Category Nature
Wedding in the San Juans
Justin’s brother’s best friend Jenna got married this weekend at her now-husband’s family’s house on San Juan Island. The whole family went along to be supportive, and I was invited too. I didn’t know anyone there other than the Keyes family, but I’m glad I went. The San Juan Islands are one of the most […]
Labor Day!
Labor Day was forecast to be excellent weather, so Justin and I decided to take advantage of it and go for a hike. We picked Little Si, a 4.7 mile hike not too far from downtown Seattle. The trail wasn’t difficult. Most of it passed through lush green forest. The epitome of the Cascades. We […]
The Hike: Backpacking the White Pass – Pilot Ridge Loop
Two weekends ago I took a day off work and went backpacking in the Northern Cascades with two of my best friends from law school. Amy flew in from DC, and Kristin flew up from El Paso. We spent Friday night running last-minute errands to REI and the grocery store, and then left first thing. […]
Memorial Day Weekend at Whistler
Memorial Day weekend! I’ve always thought of this weekend as the first weekend of summer, when the days are warm and long, and you have an extra day to get out and enjoy the weather before it gets hot. Memorial Day is not quite so summery here in the Pacific Northwest (that won’t really come until July), but with […]
Puerto Vallarta (Day 3) – Marietas Islands
A couple weeks before this trip, Justin and I had the following conversation: JDK: How are you when you travel? JJD: Awesome. I’m awesome when I travel. JDK: Okay, so what does that mean? JJD: [gleefully] Well, for one thing, it means that I’m going to be okay with sitting on the beach for approximately one […]
Hummingbirds!
As if lush, winter-flowering bushes weren’t enough to make me love where I live, a family of hummingbirds has moved in. I’ve counted at least three so far. They play in the fountains and hang out in the trees, and I feel as happy as a kid on Christmas every time I see them. Can you […]
The Hike: Autumn color in the Enchantment Lakes
The last time I went on an overnight backpacking trip was, gosh, probably sometime during the year or so after I got my Eagle Scout award. So, early high school, roughly 20 years ago. Since then I’ve hiked, and I’ve camped, but both together? Not until this last weekend. On Wednesday my friend Colin asked […]
Labor Day weekend on the shore
As you know from my last couple of posts, I spent Labor Day weekend on the East Coast, catching up with DC friends and enjoying a few more days of summer at the beach. I arrived on Saturday afternoon and met up with a few friends from the firm for dinner and dessert. On Sunday […]
Dawn over the Atlantic
The best part of camping on the beach? Watching the sun rise over the ocean. The world goes from grey to brilliant in a matter of moments, and it’s breathtaking.
The Hike: Dungeness Spit
The Olympic Peninsula is this fantastical place on the other side of the Puget Sound from Seattle. It’s home to a famous rain forest (they get about 200 inches of rain there) and sparkly fictional vampires (the Twilight books are set in the town of Forks) and not enough decent hotels — or so my friend […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 