New Office

Two weeks ago my small, 11-person company moved from our Sodo location (south of downtown and the football and baseball stadiums) to the center of downtown. We are just a few blocks from the famous Pike Place Market.

Pike Place Market - where they throw fish at you

There are a lot of reasons that this move is excellent.

We moved from an old warehouse space with no air conditioning into a space that actually looks like an office. We have AC, carpet, real doors (not ones that can only slide open because they rely on a heavy weight/pulley system hanging from the side of them), literally hundreds of lunch options (we used to have 3)....the list could go on and on.

My favorite, though, is that I now have a window! Formerly, I sat in what I had dubbed the "Business Bunker" - I had no natural light and couldn't even glimpse a window. Now, my desk is AT a window. And my view isn't too shabby either.

My new view - You can even see the Space Needle!!

I'm also very excited about my proximity to the market, where I can buy fresh seafood, vegetables, flavored pastas, flowers, and all the Seattle t-shirts I want!

On the pig at the center of the Market

Cory's Folks in the Rain Forest

The weekend after we came back from Puerto Vallarta, Cory's parents came to town to visit the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park. The park is situated on the west coast of Washington (1 ferry ride and about 3 hours west of Seattle) and gets 12-14 feet of rain a year.

The family in the Hall of Mosses - Hoh Rain Forest

Cliff measuring the tallest trees this side of the Redwoods - up to 300' tall!

More mosses

It's one of the rainiest places in the U.S., which is why Stephanie Meyer chose to set the Twilight series in the town of Forks, WA - just outside the rain forest.

Team Edward - Go vampires!

Cory's Mom has wanted to visit the rain forest for years. We spent the night in Forks, which is doing all it can to take advantage of its Twilight-related fame - you can hike through the woods looking for vampires and werewolves....

Instead, we decided to end our visit with a trip to the beach in La Push. We had a wonderful day and enjoyed the rocky beach, funky driftwood, and beautiful scenery.

Arlene frolicking in the driftwood

North-facing view from La Push beach

Puerto Vallarta - Monday Pirate Adventure

This post needs few words. Cory took me on a pirate adventure dinner cruise. Fun times and free drinks were had by all.

Pirate Ship in the distance

Pirate ship up close - where all the pirate fights take place

Posing at the helm with Puerto Vallarta in the background

Downstairs for dinner

Stay out of pirate jail!

I missed photos of the pirate fight and fireworks, but I'm sure you can imagine what it entailed. And as with any Mexican boat ride, the trip back was a dance party/booze cruise with a ton of energy!

Puerto Vallarta - Sunday Scuba

The fun didn't stop with Cory's proposal. The next morning we had to be up early to go scuba diving at Las Marietas Islands. We got on a large boat with about 50 other people and headed away from shore for an hour and a half to get to this Biosphere Reserve. The Mexican government has made it illegal to hunt or fish on these islands, so there's an abundance of wildlife both under the water and on the beaches.

Ready to dive!

We wanted to go on two dives, but they only had enough air to take us on one. The visibility wasn't great, but we still saw some neat stuff: a moray eel, a ton of puffer/balloon fish, and a sting ray were the highlights. Cory just got certified and it had been three years since my last dive, so just getting under the water for 30 minutes was fun too.

The morning was cloudy, but the sun came out during our dive to warm us up.

Post-dive happiness

Only a few of us on the boat were actually diving. Others came on the tour to kayak or snorkel. Once everyone completed their activity, we had the option to go to a beach on one of the islands to hang out. It was beautiful. Blue-footed Boobies, a bird commonly found on the Galapagos Islands, were everywhere.

Blue-footed Booby - My Mom is jealous as she loves these birds

The beach was beautiful and the large rocky islands made for an impressive backdrop. As did Cory.

My attempt at an artistic shot

Cory - God of the Sea

After our excursion to the beach we had lunch on the boat. Then the party started. Apparently the ride home turns into an open bar/dance party, which was fine with me. It turned out to be really fun. I've decided we need to try to get Carlos, the "entertainment director" for this boat, to DJ at the wedding. He did a fantastic job of getting everyone to have a good time.

Carlos leading his crew in a dance number

We also saw a mother and baby whale swim right up to the boat. Apparently whale watching season is over and these two humpbacks were making their way north really late.

Baby humpback whale twirling under water

A very small section of Mama Whale

By the time we were nearing Puerto Vallarta again the photographer had already convinced us to buy the pictures he took on our scuba/boating excursion. Hey, it is our engagement trip and all... So we had him take a few more pictures for good measure.

Sepia makes everything seem extra special