Babymoon: Part 3

Part 1
Part 2

When we left off, George and I had taken a Sunday afternoon detour along the Washington-100 loop. From there, we picked up the 101 again and continued north. This was, by far, the most boring part of the roadtrip because the drive takes you through sadly dilapidated towns, such as Aberdeen, and logging forests.

Eventually, we made it to our destination: Kalaloch Lodge. We visited Kalaloch (pronounced Clay-Lock) in the winter of 2009 and seriously considered having our wedding on Kalaloch's cliff overlooking the Pacific. During that visit, we told ourselves that we'd have to come back and stay at the lodge, so this return to Kalaloch was making good on a promise to ourselves. We had fair weather while we were there (overcast, dry skies on Sunday night and a downpour on Monday morning) and spotted a couple of bald eagles and several hummingbirds amongst robins and ravens.

View from the honeymoon suite (our splurge)

Kalaloch's Beach

Kalaloch's Beach

On Monday morning, we set off again, continuing north on US-101. First, we stopped at Beach 4.

Nurse log

Fern!

Just a bridge to the beach...

Beach 4

Then, we stopped at the Big Cedar Tree.

Then, we stopped at Ruby Beach.

Ruby Beach

Ruby Beach

The 101 cuts through the heart of Forks, Washington, made (annoyingly) famous by the Twilight series. I could go on about how Forks has capitalized on its new-found fame by naming everything in town Twilight-this and Bella-that and Jacob-this, but instead I'll show you one of the more clever Twilight references we saw:

Just past Forks, we took a minor detour to Rialto Beach, the beach opposite the Quillayute River from La Push, also made famous by Twilight.

Rialto Beach to the north

Rialto Beach

From there, we continued north and eventually left the 101 to head for Monday night's destination: Neah Bay. We rented a little cabin right on the water at the Hobuck Beach Resort. The weather had turned foul, so we hunkered down for the evening beside the electric fireplace while the wind and waves crashed outside.

On Monday morning, we checked out Hobuck Beach a bit.

Hobuck Beach to the south

Hobuck Beach to the north

Then, we drove out to Cape Flattery to check out the northwesternmost point in the lower 48.* It was pretty neat to see the rugged beauty of nature rage all around. The trail ends at the lookout, and it truly feels like you're right at the end of the earth. It was really neat.

Cape Flattery

Cape Flattery

Cape Flattery

Cape Flattery

THE Cape

At Cape Flattery (32 weeks)

Cape Flattery

With the weather turning ugly again, George and I decided to pack up and head home on Tuesday afternoon rather than waiting until Wednesday as originally planned. We agreed that we'd continue to be "on vacation" and lay low on Wednesday, and that's exactly what we did. I don't think we even opened our curtains.

It was a good babymoon, quite different from what we originally planned (Barcelona), and exactly what we needed. You know you've picked the right partner when, after a week of focusing only on each other and having constant conversations, you just want more of the same. Hopefully this will keep us refreshed when we're soon up at all hours of the day and night with our (screaming) little one.



*Curiously enough, we went to Key West, the southernmost point in the lower 48 on our honeymoon.

Darn it, foggy lens...

Babymoon: Part 2

Part 1

When we left off, we'd spent a couple of days on the central coast of Oregon and headed inland for a detour to Eyrie Vineyards. I got a bit ahead of myself because, before we headed to McMinnville, we drove north to Lincoln City and made a few more stops on the coast.

Cooks Chasm

Yaquina Head Lighthouse outside Newport, Oregon

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

At Yaquina Head

View north from Yaquina Head

After heading inland to pick up and taste wine at Eyrie, we drove back to the coast and north toward our evening's destination: Cannon Beach. But first, we drove through Tillamook, Oregon, and it seemed wrong to not stop at the Tillamook factory. We were there just before closing time but had enough time to sample some cheese, buy some goodies for a picnic, and indulge in ice cream.

Driving on, just south of Cannon Beach, we stopped at a viewpoint only to discover that the Coast Guard was out looking for someone in the water. While it was neat to see the chopper conducting its search pattern, it was sobering to think about what they must be hoping to find.

Looking north

Looking south

In Cannon Beach, we enjoyed evening and morning walks on the beach, people-watching, great food at the Irish Table, and tasty coffee at Sleepy Monk. I was totally charmed by Cannon Beach and hope to return; it seems like an easy beach vacation, just an hour and a half from Portland.

Haystack Rock

Dusk walk on Cannon Beach

Evening at Cannon Beach (notice the light from the boat continuing the Coast Guard's search)

Morning at Cannon Beach

Proof that we were there...

On Sunday morning, we set off from Cannon Beach and headed toward the Washington border. Just north of the border, we took a minor detour to take in some beautiful sites (and sights) along the WA-100 loop.

So many varieties of green...all natural

View south from North Head Lighthouse

North Head Lighthouse

North Head Lighthouse

View north from North Head Lighthouse

One of the highlights of the trip was the picnic George and I enjoyed on the beach at Cape Disappointment, literally just north of the Oregon/Washington border. We pulled out the snacks we'd packed for the trip and meat, cheese, and mustard from Tillamook for a delicious lunch. It was sunny, warm, and totally unexpected.

Picnic!

Sand Dune

Breakwall at Cape Disappointment

Beach at Cape Disappointment (with North Head Lighthouse in the distance)

Stay tuned for the rest of the babymoon, including the Olympic Peninsula, the northwesternmost point in the lower 48, and an itinerary change...

Part 3

Weekend in Photos

Before the weekend recap in photos, a bit of a recap in words. This was a glorious weekend in western Washington. We had sun with clear, blue skies and comfortably warm temperatures on Saturday and Sunday, raising spirits and bringing local rhododendrons to bloom. Days like yesterday remind all of us why we deal with live in this region. We expect more fantastic weather today and tomorrow before the return of rain and chilly temperatures on Wednesday.

More personally, this weekend brought serious transition to our house. On Friday night, two of our friends came over to help us George move furniture around our house in preparation for baby's arrival. Every bedroom except the master is being repurposed, so there was a lot of shifting of shelves and furniture much to big/heavy for George to move on his own or for me to help him move. Thank goodness for strong friends who are generous with their time!

And now for the photos...

It's okay to supplement my breakfast with a pistachio and buttercream cupcake, right? (Easy, delish recipes here and here. Substitute applesauce for the oil for a healthier, more moist cupcake.)

Organized bobbins...no nesting going on here...

I came home from yoga to find George undertaking the Great Cable Reorg of 2012. Nesting? What nesting?

Still growing...32.5 weeks

I bit the bullet and decided to recycle my law school notes, articles, handouts, outlines, and the like. 

This may be the last weekend for my tulips, but aren't they beautiful? 

Not yet a nursery; no longer a craft room. (Yes, Baby Girl's closet organizer is the first thing to be installed in the nursery.)

Hopefully this week will bring a bit more organization to our house as we get things settled and I take on a few long-procrastinated sewing projects. How was your weekend? What's on your plate for the week ahead?

Babymoon: Part 1

After consider several alternatives, George and I decided that we'd spend our last vacation as a childless couple exploring the Pacific Northwest. So, I devised a plan that would allow us to explore the coasts of Oregon and Washington in the week that we'd set aside for the vacation.

The babymoon started on a Thursday afternoon. We left Kirkland and missioned down I-5, only really hitting traffic south of Portland. We eventually cut west, driving through the beautiful, mossy, remote Siuslaw National Forest. Our destination was a little, comfortable retreat called Ocean Haven, located on the coast in Yachats, Oregon. It would be our headquarters for two nights. We arrived at Ocean Haven just in time to see the last light of day fade over the Pacific.

On Friday, we woke to the ocean at our doorstep and set out for Newport, Oregon to check out the Oregon Coast Aquarium. I'll be honest: I was a little disappointed in the aquarium after having heard that it was nearly as good as Monterey Bay. However, there was still plenty of cuteness to go around and enough underwater goodness to make me really miss diving.

Puffin

Shark

Otter

Otters

While we were driving to and from Newport, we stopped at several coastal viewpoints to get a better look at the rugged Oregon coast.

We explored the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area and did a bit of light hiking (read: as long and challenging of walks as my bladder and my clumsy feet would allow) to check out Devil's Churn and the Giant Spruce.

Entering Devil's Churn (at low tide)

Devil's Churn (at low tide)

Giant (500 year old) Sitka Spruce

The spruce started out on a nurse log, so you can now see through from one side to the other. 

Before rounding out our day with truly remarkable, incredibly fresh seafood at Luna Sea Fish House, we drove up to the Cape Perpetua lookout to catch the view from Oregon's highest coastal lookout. Remarkable, indeed...and these photos don't even begin to do it justice.

From Cape Perpetua, looking south

From Cape Perpetua, looking south

From Cape Perpetua, looking south (Devil's Churn in the bottom right corner)

No crazy hair here. Cape Perpetua, looking north

Proof that we were there...

On Saturday morning, we left Ocean Haven and headed for a detour: Eyrie Vineyards in McMinnville. We can't step foot in Oregon without visiting our favorite winery and chatting with Jacques. Even if I can only have a swallow or two, I loved every morsel of the 2001 Pinot Noir and 1989 Pinot Gris he was pouring.

Stay tuned for the rest of the babymoon recap, including our return to the Oregon coast and adventures on the Olympic Peninsula...

Part 2
Part 3

Block 4 of 6

Block 1
Block 2
Block 3

This week's block is the Dresden Plate. The individual pieces were machine sewn together and then hand sewn to the background using needle turn applique. This was, by far, the most challenging block we've done so far...and I must admit that I hated every moment of needle turn applique work. (I'm pretty sure that this is the method required by the quilt my mom is making for me, which makes me feel even more indebted to her for her labor of love.) The final product has plenty of imperfections, but I suppose it's acceptable.

Dresden Plate

In case you're keeping track, yes, I am late posting my weekly quilting homework and, yes, I missed this weekend's updates. George and I were off enjoying our last vacation before becoming parents (babymoon!), and I decided to stay off of Facebook, email, and the blog in order to focus on our time together while we were away. I have several updates and lots of roadtrip photos to share, so stay tuned.