For Seattlites, explaining why Seattle is so great is easy, especially when it’s sunny outside.  After taking suggestions from Anna, her friends and a few websites, here are my favorite explorations thus far.  (not in ranked order)

1.  Visit Discovery Park. It’s magical. Wild. Stunning! And, this park is big. So, ride your bike. Get out to the lighthouse point. Enjoy a picnic on a clear day and you’ll see Mt. Rainer to one side and the Olympic Mountains to another.

Earth Day picnic with friends at Discovery Park

2. Bike the Burke Gilman trail out to Golden Gardens park. Pit stop off at Gas Works park and watch floater planes land in Lake Union, as rowing teams practice their form. The view of the city from Gas Works is Make a second pit stop off at the Ballard Locks. Watch how they transfer boats from the lake to the Sound and attempt to separate fresh water from sea water.

View from Gas Works park

3. Explore the markets. Pike Place is the most famous market you’ve probably seen on TV. It’s the market where they’re tossing fish over customers heads and chanting craziness as they do it. The Ballard market and the U-District market are also divine. The live music changes by the hour. Almost every vendor provides samples to snack on. The produce is unbelievably delicious and fresh, not to mention unique…ever heard of eating fiddle head ferns?!

Fiddle Head Ferns in the Pike Place Public Market

4. Eat PHO! Seattle has a strong Asian influence. You’ll see Pho places on every other block. Pho is a Vietnamese soup with a broth base, rice noodles, your choice of meat, herbs and fresh veggies. You’ll want to eat it every day. And please do it! Bamboo is my personal favorite in Cap Hill.

Pho from Bamboo!

5. See a Sounders game. MLS(soccer) is the cool thing here. The games are packed and filled with vibrant fans.
6. Visit Alki Beach. It’s located in West Seattle and offers another view of the city-scape, of the Olympic Peninsula and of splendor. The beach is about .5miles long and the trail goes for miles. Bring a book or a bike.

Dipping toes at Alki Beach

7. Bike the Centennial Trail from the city north, along the waters edge. Keep your eyes out for the sea otters playing in the waters nearby. If it’s your first time to this coast, seeing an otter can be mysterious. Almost like seeing giant sea creatures-let your imagination run until you see the whiskers-makes for a better story!

Biking Centennial Trail. Mt Rainer shining today!

8. Eat Sushi. This doesn’t need an explanation but incase you’re in need of a little motivation. It’s on the coast-most of the places are getting fresh fish daily from the local fisherman. The heavy Asian influence means you have people who know what they are doing. And they’re creative – some unthinkable food combinations that are bound to leave your taste-buds smiling. Momiji is a great place to start!

Sushi from Momiji!

9. Attempt to bike Seattles top 10 steepest hills. This is not for the weak at heart or beach cruising biker. My first hill attempt was said to have a 21% grade. I fell over and left blood on that daunting climb. I have yet to complete this task, however, hardship is going to be met with endurance.
10. Take my friend Anna to RockBox. It’s a karaoke bar in Cap Hill. She loves karaoke so much she forgets that other people request songs and can keep singing for over six hours straight. Sometimes it’s hard to listen too, sometimes the dance moves over power any noise. Regardless, you’ll laugh, a lot!

What makes Seattle Happy!?!

Other recommendations:
Kayak Lake Union
Visit the downtown library

Downtown Seattle Library

Shop the Asian market-Uwajimaya
Island hop via ferries. Whidbey Island is home to Penn Cove Mussels if you love shellfish!
Hike. The list is endless.
Stroll around Capitol Hill.
Bike around Mercer Island.
Walk around the Fishermans Terminal and hear the fishermans stories

Fishermans Terminal

There are endless things to see, do and explore in Seattle. Not to mention in the surrounding areas. Washington is a great state. I highly recommend coming to check it out, if you haven’t already.

Lots of thanks for: idea implementation, partner-in-crime explorations and photo creds to my bestie, Anna Paulson!

Activist and fundraiser Dan Pallotta calls out the double standard that drives our broken relationship to charities.

Documentary ‘I AM’
By Tom Shadyac

I AM is an utterly engaging and entertaining non-fiction film that poses two practical and provocative questions: what’s wrong with our world, and what can we do to make it better?

Overview Project.

Planetary Collective presents a short film documenting astronauts’ life-changing stories of seeing the Earth from the outside – a perspective-altering experience often described as the Overview Effect.

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T minus 13 days and 9 or so hours, it’s going to be insane!

He’s adorable.  A little peanut.  A precious nugget.  Who coo’s and occasionally wakes from his deep slumber to show off his dark eyes and give us a glimpse of what his smile will soon be.

For all of Angie and Vik’s friends:  they’re doing well.  Such happy and joyful parents.  A little sleepless (insert vision of Vik wearing a sleeping eye patch as he walks around the house.)  So many new moments for them…it’s been an incredible experience to watch from the sidelines.

Sweet baby Royce has been busy eating.  And sleeping.   And eating.   He’s been being watched closely for his bilirubin count.  Things I didn’t know where important, but for all you parents out there:  his diapers are changing to green, no longer black.  He’s latching.  He’s got the handsome look of his daddy.  He has long fingers, loves sleeping on his mommy and enjoys long walks on the beach!

Namaste Royce Owen

Sleeping on his mommy

Fighting Jaundice

Day 1

 

On this day, I found myself in Canada, on a bike, pedaling towards Glacier National Park in Montana, overwhelmed with joy.  As life in the past week had been filled with exceptional people redirecting my life, rearranging my thoughts and reminding me of all that is GREAT in this world.  Here are a few of the take-aways/pieces of advice that were given to me:

• Take advice from those you want to be like.
• Live happily and do it for yourself.
• Generosity is everywhere.  Take part in it.  Share life.  Remember to say thank you.
• Although things don’t always go as planned, it’s meant to happen that way in the long run.
• Listen more.  Ask more questions.
• It’s okay to move at different paces.  There is no race or bragging reason, just get to the top when you’re ready.
• Anyone that has a yurt must be conversed with.
• Spend more time listening to Canadians.   And when replying, always add ‘ehh’ to the end of the sentence.
• Talk to strangers as much as possible.  People are genuinely good.

We humans often let our happiest life moments pass quickly.  Marking a highlight and labeling it as ‘probably won’t ever happen again.’  When, more times than not, we can live more of those moments, turn them into days, weeks, years and into the rest of our lives.

A dear friend just recently asked me “What’s your perfect Colorado day?”  Easy  answer:  sunshine and outdoors.  With more description requested, it came into a aesthetically detailed account of adventure and then the next three days, it came to reality, over and over.  That got me thinking….Why don’t we seek out to live our happiest of days, everyday?

Is it too planned then?  Telling yourself that you’ll wake up and all things that happen will make you happy?

ALIVE moment # 717 in Colorado. Heli Skiing in Silverton, CO

You wake-up smiling, you’re in the right place.  You find yourself surrounded by fantastic beings, who are willing and wanting to share the day.  The daily activities couldn’t be more perfect.  If you’re a risk taker, then the challenges are high.  If you’re a reader, the book has you on the edge of your seat, tornadically flipping pages.  If you’re a lover of sound, music comes to you from leaves, water and Mumford songs.

But then again, maybe your most ALIVE living doesn’t have to do with where you are and with whom you’re surrounded by.  Maybe, feeling ALIVE is all perception.

With all the political talk, do you find that we forget to find the lessons of today and banter on a side of the opinion we find most fit?  Isn’t there always something to learn?

Made me think politics and this book list are similarly tied.  We complain today, saying “this just isn’t right, we need this, we can’t live with that” when, in the future, looking back, we’ll probably praise the work being done.  Take a look at the 10 Most Commonly Banned Books.  How interesting that “To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and Catch 22″ all fall under the list.

What’s blinding today could be what we study in twenty years.

It’s Jakes Birthday!  Happy Birthday Jake!  He wants to ride his bike as many miles as he is old.  COOL IDEA!   Just not average.  Not everyone is pumped about getting up at 5 a.m. to go on a 6 a.m. mountain bike ride. The more time I spend in Colorado the more I accept:  Life here isn’t average!

We get to the trail head at 6:30 a.m.  And it’s just us.  Kari has an early meeting.  Some other friends don’t show, probably staying tucked under their down comfortors, as it’s 32 degrees outside.

We crank up the trail.  Heating ourselves, lungs and legs burning.   It’s a four mile climb. I’m exasperated, slowly expiring by the time we reach the cabin that marks the top of the climb.  From there, a 6-7 mile descent on single track. Over the craggy rocks, the slippery, fallen Aspen leaves and bouncing around or on the worn roots.  Swooping turns through the trees on a tight track take us to an open meadow.  The sun is kissing the fall colors, the sight is stunning.  Almost painful it’s so beautiful.  My legs are tired.  My feet are numb (it feels like bricks are attached to the ends of my legs.) But it’s a perfect day!

Jake’s so fast he disappears immediately after we start.  Still not sure how he does that! We’re almost done now.  The brisk morning is starting for everyone else.  We’re close to the road and can hear the traffic pass as we’re still engulfed by the golden Aspen forest of quiet beauty.  A few steep descents and we’re whisked away.  I remember from last week the tricky water crossing that is mostly mud.  I see Jake, he goes for it making a few comments about the mud.   And then….this is where it gets good….all I remember is pulling my face from the mud sledge of a puddle.  My body is tangled with my bike.  I can’t move my arm.  SHOCK. FRIGHT. HILARITY all are pumping through my adrenaline veins.  My mouth is filled with puddle.  So are my ears.  And my eyes.  And my nose.  And my entire right side.  A few seconds that feel like millenniums pass and I can breathe again.  My arm moves.  Jake has stopped, probably because of the ‘body-meet giant puddle’ slapping noise. He walks over, helps remove the bike from my body and starts to laugh once I say that “I’m ok.”

I gather my pride from the mud, my strength from the rocks and my smile.  We head down the trail.  I have turned into a mud monster.  LUCKILY, the school where Kari teaches is at the end of the trail.  I take off my drenched, blackened layers, load my bike up and opt to drive home instead of ride.  The car tells me it’s 45 degrees out now.  My body says:  ”thanks for the exfoliation,  it’s time for a hot shower and a toothbrush!”

‘If you crash, crash well!’

This post is different.

A couple of years ago I was introduced to Melanzana through friends.  And since, have introduced Melanzana to more friends.  Because…. Melanzana is incredible.  The locally-made outdoor clothing company just gets it.  Put performance to the test from a small business located up in Leadville, Colorado.

If you’re looking for gifts for others or have been searching for the most extraordinary outdoor fleeces, jackets or even socks.  Check it out.  Be local-buy local.