Days 26-33 - Seattle, WA

We spent eight days in Seattle with our friends Steve and Kate. In addition to being excellent guides to the city, they took us on some pretty amazing hikes (like Mt. Rainier pictured above). I was also working remote during the week. We packed a lot in, hence the delay on blog posts. So buckle up because we've got a lot to catch up on.

Steve and Kate live across the street from perhaps the best arboretum I've ever been to. Here they are with Tristan standing in a grove of non-native redwoods. Their roots all form one structure underground and the branches in the middle die off leaving a sacred space for practicing rituals of all kinds.

This monkey puzzle tree might be my new favorite tree.

We went for a walk in the arboretum many nights and got to see a few of the owls very close up. Pictured above is the momma showing her owlet in a nearby tree how to hunt and here is a video of the owlet giving it a try. He was a bit more concerned about us than she was. We saw this pair on two different evenings and what was likely the father on a third. 

If you were thinking, 'That magnolia flower looks to be the size of my head.' You'd be correct.

Just magical. 

If living across the street to an amazing arboretum wasn't enough, they also have a lovely garden of their own.

This was my outdoor office. What's that lovely smelling flower in the background you ask? I'll give you one guess. (Note to self: When you get home, build a greenhouse and fill it with jasmine.)

This hike up Deception Pass reminded us all a little bit of the Maine coast.

Though I don't remember ever seeing any madrone trees in Maine. Maybe I just missed them.

Steve meditating on a rocky cliff. If we hadn't told it was time to continue the hike I'm sure he'd still be sitting on that rock right now.

FYI.

Refueling with tacos by the lake between hikes.

Powering up before our epic hike up Mt. Rainier the next day.

Bringing a little southern Cali energy up the mountain with us.

We saw a momma brown bear and her two adorable cubs around the bend on the banks.

You can't really see them well in this photo, but there were lots of pretty wildflowers on our hike. It wasn't quite peak, but it was good enough for me.

To round out our Kurt Cobain tribute we stopped by the house he spent the end of his life in and nearby memorial park.

Again, almost thirty years later, there were a few people paying their respects when we arrived. I can't imagine what it must be like to have that kind of influence. Incredible.

Portland isn't the only town that's got some funk.

Kitty asleep in a window seat at a cat cafe! There were half a dozen like this and half a dozen more playing around. What more could you want from a city?

We spent our last day in Seattle exploring Capital Hill.

Where we stumbled upon Adam Hicks playing some amazing soul/blues/jazz piano. We got tacos nearby and then sat to listen for a good hour. My grandfather was a pianist so I developed a deep love for the piano from listening to him play. I was in heaven.

What could be better than listening to an amazingly talented young pianist? Listening to it while soaking in the sweet scent of jasmine. Couldn't have asked for a better Seattle send off. Thank you, Seattle. And a big thank you to our very gracious hosts, Steve and Kate.

I think that pretty much sums up our time in Seattle. The only thing not pictured above was the afternoon my Mom and Dad came to visit. My folks simultaneously but separately booked their own little Washington vacation where they flew into Seattle to see Mt. Rainier, Olympic, and the North Cascades. We overlapped with them for all of about two and a half hours. But in that time my Mom got to see the world's best arboretum (according to Vanessa) and smell jasmine for the first time. As she walked towards the back of Steve and Kate's garden where their jasmine is (while still being quite far from it) she exclaimed, 'What is that smell!?'. I said, 'That's the jasmine I've been telling you about.' Her response, 'Oh, I get it now.'

States traveled

• Washington