfront.

Saturday evening we had a party for Brian. It was wonderful to have all 5 of us siblings together again after way too long. We laughed way too much and enjoyed our time together.

On Sunday we walked around the woods in the morning, and watched the Seahawks game in the afternoon. Jared and Cass came over with their new twins, Nora and Viola, my great-nieces. I got to hold each of them for a while. They are tiny and precious.

The next day it was time to head back to the furnace that Austin is. On the way to the airport, we stopped in Port Orchard to see Fran’s kids, Rebecca and Aaron. They are 20 and 18 and each has a good plan for their futures. It was great to see them.

The only faces I didn’t get to see were Neil, who is working 12-hour days, 7 days a week for the next few months, and Julie, who is in Denver. But other than missing them, it was a perfect visit. ❤

The next best thing.

I visited my family in Washington State last month. I had planned to get my first ever amazing pics of the tulip fields in Skagit Valley, but it was a tad too early.

Here’s a lovely field of daffodils in bloom instead. 💛

Happy Earth Day!

On the move.

This weekend brought Julie back to Texas! 🙂 But, it was only to pack up the contents of a couple of storage units into a U-Haul and head right back to Washington. 😦 She has a great new job up there.

Though I’m sad to see her go, I think Texas has a way of calling one back, after a while, so I’ll keep hoping. Bon voyage! I pray that Mother Nature takes it easy on them over the next few days as they make their way through the mountains.

Family time.

I enjoyed my extended weekend in Seattle. The wedding was the reason for the visit, but we used it as an excuse for multiple family gatherings. Noreen and David hosted rehearsal dinner on Friday, a post-wedding-reception evening party on Saturday, and a backyard BBQ with yard games on Sunday. They allowed for good visits with all my siblings, nieces and nephews, and a grand-nephew in one place – a first in a very long time.

The weather gods didn’t smile on the outdoor wedding, as it rained all afternoon. But, it was a truly lovely service and reception. God bless Neil and Miranda’s marriage. ❤️

When Memorial Day finally came along, we drove up to Paradise on Mount Rainier. It has been over 40 years since I last visited the park. We hiked a bit up the mountain, in the snow, and took in the views. It wasn’t a crystal clear, blue sky day, but it was majestic, nonetheless.

Mount Rainier National Park lodge at Longmire…

Just a pretty little waterfall…

And a prettier, bigger waterfall…

The view from the hike above Paradise, at about 6000’…

Now, I’m on my way back home. My flight flew past the north face of Mount Saint Helens. You can see the blast damage to the cone on this side of the volcano from its 1980 eruption.

Mountain peek.

I flew to Seattle for my nephew’s wedding this weekend. I was looking forward to the stunning fly-by of Mount Rainier, but the clouds were high and thick and did not afford the usual view. I snapped a picture as we flew over the 14410′ high peak at about 17000′. Can you spot the top of the peak?

Island hop.

The next day, we drove to Colleen’s house. She cooked pulled pork, from scratch, and it made for delicious sandwiches. We visited with her, Lee and Jake all night. The next morning we headed to Whidbey Island for a day trip.

The smoke and haze was very bad. But it’s a beautiful destination.

Whidbey Island Distillery makes a nice whiskey, and delicious berry liqueurs. They use a continuous still, homemade – see the copper pipes and tubes in the second picture below.

I walked down to the beach to get a view of the Deception Pass bridge…We popped into the Admiralty Point lighthouse…Then we hopped the ferry to Port Townsend…VERY smoky. This is a shot from the deck of the ferry of the sun setting over the beautiful Olympic Mountains. 🙂

Boats, et cetera.

We toured the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain tall ships with Francine, Rebecca & Aaron. It was fun to learn they would be here during our visit.

The next day we ambled through some antique shops, and then took the ferry to Seattle to visit Pat, Nga and the boys.

A photo of the Southworth ferry (manipulated with the Prisma app)…

They have a beautiful new home in seattle with a view of the Sound. Another pic, manipulated with the Prisma app that I so enjoy playing with.

Will helped Monte hang their dartboard. And the throwing ensued.

We walked around the neighborhood garage sales, and all the beautiful yards.

Then blackberry picking…

Then we made a wonderful seafood dinner. I sautéed some Manila clams. They were eaten so fast I only got an after photo…

Pat grilled salmon and it was perfect!

Nick and I put together Lego dinosaurs after dinner – well, I helped. 🙂

Hazy dayz.

We made an overdue visit to the Pacific Northwest to visit family and friends.

Fires are burning all across the area, and in Canada as well, so smoke was thick everywhere.

A drive up into the Olympic mountains made for a lovely day trip, but you could not really see the mountains, even standing amongst them at 5700′.

Port Townsend is one of my favorite places. I just can’t visit there too many times. We walked through the Maritime Center and watched shipwrights work, and walked the docks where the Wooden Boat Show will be in a few weeks.

The next day we took the ferry to Seattle and spent the day exploring the waterfront, Pike Place Market, and Seattle Center.

The Seattle skyline was barely visible due to the smoke

The regular stop at Pike Place Market for fresh seafood

The tall ship Lady Washington in Sinclair Inlet on a sunset cruise

The Boys’ boat.

We stopped at the University of Washington rowing center. The rowing 8 shell that won the gold medal in the 1936 Olympics, the Husky Clipper, is on display there. A book was written about it, called The Boys in the Boat.

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Then on to Pike Place Market for the obligatory walk-through.

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Different points of view.

Layers of Cascades foothills with Mount Baker off in the distance, center.Mount Rainier flyby as seen through a window waaaay over on the other side of the plane. And from my window a few minutes later. Looking up through a glass sidewalk in Pioneer Square from the Seattle Underground.

Fair city.

My seat for my flight home on Saturday was on the side of the plane that usually faces away from Mt. Rainier. So, I was happy to hear the pilot announce that we would be taking off to the west and flying around the city, due to the fact that Seafair was underway and the airshow that accompanies it over Lake Washington. It turned out that I was treated to the most beautiful views on the way up after all. Thanks, Mom. 🙂

This shot is taken looking to the south east. Queen Anne Hill is the treed hill to the lower left. Lake Union is above it. Downtown is in the center of the picture. Elliott Bay is to the lower right. Above downtown is the south end of Lake Washington, and the wispy loops of smoke to the right of the I-90 floating bridge are from planes in the airshow flying over the hydroplane race course. And, of course, Mt Rainier watching over it all – Mount Adams poking out to its right. If you look closely you can find the Space Needle, Seattle Center, CenturyLink Stadium and Safeco Field, Boeing Field, Elliott Bay Marina, among other landmarks.

I love this town.

Seventh inning stretch.

We hopped on the ferry tonight to watch the Mariners play the Angels. A group of ten of us sat together in King Felix’s court, rooting for the Ms. As the sun was setting I popped up to the 300 level to get a peek over the Port of Seattle towards Elliot Bay. The haze is still thick. The sun was like a pink ball glowing in the sky.

And we won!

Heavenly views.

Yesterday I returned home from several weeks in Seattle. I had my nose glued to the window, as usual. It is so easy to take for granted that we have the luxury of being able to view our planet from the vantage point of the angels.

A front was moving in from the east, bringing a late dump of snow in the Cascades. This is a shot of it moving in over Southcenter, looking east.

The cloud deck must have been about 15000 ft. Mount Rainier was buried in clouds. Can you find it? This shot is looking east, flying south. If you look closely in the bottom left of the frame, you can see another jet flying below us.

Then we turned east, flying below Mount Rainier. Little Tahoma peak stuck its head out, right of the summit.The mighty Columbia River brings life to eastern Washington. Irrigation circles dot the landscape near Paterson.Cotton ball clouds somewhere over Texas.

Back on the ground. Glad to be home.

And poof … 5 years gone by.

Sunday was the 5 year blogoversary for sheila365! I meant to draft a post ahead of time, and post it bright and early on March 8th. But I just looked at the calendar and time has snuck by on me once again.

That’s ok. In these 5 years sheila365 has evolved, and I think I have a bit, too. My blog started as a post-a-day 365 project during the first year or two, which had me snapping photos during the day to make sure I had something that I judged “share-worthy;” and now it has become more of a leisurely, post-every-week-or-so project, which I have to say has been much easier, though less artistic in terms of trying to capture beautiful photos, but rather just moments from my day that struck me as special or interesting in one way or another.

So happy blogoversary to me! 🙂 I thought I’d go back through my posts from year 5 and pick a photo from one post from each month that especially makes me smile. I have to say it was very hard to pick just one picutre from each month.

March 2014: Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. A visit to the walled El Morro. Beautiful Caribbean views.

April 2014: British Virgin Islands sailing trip – this was taken while snorkeling off Cooper Island.

Turtle dude surfacing - 2 — Turtle dude surfacing – 2

May 2014 – A trip home to Seattle. One of several last year. It is a beautiful, special place for me.

June 2014 – Back in Austin for fun on the lake with some of my crazy sailor friends.

July 2014 – An amazing trip to Panama City Beach to celebrate a very special anniversary with a very special family.

August 2014 – A roadtrip to the Texas Gulf Coast. One of my favorite places to relax.

September 2014 – A lovely anniversary trip through the Texas Wine Country.

October 2014 – A fun girls’ trip to Washington, D.C. Lots of laughs, lots of wine, and lots of walking. 🙂

The residential streets are lined with historic townhouses.

November 2014 – An oh so special birthday.

December 2014 – Family visiting means showing off Austin and the Hill Country. Never gets old.

January 2015 – Hiking as many trails as I can before I had to go back to work after taking a few months off.

February 2015 – Yep, more tulips.

What an amazing lap around the sun!

Thanks for coming along for the ride. 🙂

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