Northwest to Midwest Part 2: Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is amazing.  Seriously.  It is an American treasure, and it is now my dream to take the boys back over the years as they get bigger and can do more and more.

From Bozeman, we drove east to Gardiner, MT to use the park's North entrance.  The drive down to Gardiner alone is beautiful (that's why the area is called Paradise Valley, Annie!) and Gardiner was our destination for the evening.

There's a moose in the field.

The next day we (well, D and M, I can't see anything without my glasses!) woke up to see elk and antelope relaxing in the hills across from our hotel.  We had a quick breakfast in the hotel and then jumped in the car to explore as much of Yellowstone as one can with a baby and toddler in tow (i.e., not much).

The weather was crazy: on and off rain, then snow, and then a break of sunshine for our lunchtime picnic.  We didn't get to see much, but we did see Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Falls and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  As we were driving, the rangers had to close the road ahead of us due to snow, so we had to backtrack and couldn't tour the northeastern section of the park like we planned.   I would love to go back to explore the Lamar Valley and the Northeast area, as well as Yellowstone Lake and Old Faithful in summer (I've seen it in winter.).

We had a picnic lunch in the Mammoth Hot Springs area where an elk herd kept us company.  Strangely enough though, two Chinese tourists came over and started taking photos of baby J - not the elk.  He is a Ridiculously Happy Baby, but it was a little bizarre!

After spending the full day in and out of the car, we had a delicious barbecue dinner back in Gardiner.  The next morning, we hopped back on the highway with another national park as our destination!

The Beach

Well, we are back home from a wonderful trip home to Florida.  We were lucky enough to spend a week at St. Augustine Beach, and a few extra days with my parents.

It was a wonderful trip: mornings playing in the sand, surfing, boogie boarding and breaking up fights over the little toy boat. =)

M took wonderful, long naps, so I got to read The Fault in Our Stars and The Bell Jar.  I enjoyed them both, but was really glad to have finally read The Bell Jar.  I thought it was a fascinating, and sad, book.  Have you read it?  I would love to hear what anybody else thought of it.

Our running trail in my hometown.

I got 5 runs in total: stroller runs in the state park, a solo run on AIA, and a couple runs on the beach.  There is nothing better than an early morning run on the beach!

M with his partner in crime.

The best part was getting to see M enjoy playing with his cousins - he really enjoyed himself, and it made me so thankful for the gifts of this special time together.  As soon as he woke up, he was basically asking to wake up the cousins so he could play with them.

What beach trip is complete without mini-golf?

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a wonderful beach vacation!

One Day in Seattle (Is Just Not Enough!)

Hello and Happy June!

We drove to Seattle over the weekend to meet up with an old, dear college friend who was vacationing from Philly.  The trip was too short but we had a wonderful time.

The drive across Washington is beautiful -- there is not much commercial development but the terrain changes from high desert to beautiful green, striking mountains as we approached the Cascades.

The Columbia River in central Washington

We stayed at the Westin downtown (Priceline'd it!) which is just a short walk from the Pike Place Market, the Seattle Center and lots of shopping.

We met our friends for breakfast on Saturday at Bacco Cafe.  Then we walked around the Market, saw the fish-throwing guys and the most beautiful peonies I have ever seen in my life!  They were so big and full and gorgeous.  I'm still mad at myself for not buying any.

Pike Place Market

We took the monorail over to the Seattle Center to visit the Children's Museum.  Our friends have a daughter who is 2 weeks younger than M, so they were hilarious/adorable to watch.  M loved all the water features and completely soaked himself.  He also enjoyed driving a pretend taxi and playing with balls.  The Children's Museum was really nice and not terribly crowded for a Saturday.  It's a nice place to visit if you need to be inside and let the kids out of the stroller.

My happy little taxi driver

After lunch, we walked back to our hotels to get the cars and drive out to Carkeek Park.  It was packed!!  Whew.  The kids played on the playground and threw rocks into the water.  It was pretty neat to see all of the cruise ships going north to Alaska.  And the park had a bridge which goes over a train track, so the kids loved watching the trains pass by and waving to the conductor.

Toes in the Puget Sound

We had an awesome dinner at the Bick's Broadway Grill, close to the park, which is set in an old house and had a really nice atmosphere.  From there we had to say goodbye to our friends so they could catch their red-eye back to the East Coast. =(

On our drive home, we stopped by Kerry Park for some sunset photos of downtown.  The park has some epic views, and Saturday was perfect because the sky was nearly cloudless.  Plus, it was prom night (!) and the park was filled with highschoolers taking prom pictures - you know I love seeing some prom fashion! 

Seattle skyline from Kerry Park

We didn't do much on Sunday before hitting the road - we had breakfast at the Pike Place Grill and went to Ikea.  At breakfast, M looked over at me with a big smile on his face and said "Mommy big nose."  Well, gee thanks, lovey! =)  Haha.

5 Stars for the Pike Place Grill because they gave M a balloon, which we are still playing with today!

D kept remarking "wow, this really is a big city!" which made me laugh.  There was a lot of traffic and the houses seem to all be practically right on top of one another, but it is a beautiful area, and we really only saw a little bit of the downtown area.  I hope we'll have more trips to the area in our future because there's a lot over there that I want to explore!

The Cascades on our drive home

Thanks Seattle and thanks to the Q family for a wonderful weekend!

The picturesque Puget Sound

48 Hours in Monterey, CA

Put simply, 48 hours is NOT enough time here!

This was our second trip to Monterey - my sister used to lived there and we visited her several years ago.  This time we went for a short trip to attend the wedding of D's cousin.

At Pt. Lobos State Park

I love the Monterey area and think it is beautiful, next time we go I want to stay in one of those cute cozy B&B's and run this race! =)

The Father of the Bride rented this house - doesn't it have an epic view?  And I loved the awesome couch too!

This time we stayed at the Asilomar Conference Grounds.  It is a beautiful area very close to the coast, but the showers don't drain well, so you might end up taking a shower and a bath at the same time.  (Or, as our toddler says, a "showie.")  The wedding and reception were at the Monterey Museum of Art.  It was very pretty and had lovely flowers on the rear patio, but we didn't get to stay too long because poor M fell apart due to no nap (the downside of taking such a quick trip and being in a new place!).

The wedding was on Friday and it was cloudy and cold.  But check out our gorgeous weather on Saturday!!

 We had a couple of delicious breakfasts, and then headed back to San Jose to catch our flight home.

A delicious bfast spot.  When in California, must eat all the avocado!

 If you have kids and ever find yourself in the Seattle airport, it has a fantastic play place for kids!  It has some great play structures to burn off steam and M loved, loved, loved it.

Going to build this as a playroom in our next house. =)

 Needless to say, we didn't get to see all of the great things that Monterey has to offer, but I hope we will be back!

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Busy, Busy

Hi!

We have been busy, busy, just like you no doubt, but I'm popping in for just a minute before my little one wakes up from his nap. 

I just got back from a quick trip to New Orleans to cheer on my youngest sister IN HER FIRST HALF IRONMAN!!! Woohoo! 

IronJo!

She did great and it was a ton of fun to watch and support her.  It was my first trip away from Michael, but I somehow still managed to end up with vomit on me (the man seated in front of me threw up on our flight home into Spokane, lucky me!)

In other news, my husband went to China, we threw a little birthday party for M, I'm reading some interesting stuff, and we're headed back to California soon.  Pics will be up shortly, have a blessed Holy Week!

San Diego: Seven Days in the Sun

M and I went to sunny San Diego for a week to visit my sister and her family.  My parents flew out from Florida, so we got to see them too!

First stop: In n Out Burger.  M loved it and ate all his food, which rarely happens!  

On our first full day, we took the kids to this great kids place called Kid Venture.

A view of one of the play areas in Kid Venture.

  It is a big open place with lots of different play houses, including this giant fire truck with a ball pit inside and a slide.

Of course, my guy loved pushing the trucks around the best.

After picking my parents up from the airport, we walked around Seaport Village in downtown SD, rode the carousel and ate dinner overlooking the gorgeous bay.  It was a beautiful afternoon!

Walking Seaport Village - that is the Coronado Bridge in the background

Then, the stomach bug hit.  Ugh, I got it first, then my nephew, and then my mom.  That really slowed us down, but thankfully everyone was healthy by the time we had to fly home.

We did make it to the San Diego Zoo, Coronado and took a tour of my brother in law's ship, amidst all of our sickness.  Remember Andy Baldwin, from the Bachelor, "an officer, and a gentleman?"  Well, he is the doc on my BIL's ship.  So I am only two degrees of separation from the Bachelor!  (Which I loved to watch in college!)

Toddlers on a ship = disaster waiting to happen.  I was constantly saying "No Touch ANYTHING!"

My parents left on Monday, but M and I got to stay until Wednesday.  So my sister and I took the boys up to Point Loma, which was beautiful, but all the toddlers wanted to do was throw rocks and try to jump off of the cliffs (yikes!).  

Taking in the view from Point Loma

It was a great week despite the bug.  We got to enjoy some warm sunshine and M got lots of good playtime with his cousin.  He pitched a total fit on our last (two hour, completely full) flight home to Spokane.  Thank goodness it was his very last flight as a "lap child."  The Southwest attendants were so kind and so were the people sitting around us.  Naturally, he fell asleep in my arms on the descent and didn't wake up until we loaded him into D's truck.  Imagine his shock, surprise and happiness to see his Daddy staring at him!  Haha - best friends reunited! 

Thanks to my sister and her family for hosting us for the week, we love you guys!

Closing with a few more pics:

Gorgeous Bird of Paradise in my sister's backyard

Giraffes at the San Diego Zoo

Loving Silver Strand Beach - not too far from where D put in hours and hours of hard work!

 

A Quick Trip to Tampa

M & I went to Florida last weekend to attend my Aunt's Surprise 70th Birthday party.  It was a lot of fun, she was surprised and didn't have a heart attack from the surprise, so it was a success.

My dancer man, dancing away to my cousins' bluegrass band!

It was easier for us to fly into Jacksonville, so we did that and drove down to Tampa with my parents.  Plus, we got to spend a few extra days with Grammie D and Granddad (M calls him "Dad-Dad") so it worked out well for all.  It was about a 3 hour drive from my parents' house to Tampa, driving through central Florida.  There's not much to see en route but it is an easy drive.

We spent the weekend mostly at our hotel and at my aunt's house, which is in a nice neighborhood not too far from the airport and close to everything.  I hadn't been there in 10 years, and it is funny how everything seemed much smaller than how I had remembered it.

When we would visit them as kids, her neighborhood was the big, fancy neighborhood with big houses, a huge golf course and lots of sun because there were hardly any trees.  As silly as it sounds, I loved that they had sidewalks!  We didn't have a sidewalk along the dirt road that led to our house in the country - it's the little things!  =)  But now the trees were all bigger, and the homes seemed normal sized, and the golf course even looked a little worn (or "well-loved" maybe?)!  It is still a beautiful neighborhood - just a matured neighborhood now I guess!

M LOVED riding in my Uncle's RV - the truck/motor vehicle obsession continues!

My sister and I actually lived in Tampa with my aunt in 2004.  I had an internship with a federal judge and my sister was working in the city too.  I loved running in her neighborhood (the sidewalks!)  and I even did a triathlon downtown that was a lot of fun.  There are some really beautiful neighborhoods in Tampa and I loved that you could see the water just about everywhere - I remember sitting in our office in the courthouse and you could see the bay out the windows - beautiful!

I still think Tampa is a beautiful city.  It was 80 degrees when we were there - yes, in January!!  So that is definitely one downside.  It is plenty hot, but lovely with lots of things to do - professional sports, arts & culture stuff, shopping, and the beach is close by.  I think it would be fun to go back one day and do one of the Gasperilla races - we did it many years ago, so I'd love to do it again sometime!

One funny note about our trip - we had the same flight crew all the way from Spokane to Jax - the flight attendants were fantastic (as they nearly always are on Southwest!).  They were all men (calling themselves the "male revue") and they made such a nice effort to help me entertain M on the 2 hour first flight, and then 3 hour second flight!  One of the flight attendants even carried him off the plan and through the terminal for me!  They were super nice.  We love flying Southwest, and no, they are not paying me to say that!

Have a great week, and happy MLK day!