What do backpacking and Van Gogh have in common? 2 things: they both involve nature and we explored both last weekend!
First up: backpacking!
Scott's been keen on backpacking for a while. He went bike camping for his birthday and has been testing out his new gear with Nora in our backyard. He finally convinced her to go last weekend on a backpacking trip with him. We researched quite a bit on where to go - he wanted to hike to lake so they can try fishing, not require reservations, and not be so far away that Nora would tire out with a big pack on her back.
We finally settled on Lake Talapus and Lake Olallie in the nearby Snoqualamie Mountains. They are two lakes on the same trail and both allow for camping along the shore. Lake Talapus is closer and only 1.5 miles out so was rated as a good place for families and beginning backpackers. True to the description, it was a well maintained trail that had just enough incline to feel like a nice hike and we saw a lot of backpackers (including kids) on the trail with us! Scott at first wanted to push ahead to Lake Olallie (another mile away) but we found a good secluded spot and the kids wanted to just hang out and eat lunch so we made that the camping spot!
Scott set up the tent, we ate lunch, fished for a bit, and then Evie and I trekked back out to the car to drive back to the comforts of home. Evie and I went and had a lovely meal out (Pho for me, Banh Mi for her) and then watched an episode of Downtown Abbey before going to bed. Meanwhile, Nora and Scott stayed behind to rough it in the wilderness and from what we heard, they had a grand ole time! When we left, the weather was pretty nice (sunny but windy) and Scott helped her build a fort out of sticks just like she sees on the Outdoor Boys youtube channel! We also let Nora pick out a MRE treat when we stopped by REI earlier and she choose blueberry peach cobbler so between that and hot cocoa, she was pretty happy that evening.
The clouds rolled it and it rained all night and into the morning. It was drizzly here in Issaquah but apparently Scott and Nora got thunder and lighting all night long, and then had to pack up the next morning in the rain too! We picked them up from the trail head around 11:30am, and little Norabear was very teary eyed because she was upset with being wet and dirty. Scott said she had a great attitude the whole trip until the last 15 minutes when it just got too much. Poor little lamb! She stripped off her wet clothes in the car, warmed up and then was pretty cheerful and proud of herself and talking about doing it again so she must've enjoyed herself!
That pack is as big as Nora!
Lake Talapus is part of the Alpine Lakes wilderness
Eating strawberries while looking out at Lake Talapus
Tiny patch of snow still there!
Looking up from the lake towards the camping site.
Fishing! Too bad they didn't catch anything.
Me and Evie hiking back to the car.
When Evie and I were brainstorming things to do while Nora and Dad were away, we both liked the idea of going to the Van Gogh Interactive Exhibit in Seattle. The timing didn't work out though, so we held off and instead went WITH Scott and Nora after they came back from their trip and showered and changed.
The exhibit is a traveling show housed in a warehouse in SODO and we all came away pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed ourselves! I think the folks who gave it mixed reviews either paid too much (there didn't seem to be any added benefit to pay for the VIP tour) or went when it first opened and it was busy. For us, it was the equivalent to the cost of a pricey museum ($28) but we spent about 1.5-2 hrs there and it did show us Van Gogh's works in a "different" way. Scott challenged the girls to think about which art was better - the ACTUAL paintings, or the digital and interactive display OF the paintings? There were 3-D rooms to pretend you were in the painting, there were digital versions of the artwork, and then the main exhibit was this room where the walls were a floor-to-ceiling gigantic digital screen that brought the paintings to life and set to music and commentary. You can check out the video to see what I mean.
All-in-all, what with the hike, camping and art gallery trip, we all said that it was a fabu weekend!
Nora is in Van Gogh's room!
Watching the digital exhibit
Nora said that some parts of it made her want to cry. That's pretty moving!
Goodness, it's already 2025! It's been a really long time since we posted! We had a very lazy new year. We flew back from LA on the evening of the 31st so spent the last remaining hours of 2024 cozying up on the couch and then fell asleep before it even hit midnight! On New Years day, we slept in, cleaned up the house and then did a quick hike the next day. All in all, a good start to the year! Nora's new blanket hoodie. Cold and muddy trails. We're not in LA anymore! We hiked the Primrose trail that follows Coal Creek.
We had made plans many moons ago to take the MLK weekend for a short getaway to the Leavenworth area. We've been a few times in years past and it's always a fun place to visit especially in the wintertime. But this year, with COVID and all, we weren't sure whether we wanted to go but I'm super happy that we went. We had a blast and was able to keep safe by keeping to ourselves! First up, we left bright and early so that we can pack in a snowshoe/winter hike on the drive over. The last time we went , we had stopped for some snowshoeing on the way back and it was epic! Unfortunately, this time the snow was old and not nearly as soft and fluffy so while it was a nice diversion with some pretty views, it wasn't as great as we had hoped. The fun part though, was that we brought our camping stove with us so we did some tailgating in the parking lot and had a fancy ramen meal for lunch. It was super nice to warm the belly with the yummy noodles and broth! That evening, we ...
We got back from our week long cruise to Alaska and ready to go again! We all had a great time but really the best part of our trip was all the family time we spent with my parents, Way and her family and Kin and his family. I think the last time we all vacationed together was back in 2015 when we all went to Kauai . It was so long ago that not all the littles had even been born yet! So yes, a big family vacay was long overdue. The kiddos loooooved spending time with their cousins, whether it was playing bingo or ping pong, or biking and hiking or just hanging out at meal time or playing mahjong. It helped that since we were all on vacation mode, we didn't push (too hard) on eating healthy or limiting screentime. It also really helped that the service on the ship was so accommodating to the kids and (pretty good) pizza, ice cream and drinks were available at all hours. I was happy with the ship we picked too. The Quantum of the Seas is nearly 20 years old (first sailed in 2014) bu...
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