Tag: adventure

“There are no foothills to the Tetons. They rise suddenly in rugged majesty from the rock strewn plain…” — Gustavus Cheney Doane

On By HanneIn TravelLeave a comment

I’ve been waiting a long time for this trip. My last road trip of any decent length was in 2013 where I spent the majority of my time scanning the radar for possible tornado activity after a long and exhausting evening in a shelter in Oklahoma.

When Kelsey announced that her wedding would be in New Orleans, that familiar sense of adventure started to tingle in my spine. Obviously, I wasn’t going to miss the wedding,  but I’m not sure when “I think I might drive down” turned into “oh yeah, I’m driving down”.

In the weeks leading up to my departure I struggled with a little anxiety around heading out on my own. What if it’s stormy? What do I do if I’m in the middle of nowhere and the sky turns green? What if my car dies? Can I do 750 miles in a day?

No, no, no. Stop. This is not scary. The open road is home. It’s comforting. I know this, but sometimes I need to be reminded that I know this. For two weeks there was a quiet little track in the back of my mind reminding me of all the things that could go wrong. At 5am when I pulled out of the driveway, it disappeared.

Everyone asks if I get bored, sometimes doing upwards of 750 miles in a day, alone in the car.

The short answer, not really.

The long answer, absolutely.

There are absolutely times that I just want to be done. I want to get out of the car, stretch out and move and be anywhere but in the car. But it’s not often. More often than not I’m singing along to one of my carefully curated road trip playlists. Or lost in thought. Plotting a new story or dreaming up things that could never happen, but are fun to imagine anyway. Driving way out in the middle of nowhere is so freeing and it’s amazing. Maybe because I am an only child and learned how to entertain myself, but I’m damn good company on a road trip.

And then I get to a place like Grand Teton National Park and it’s like a continuous loop of wow with every curve and bend in the road.

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Unlike Yellowstone, I didn’t see much wildlife (a few pronghorn and hawks and people on horseback) though signs to watch for bears are everywhere. But Tetons are amazing. No pictures or words can even begin to describe how impressive this place is. The drive takes you through flat open plains and up through rugged terrain at nearly 10,000ft above sea level.

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This drive through the Park was honestly such a tease. With only a couple hours to drive through, I feel like I walked away with sneak peek and the call to return.

Leaving the park I headed toward Casper, WY where I was spending the night. I could see storm clouds in the distance, but I wasn’t too concerned until it started to rain a lot harder than just a summer shower. With about 25 miles to go (and completely alone out on the road) I decided to check my phone radar. Only to find that Casper was in the middle of a tornado warning and severe thunderstorm. I could see it was moving away from Casper and away from me. I debated pulling over, but the wasn’t much room to pull out of the way if another car came from behind. So I slowed the cruise control down 20mph and slowed my approach.

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Not slow enough.

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I rode in on the tail of a complete downpour. It was like driving through a wall of water and even on the highest setting, my wipers couldn’t keep my windshield clear. The roads were covered in standing water and they were slick, but once I turned into the town, the rain slowed and gave way to sunny skies as the storm moved northeast.

On Monday I drove from Casper, WY to Amarillo, TX — another long day, coupled with losing an hour of the day (time zone change). It’s a route that I’ve taken before, so it wasn’t anything new. But the promise of a possible tornado warning in the afternoon and I hauled out as soon as possible.

But leaving early didn’t help the drive. Much of Colorado is apparently being repaved at the same time and despite the lack of traffic, it was stop and go all over the place. The worst.

Then as I drove through the vast nothing, also known as Texas farmland, I could see some suspicious looking clouds.

SRSLY WTF WEATHER?

Thankfully it was just south of where I was and although I could see the lightning, it wasn’t anything to be concerned about. But enough, okay?

Today was a shorter drive, but I had plans. I went to the Quarter Horse Hall of Fame/Museum in Amarillo, met a friend for lunch in Lubbock and coffee with my cousin in Abilene before finally landing at my hotel just in time to watch the Sounders US Open Cup game vs. Portland (spoiler alert, we won).

Although Texas is large, I’ve found that there are a billion tiny, nearly abandoned towns along the way. In some ways, it’s nice. Plenty of places to stop for fuel, bathroom breaks, etc. But as soon as you get cruise control set to 75, you approach a town and it drops to 70… 60….55….50….45… 35. Then you pass three buildings and then the speed limit climbs to 75 again. Way to screw with my  gas mileage.

Zoo: “An excellent place to study the habits of human beings.” – Evan Esar

On By HanneIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

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Had a lovely afternoon at the Woodland Park Zoo with a fantastic fandom friend today. Cacky, thanks for visiting!

I have such conflicted feelings on zoos, but of all the zoos that I’ve been to, I feel like we’re pretty lucky with the WPZ. The exhibits are much larger than most other zoos I’ve visited, and they do a fantastic job of enrichment. That said, certain animals like the Orangutans, Elephants and Gorillas always look so sad.

WPZ lost one of it’s elephants yesterday.  At 45, Watoto should have had another 20 years left. While the WPZ is leaps and bounds above other zoos, I think they need to re-evaluate their elephant enclosure and send our two remaining elephants (Chai and Bamboo) to a sanctuary. I don’t think there is enough land for them to expand where they are at. IMG_7257Such smart animals deserve more. I think we are past the point where people need to be face-to-face with an elephant to feel the urge to save them.

The Orangutans are the other ones that need something more. I only ever see them sitting around with their burlap blankets over their heads. One was sitting at the glass just staring ahead as everyone crowded close.

We were treated to an up close view of the male lion today. He strolled around, scratching, sniffing and watching zoo visitors through the glass. The size of his paws are absolutely massive and his thick mane gorgeous. I didn’t see Adia and her cubs were sent elsewhere earlier in the year, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the male lion up close before. What a beautiful creature.

We also saw the hippo swim around (briefly). I think it’s the one animal at the zoo that I’ve never seen move until today. In fact, they could’ve been fake hippos for the past however many years, and I wouldn’t have known. 

That’d be a good zoo scam.

IMG_7243One of my all time favorite spots at WPZ is the willawong station where you can feed parakeets, cockatiels and various other brightly colored birds. I had a delightful little cockatiel sit on my finger while he nibbled on some millet. He then fluffed up a bit and just sat on my finger.

All in all, a fantastic afternoon at the zoo!

 

Thursday Thrill: Garbage day!

On By HanneIn Thursday ThrillsLeave a comment

I’ve been neglecting my blog! Oops!

Some adventures take us out into the city and some require that we just get our shoes on – maybe a jacket. The excitement of garbage day starts on our way to the bus stop. The line up of garbage, recycle and yard waste cans along the street excites him long before we hear the first truck rumble past.

Returning from the bus stop, Evan will shut and ‘lock’ the screen door, but leaves the main door open. We remove photo 1 our shoes, but a day like today, we left our sweatshirts on (it wasn’t too cold, but a bit of a breeze from the front door). Evan was in the middle ofsnack when the first truck rumbled to a stop out front. He’s off the chair in a flash and face pressed to the screen door as he announces their arrival over and over. We get six viewings as they go down the street and come back up the other side awhile later. Once the first goes by, that’s the end of any game we might be playing.

Occasionally he’ll bring a toy over to the front door to play, otherwise he’ll park himself to wait. Since today’s weather wasn’t too bad, once I convinced him to finish snack, we listened for the next truck and then went to the top of the driveway to wait. Usually he wants to talk about the bugs and the grass and my car and the car across the street and and and… but with the garbage truck on its way, he narrated its every move (and it’s a long street with several stops).

Back inside, to get him away from the door, I searched some garbage truck videos – magic school bus, reading rainbow (hello kickstarter) and he soaked up every word. While his words are becoming more and more clear, he still has so much to say that’s hard to understand. And I hate the standard “uh huh… yeah… cool” because anyone can see that you’re just giving a basic answer (hell, I still do this to my mom) so I don’t want him to think I’m not listening, but he had lots to say about the garbage truck videos and I caught maybe a third. Mayyyybe.

Looking for some new places to explore next week – always open to suggestions, and it doesn’t have to be kid-specific. Evan has had a blast at places like the market and it’s a great way to learn colors and names of food!

Even bigger foosh.

On By HanneIn Thursday Thrills1 Comment

Poor kiddo – Mind. Blown.

I don’t think he knew what to expect when I announced an extra-special adventure to the aquarium, but photo 5from the moment we got out of the car (two blocks away), he was humming with excitement. The old water front trolly tracks are still in place, despite the fact that the trolly no longer runs, nor is the track complete. But for Evan, it’s a chance to see some real train tracks up close. We walked along the tracks, stood on them, jumped off them, touched them, etc. I kept trying to encourage him to move along, but the tracks themselves were worthy of an adventure.

It was pretty cute to see his Thomas the train boots on the tracks, and he kept talking about choo-choos and tracks and more choo-choos and choo-choo boots, etc. Having a short section of tracks would be an amazing addition to parks. Kids like Evan would love to climb on them, or bring some toy trains to play with.

photo 1From there we crossed the street, and he attached himself to the fence to look out over the water, looking for fish. I kept telling him that we were going to go seefish, but he was very concerned about trying to find them in the (super nasty) water right off the pier. We watched a ferry come inand some seagulls fly above and eventually I convinced him that there was more to the adventure beside the trolly tracks and the water down below. It was sad to see the garbage floating just off the pier. It was a good chance to talk about how we throw trash in the garbage and not on the ground. #teachablemoment.

Finally convinced that there was more to see we headed to the aquarium. He was happy to stand in line photo 2with me until he caught sight of the massive wall tank that you first encounter after the ticket counter. He was ready to run overand I had to remind him a few times as he edged away, that he needed to wait for me. Once we were in, he ran to the tank and sat down with the rest of the kids. Aquarium staff was giving a presentation about the tank, though he wasn’t paying attention. When they were done, he slowly walked up and down along the tank, looking at all the fish and watching the diver feed them (“Foosh eat! Eat all!”) He was focused on a fish toward the bottom of the tank when the diver swam down to wave at him. He turned back with wide eyes and then returned focus to the diver, jumping up and down and waving until he turned suddenly shy and ran back to sit with me and wave from afar. Moving on, Evan ran to each and every tank with the same sense of excitement, yet with a determination. Looking at these fish was his job for the dayand he took it very seriously.

A couple tanks had simulated wavesand that seemed to bother him. We went to the touch tank where he seemed more interested in just putting his fingers in the water rather than actually touching the sea creatures. 

photo 3My favorite part is the Octopus tank.

My last visit to the aquarium I learned that they catch and release each Octopus that is on display, keeping them only a few months before returning them to the ocean and finding a new one. While being captured and brought to a small tank must be terrifying, it’s nice to know that they can return to a normal life. Today’s guest was on his first day in the display and was rather active as he explored his new (temporary home). Evan was unsure about this large creature and preferred to watch from afar. I did let him pick a postcard in the gift shopand he chose the octopus and requested to bring it to his crib for naptime later in the afternoon – so clearly it wasn’t that scary.

Surprisingly enough, the harbor seals, sea lions and sea otters were of little interest. While they’ve recently updated the harbor seal enclosure, the rest of them are seriously lacking.

By the end of the trip, it was clear that his poor brain was working over-time. Lunch was quiet and then we played for awhile, but when it came time fornap, he was rather emotional about cleaning up. It took a little gentle convincing (and being allowed to take his postcard to nap)but he was soon tucked in his crib, his eyes closed before I left the room.

It’s so fun to experience these places again from a child’s perspective. A place like the zoo or aquarium, while they never grow old, your perspective changes and that bright-eyed innocence fades (but never quite goes away – I did spend 6 hours in the Chicago Aquarium during my 2010 visit and was probably just as mentally exhausted afterward).

Thursday Thrills: Big foosh.

On By HanneIn Thursday Thrills1 Comment

I always give Evan a choice of what kind of adventure – maybe a little bit of a guided choice if I have a photo 1particular errand to run, though he’s generally happy to help me with those as well. But today he made the decision long before I even asked him about an adventure. Two words. Big. Foosh (which sometimes sounds like woosh).

His interest of choice lately seems to be fish, so a favorite  place to visit has been the pet store.  He’s very serious as he talks about their eyesand how they swim (in the water, he likes to point out). He talks about them eating all their foodand we’re working on their colors. After visiting all the tanks, he always finds a few to return to before we go to visit the mice, gerbils, hamsters and rats. Bonus points if they have playful ferrets to watch.

He reminds me of myself as he wanders through the store, wanting to look at everything (and then returning to the fish for one last look). We often run into other little kids likely on the same adventure, but he’s rarely distracted from his routine (but doesn’t hesitate to tell other kids to be quiet if they aren’t using a respectable inside voice – and no running!). It’s these trips where I usually pick up some food for my own fish or a toy for Nellieand he’s happy to help, proudly carrying what I need and handing it to the cashier.

photo 4 I love watching the birds, the parakeets specifically, the most. There is always one that reminds me of Buddy and his happy little chirps.  You never realize how quiet a home is until you’ve had a bird and then lost him. Even with a dog to greet you at the door, it doesn’t make up for the loving and excited bird that’s happy to have you home.

The Interbay Petco seems to be the best place to visit. Located next to a smaller Whole Foods, the store is relatively new.  Unlike the one on 15th, it’s bright, clean, and the friendly staff seems to recognize the fact that they are a fun activity rather than just a shop.

Thursday Thrills

On By HanneIn History, Thursday Thrills2 Comments

One of my 30 before 30 items is to spend a day exploring a local (Washington) town I’ve never been too. But there are also many areas in and around Seattle that I’ve never really explored. After walking one kid to the bus stop earlier this week, the little guy I watch was pretty adamant about going buh-bye. It was a pretty nice morning, with quite a bit of blue sky which is always nice (and fairly infrequent at times) in a place like Seattle. So we loaded up and circled through our favorite Starbucks for a latte and specialty ice water (because water from a starbucks cup is ten times better than the water in your own water bottle when you’re two), and then head out. I was aimed for Fremont, a fun artsy area, when I decided to swing out toward Wallingford first. It’s a cute little neighborhood and while I’ve driven up and down N 45th St. more times that I can count, I’ve never been inside the Wallingford Center that advertises ‘Life’s Necessities & Little Luxuries’.

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An old school building from 1904, this places oozes charm before you even head inside. The kiddo was excited to go inside and look around. We were greeted with a big display of cupcakes at Trophy Cupcake. But before he could do more than point at all the nummies, he spotted a train table in the middle of the ‘hallway’ at the north end. The place was pretty empty at it was just opening, but after a looky–lou around, there are a lot of open spaces available for rent. I get the feeling that most people come here for specific reasons – the pharmacy, the old Tweedy & Popp hardware store, etc. – rather than just to browse. It’s too bad, really. I think they could do a lot with this building to build up visitors to the area. I still have yet to explore the other stores on the street (there is a fun sock shop, but they weren’t open yet).  The kiddo is pretty good about keeping his hands to himself as we looked through a couple of the shops and then headed outside.

photo 33We circled the building and spent some time watching a small fountain that had a pink carnation bud floating around. The water was icy-cold so it was easy to convince the kid to keep his fingers out. We then walked up the street a bit, but a majority of the shops don’t open until 11 (and we were about 20 minutes shy of open).  Overall, it’s a lovely little area. Some of the shops outside the center look a little run down, but certainly worth a revisit once everything is open. And we’ll certainly return for a tasty cupcake sooner rather than later. Trophy has converted a couple of the old classrooms into a fun seating area.

The top floor has been converted into studio apartments. Google doesn’t provide many images of the way it once was, but more than anything I’d love to see the way the studios are set up. A building like this is as close to ‘old history’ as we have in Seattle. #historynerdsunite