Summer in Seattle

This has been a big summer. A lot has happened and it's all gone by astoundingly quickly. Here's a sort of overview of the summer through pictures, since I don't think I could do this summer justice with a blog post. Maybe I'll elaborate on some of these points in the near future. And soon, I promise. 

 I graduated college, woohoo! And mange cum laude at that. I'm pretty proud and got to have my whole family here to watch me walk and show around Seattle.

I moved! A peak into my apartment 

Lots of wine and new friendships

More family came for an awesome whirlwind Seattle tour

Leisurely strolls around my neighborhood...when I'm not working

Some seriously awesome times with some pretty fine ladies 

Enjoying this city's gorgeous summer

Portland | Pt. 2

The rest of my time in Portland (yes, yes I know we're almost through August too - it's been a busy summer) was picturesque. Lazy mornings fueled by coffee in the garden followed by walks through North East Portland. One day we ended up spending the day with more of Thea's family, when we had only gone over on a mission to retrieve a lawn mower. It turned into a lovely afternoon wherein we lounged in the backyard, some sort of summer cocktail concoction in our hands, and just talked. 

We eventually made our way the four blocks home dragging a lawn mower behind us. I sat on the front step and Thea cranked on the mower. Not three feet into their enormous front yard a car stopped in front of the house and a little girl ran up to us and asked, "Does Al live here?" Turns out some of Al's friends from college were stopping by. They came in and we eventual scrounged together a pretty impressive impromptu meal that we ate all together on the half-mowed lawn. It's was warm evening, not a cloud in the sky. When they left to continue their journey down to California, we sat outside with some ice cream and stargazed. 

The next day we went to Sauvie Island. We had a bit of a late start, but when we got to this island just northwest of the city, we stopped to pick berries in the sun. We walked away arms full of blueberries and raspberries. Next stop on the island was the beach. As a Californian, I'm weary of any "beach" that's not on the ocean, but this was just perfect. Sand and a calm river to swim in and escape the pretty hot day. Our timing was perfect- we had a few good hours at the beach before leaving and as we did we passed a line of cars waiting to park probably a mile long. We rode back into Portland berries in hand and went to Thea's mom's house for late lunch. Which turned into quite the evening when more of Thea's friends and family showed up.

My last morning in Portland was spent rearranging Thea and Al's little house. We moved and cleaned and discussed cabinet placement for quite some time before breaking for a popsicle run. And before I knew it, I was back on a crowded bus to Seattle. 

Sauvie Island berries

Portland Escape | Part One

It's early, and I'm awake. Having gotten my work schedule completely wrong, I showed up at 6am when I don't have to be there until noon. So, I'm taking that as a sign. As though the universe is saying, "Here. Have a few hours and write that damn blog post you've been promising your dad for months now." So, here goes.

While my life here in Seattle involves much less international travel than wonderful Grenoble life, I've still been taking some awesome trips. I spent the week of July 4th down in Portland yet again. I'm starting to think this is a yearly tradition I'd like to maintain.

Going down to Portland means serious time with great friends, damn good food, plenty of drinking, and time with a family that has adopted me as their own. I've definitely found a home away from home in the Rose City.

I spent a whole week in Thea and Al's (you'll remember them from many a post) adorable and super tiny house in NE. Almost every morning, I drank my coffee in Thea's garden, among the poppies and happy little bees, soaking up the morning sun.

If I do say so myself, they've got a pretty awesome home gallery going. With some art by yours truly.

 I arrived in Portland around 10pm and bussed up to their neighborhood. I, seriously misunderstanding some texts (that seems to be a theme lately), walked 15 blocks to the house, just to realize I was meant to meet them at a bar only four blocks from the bus stop. So that was a fun walk. At least it was gorgeous and warm out. There was a birthday happening that I got to join and I had a great time meeting some of Thea's coworkers and friends.

The next morning, while everyone was away at work, I putzed around the house and read. I really needed a day of nothing to do and nowhere to be. Once everyone was back that afternoon, we packed up the car and headed to Mt. Hood National Forest to camp for the night. Our destination was Bagby Hot Springs.

One of my favorite views

We spent the night among massive trees and constantly pestering mosquitoes after hours of fireside hilarity. In the morning we "hiked" to the hot springs. I guess I would call it more a walk or a lazy jaunt along a large, flat trail. The trail followed the weaving Clackamas river, so our walk was accompanied by the sound of the rushing water and gorgeous sights. 

Bagby Hot Springs

Our hot spring timing could have been better- there was a lot of waiting for kids who kept turning on the water to refill the tub they had splashed all the water out of- but it was awesome nonetheless. The tubs were either large and made with planks or smaller (like the one above) and carved out of a single log. And the hot, slightly sulfurous water flowed from the source, steadily making its way to our tub were we sat for hours.

Dillinger Dogs - popular dish of seasoned outlaws and weekend campers alike

 Once we were all warm and snuggly and refreshed, we made our way back to camp and started working on breakfast. What you see above does not look like much but it's actually a fine Al/Thea invention: Dillinger Dogs. Sausage and blueberries in a mess of pancake batter. Deliciously sweet and savory (maple syrup necessary).

Fun camping tidbits:
Thea was the only one who could build a fire in a steady and brisk manner;
Al is really, genuinely scared of bears (like, more so than I realized);
Turning off the flashlight and looking up is probably one of my favorite things to do;
Root beer and whiskey is a fantastic combination and we plan on trying floats of this variety very soon.

Heading in to the forest near sundown 

We got back into town the next day with enough time to unload the car, wash off some of that campfire, and head to a 4th of July party at some friends' house. Food, music, and fireworks combined for a good time somewhere in Portland. We ate too much, danced, and watched the fireworks from the roof. I'm only realizing now that I don't have any pictures from the party, so my words will have to be enough. 

Strawberries from Thea's garden

Une Boulangerie Française

Volunteer Park dahlias

I've been finding ways everywhere in my life to procrastinate lately. I'm trying to change that, school is about to start and I really need to focus. Anyway, the blob has been suffering and it's because of pretty good reasons. I got a second job! In the most fortuitous and fitting turn of events, I'm now working at a French bakery. How appropriate, I know. Learning the names of every pastry was quick and painless thanks to the French. And hopefully I'll get to actually use it on a tourist sometime soon!

Back in Seattle

Other than working as much as I can, my roommate and I have been having a wonderful time walking around and eating all the good food we can get our hands on. Until yesterday, the weather was pretty consistently sunny and warm, so walks were a regular occurrence. Last Sunday we made our way over and strolled among the dahlias that are blooming all over. And I'm completely moved-in to our adorable little apartment, which is a relief. It's an adorable place in a building from the '20s. I couldn't be more thrilled.

The perks of working at a bakery!

Back and Forth

The furnished half of our apartment.

The last two weeks have been vaguely insane and really, really good. I have one job so far, and a second interview this week (gotta pay that rent). And I'm almost fully moved in to my new apartment. I spent most of Saturday with my future roommate, Alana, and Katherine taking load after load over to Katherine's new apartment. And in the process we were able to go grab the rest of my things. Suffice it to saw, I've been covering lots of Seattle by foot and quite often with boxes in my arms. It all seems to be coming together and I'm happy to be getting back into the swing of things here. I'm mostly excited to have endless dinner parties in our minuscule kitchen and to finish decorating.