Option Number One Comes to Town!

I have been blessed with great friends, and one of them is Alexis, my option number one/ex-co-worker/old roommate/adventure companion/best friend. Alexis came into town the 4th of July weekend and we had a marvelous time! I am so grateful she came to visit so that we could play and enjoy summer up here!

Adventure 1: Pike's Place and Museum of Flight:
Something we think everyone should do is go to Pike's Place Market. Yes, it is full of tourists and people and there are other farmer's markets, but we love this one! Must do? Gum wall, smell the flowers, taste the jams, buy a cookie, and head on down to Ivar's. Alexis was game with all these things, and even ordered fish from Ivar's...which is pretty impressive for someone who says they don't like it. Sidenote: I am shocked with how crazy the whole waterfront is in the summer! It's just as fun in the fall/winter/spring!

we came prepared with gum!

at the market

Afterwards, we came back to our apartment to let Dani pee and rest, and then we drove down to the Museum of Flight, since it was the first Thursday and was free! We were glad we went when it was free. It wasn't up my alley, but it was great to look at all the planes! The annoying thing about it? They are mostly models of famous planes, and not the real thing. Boo.

some of my favorite people

we all took turns holding the world

Adventure #2: Hike to Lake Twentytwo:

This is a hike everyone we talk to about hiking raves about and it did not disappoint! It was about 6 miles round trip and very beautiful! Most of it is through an old growth forest and has tons of water along the side so Dani loved prancing in the puddles! We got to an opening and found huckleberries and could see out for miles! SO gorgeous! We made it to the top pretty easily and were hit with the gorgeous view of a beautiful lake on the backside of the dramatic Mt. Pilchuck that had waterfalls cascading down! Oh my. It was beautiful and we all loved it! We ended our day with fajitas and a rooftop view of Seattle's fireworks!

Washington really takes care of its trails

the view when it opened up

Lake Twentytwo

breathtakingly beautiful!

Adventure #3: Smith Tower Observatory, Alki Beach, & Seattle Underground Tour:

The weekend Alexis came into town was the Smith Tower's anniversary, so we decided to wait in line and go to the top for 25 cents each (rather than $15). It was amazing to see the city from up there, and to read about some of Seattle's past. We also enjoyed the complimentary andes mints they kept handing out and the old elevator ride up and down! Props to Alexis for going with the flow and letting us try something different!

the beautiful view!

Ian and I

It was such a beautiful morning that we decided to head over to Alki Beach and spend some time in the sun and sand. The weather thought otherwise, and when we finally found a parking spot, it started raining. Actually raining. Not the Seattle mist that normally happens. We found a place to eat and enjoyed the view from the window. Afterwards, we walked along the water for just a bit and we decided to call it. No wonder Seattle gets a bad weather rap...

To end our day, we went on the Seattle Underground Tour! Ian and I have done this before, but we loved it so much we did it again with Alexis. This time the group was so big they split us up into 3 smaller groups. It was great to learn different things the 2nd time. We learned more about how they built the street level today which was quite amazing! I love learning more about this great city and hopefully Alexis did too!

Adventure #4: Kayaking with Orcas in the San Juans!

This is by far my favorite thing we did with Alexis. I had seen that there were places that you could kayak with wild orcas when Ian and I decided to move out here, and Alexis was just the person to come along with us! We woke up at 3:30 Sunday morning to make it to the Anacortes ferry in time...to find out we were an hour early and there were no crowds. Once we got on the ferry we loved going past all the different islands! San Juan Island was charming and cute and we wandered around it for a while and decided to go to a breakfast place that had good ratings on Yelp. We loved it and got there just before the rush! Afterwards we checked out the boats and headed over to the kayaking office! We got in the massive van, rode across the island and met up with the tour guide we would have at a dock on the west side of the island. Thankfully it worked out that we were in a group just us and not stuck with the larger group of inexperienced kayakers. Win. We headed out into the Strait and saw lots of moon jellyfish! Our tour guide said we could touch them, so we did. They felt like the inside of a cow eye (thank you, anatomy class). We had been paddling for maybe 20 minutes when the first sighting happened, pretty far from us. All the boats turned off their engines and the water was calm and quiet, except when orca fins would pop up and one even sprouted water for us! They move pretty fast so soon they were out of sight and we kept paddling around the island. We got to a kelp bed where harbor seals like to relax so we floated in it for a while and watched 3 seals watching us. So fantastic. On the way back, there was a 2nd whale sighting. There were more the second time and they stayed closer so we watched them a but longer. It was fantastic and magical!! To top it off, we saw two bald eagles as well! I highly recommend kayaking with Crystal Seas! It was so fun! Unfortunately we had to head back in, so we got back to the ferry and slept on the way home. Jaron met us and we enjoyed a lovely dinner reminiscing about USU and catching up.

Alexis the adventurer

watching for orcas

we love kayaking and orcas!

ultimate gear!

Adventure #5: UW & Discovery Park:

Monday was Alexis' last day visiting so we of course tried to do even more! We played with Dani and then headed over to UW so Alexis could see Hogwarts' Great Hall and a mysterious tree we like to bring awareness to. Afterwards, we grabbed lunch at the Indian place down the street, met Jaron, and we headed to Discovery Park. We wanted to see the lighthouse but ran out of time and relaxed on a beach instead. We chose the right place too because there were two harbor seals here that kept popping up and they were great to watch for a bit! Then we had to drop Alexis off at the airport. Once again, I am extremely grateful for friends who keep in touch and visit when they can I really got lucky and it was a blast to have Alexis here!!

Alexis made it to Hogwarts!

Alexis and Jaron at Discovery Park