More photos of driftwood/cobbles

More photos from Ruby Beach courtesy of B...

Cobbles and Driftwood





















Incorrigible Tourists climbing all over rocks and driftwood

Olympic Peninsula Road Trip

Despite the cloudy forecast, B&I set out to explore the Olympic Peninsula yesterday. That sounds like fun, right? Well, it was except for the carbon guilt. We just had no idea how much driving we'd pack into one day. We did over 400 miles in one day (by "we", I mean B drove all those miles)! The only thing good about the miles we drove was that we met the 40mpg efficiency limit of our car. There is not much you can do to get out there other than burn fuel. It's pretty isolated which is probably why it's still beautiful and not over-developed. Guilt aside, we had a great time.

We first drove down to Tacoma on I-5 and then headed up to Port Angeles via Bremerton. The only delay was the 20 minutes plus it took to get over the 104 bridge. We still aren't quite sure why it was backed up. There wasn't an accident when we reached the bridge -- thank goodness -- just a bottleneck of some sort. We hung out in Port Angeles awhile. We had a nice quick lunch at an Indian restaurant right by the pier with an open lunch buffet. It was a bit chilly, but the ocean breeze was lovely and the sun was out. We walked onto the pier and enjoyed the view.

After that, we drove towards the west coast of the Olympics. The drive by Crescent Lake was really beautiful. We stopped several times for photo ops and fresh air. We spotted what looked like a lodge or hotel on the other side of the lake. What a great idea for a long weekend to rent a room on the lake and just lounge about. We unfortunately didn't have time to check it out. Next time for sure.

All along 101 are some amazing camping spots. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not a camper. But, even these camps make me rethink that philosophy. They are well designed with picnic tables, bbqs right by each spot and they have nice clean bathroom facilities (we checked them out during a pit stop). The big plus is that most we saw had access to the beach or a lakefront with lots of hiking trails nearby. Maybe I'll turn into a camper one of these days. If I do, It'll be on the Olympic peninsula.

The last stop we made was at a long stretch of beaches that are nested between several coastal Indian reservations (Ruby Beach and Beaches 1-4). We spent a good while exploring Ruby beach. The piles of driftwood are enormous and beautifully stacked. Near the driftwood are mountains of volcanic rock (what I generically call "cobbles") of all shapes and sizes that have been slowly smoothed out by wave action and currents. Pouring into the ocean, is a tiny undulating river. I love how most beaches on the Pac NW are populated by tiny undulating rivers slowly moving forward to meet the sea. Walking to the water was no problem, because the beach was also sandy. Plenty of sugary sand to walk barefoot on, you don't have to worry about walking on rocks the whole way. There are, however, beautiful large rocks that are remnants of headlands eroded by waves (some are islands and you'd have to swim to them... I don't recommend that). B climbed up one that was just at the water's edge, so you can see the scale.

All those stops were wonderful, but now is the long task of driving back. Green trees lined our windy path. Unfortunately, so did long barren patches where the trees have been cut down. Amazing piles of dried out twisted tree trunks and brush mark where once beautiful trees stood. I hope it goes to good use, because it sure doesn't increase the beauty of the otherwise gorgeous Olympic National Parks. I'll leave you with a pretty picture instead of a desolate one.

Seattle International Film Festival

Just got back from our first movie from the SIFF 2007, Paprika. It was very good. If you have an appreciation for wildly imaginative anime movies, I definitely recommend it. We are still discussing what happened and comparing our different impressions from the film. That's anime for you. Probably could do with seeing it again, it's hard to follow the subtitles and keep track of all the amazing images flashing past you on the screen. (Note: This film is not a children's animated feature, so probably wouldn't recommend it for young ones.)

I forgot that film festival movies have high attendance and you want to get there early to get a good spot. We got there about 45 min early and the line was already wrapped around the building. By the time they let us in the line extended for two blocks!

It's a ...

We found out yesterday that we are expecting a girl!

My father said he hopes she's just like me. The wicked/evil-genius laugh that accompanied that statement makes me think he didn't mean that in the best way. I guess I was a challenging child.

Bienvenue

Our friends R and F arrived from France late last night. They spent a couple of days touring wineries and seeing the sites near San Francisco and then they did the 15-hour marathon drive up to Seattle. They look like they've been having a great time so far. We chatted over beers (I miss beer), pizza, good French cheese, and dessert. Dinner was a bit impromptu because we thought they ate on the road. Looking forward to touring Seattle with them. Any suggestions of places to go this time of year?

Small world

I was walking around Greenlake yesterday morning. The weather is so great right now. There is plenty of sunshine but you can still wear a long sleeve shirt while you walk around the lake. I was (as always) people watching and noticed a couple that were speaking either Spanish or French. I was dealing with a stitch in my side and was walking slow, so they easily passed me.

Later on we met some friends in Capitol Hill for dinner (The Elysian Brewery) and a movie ("The Valet" at the Egyptian Theater). Wouldn't you know that the couple that sits behind us at the movies was the *same couple* I saw at Greenlake. Seattle is huge, and yet it's a small world and you actually bump into people more often than you'd think.

It was a really nice evening and great to catch up with W&B and H&D. Side note: The Elysian brewery had pretty good beers and good food. B particularly liked the Dragonstooth Stout. The movie was pretty funny. If you are a fan of the French farces La Cage aux Folles, The Dinner Game, and The Closet, you'd dig this movie. We picked up the schedule for the Seattle International Film Festival and are excited about many of the entries. Looks like we'll be watching lots of flicks next month!

House guests

We have guests coming over from France on Monday. Two of B's closest friends from university. They are going to hang out with us for about a week. We have tons of great ideas for things to do with them in Seattle, the only question is "how will we fit it all in"? We've got a ton of favorite restaurants, #1 on the list being Paseo (obviously). I hope the weather next week is as nice as it's been this week (sunny/windy and in the mid-sixties). Maybe we can go on some fun hikes in addition to the usual sight-seeing.

Next week will be all about fun, this weekend it's all about cleaning the house and making it presentable for guests. It'll be tough to stay inside cleaning while it's sunny and gorgeous outside.

French elections tomorrow

Tomorrow is election day in France. I think Sarkozy is leading in the polls over Segolene, but you never know how the center will vote. Will they vote a protest vote (abstention), will the go left (Sego) or right (Sarko)? We'll know by tomorrow night...

Update: Well the majority has spoken and Sarkozy is the new French president. I was hoping Segolene could turn it around, but what can you do? Maybe Sarkozy won't be as bad as he sounds.