Ski to Sea

Over Memorial Day weekend I participated in the Ski to Sea, a 100-mile, 7-leg race in Bellingham, WA. We had a team of 8 ladies and I was responsible for the road bike section. The race breaks down like this:

• 4 mile Cross Country Ski
• 2.5 mile Hike up Mt. Baker and Downhill Ski
• 8 mile Downhill Run
• 42 mile Road Bike (not downhill)
• 18.5 mile Canoe
• 20 mile Mountain Bike
• 5 mile Kayak

2011 was the 100th anniversary of the race, so they lengthened it to be 100 miles. Not that I've ever done this race before, but my leg was one that they lengthened. Since I had done the Seattle to Portland bike ride last summer - a 200 mile, 2 day ride - and since I've been biking to work fairly regularly, I figured biking 42 miles would be one of the easier legs. I would soon find out that was not true.

Even though my runner wouldn't reach me until 10:30 or so, I had to get up at 5am to head up the mountain and get dropped off in the bike staging area. I brought a sleeping bag and took a nap.

Mt. Baker from my nap spot - luckily the weather was nice

The bike turned out to be harder than I expected and I was pretty pooped by the end of the ride. The highlight was that about 2 miles from the finish, a group of people were BBQing and offering bikers free beer and hot dogs. They had an unofficial station set up where bikers could grab a beer as they were riding by. I didn't partake, but the guy in front of me did and he got some big cheers. Seeing the beer gave me the burst of energy I needed to finish the race and get one for myself.

It was a fun weekend and even though I was one of the slower bikers in the race, I felt pretty good for completing my leg and living to tell about it.

The "Betty Rockers" - Girl Power!

Palm Springs

In mid-May, my friends from high school and I went to Palm Springs - well, technically Palm Desert. My friend Amy's mom comes to the Embassay Suites every year with a big group of ladies. It's a great weekend where everyone lays by the pool, partakes in the free Happy Hour from 5-7pm every night, and enjoys the sun.

The view from our room - We spent most of our time pool-side

Although there are a variety of activities in the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area - hiking, golf, shopping, a zoo/botanical garden - it seems like very few people who come to the Embassy Suites even leave the hotel.

A group of happy-go-lucky beer-pongers

We did manage to leave the hotel a few times. Twice for dinner, once for pedicures and lunch, and once to stock up on Bud Light Lime.

Andrea and Amy with a free Happy Hour beer

Me and Delinda - ready for a rowdy night on the town

Originally we planned one crazy night out since we hadn't seen each other in about 8 months and this was the longest time Delinda has spent away from her daughter.

We made it out to dinner on the fated night, but, alas, a day drinking by the pool and a large margarita with dinner did a few of us in.

The daytime culprits included bloody marys, margaritas, and the aforementioned Bud Light Limes

We decided to consider making it out until 9:45pm sufficient and that we'd count it as a win. Besides, we were all there to catch up and see each other...and the only bar/club we found nearby was filled with people older than both of my grandmothers combined listening to a single guitarist playing ballads...or something - we didn't stay long enough to really figure it out.

See, we can have just as much at dinner! (Now that we're old)

Engagement Photos - Sort Of

So now that we're engaged, Cory and I have been getting into all the wedding planning stuff. We decided that maybe we could save on engagement photos by asking my Dad (who has taken a fair number of photography classes as a hobby) to do a photo shoot while we were down in San Diego.

Fountain at Balboa Park, San Diego

 Some of them turned out OK.

Hiding in a bush - you caught us!

But I quickly realized that the benefits of hiring a professional photographer are threefold:

1. They know how to find fun, romantic settings.

Statues of random men are not so romantic

 2. You can kiss in front of them without being weirded out.

An excellent setting with downtown behind us, but a slightly awkward kiss

3. They give excellent direction and have unique ideas about how to showcase your relationship (I assume).

Mosaic dragon in Balboa Park - this kind of works

Don't get me wrong, my Dad did a great job. I just think we need some more forceful direction. We can't be distracted by taking pictures where we're pretending to pet squirrels. It's just not announcement material.

This squirrel is so domesticated

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