One year older

I love me a freebie and when birthday time comes around I am all over it. I started with My free Jamba Juice (Orange Dream Machine )and Auntie Annes pretzel fresh out of the oven (so convenient that they are located next to each other at Southcenter Mall)

I met up with Victoria and we went to the Scrapbook Expo at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. How nice of them to come on my birthday! It was better than expected and I picked up several die cuts that I have been wanting plus a little more stuff.

One of my favorite things to eat at the Fair are scones so I was surprised to see the scone truck sitting out in front of the Scrapbook Expo.

Nom, Nom!!

I have always wanted to try Machingo at Muckleshoot Casino. Funny how I lived in Auburn for 3 years and never went mainly because I don't like to throw my money away, but on your birthday they give you a player's card loaded with 1000 points so I played for free, woot woot! I didn't know that or else I would have gone last year too, ha! I ended up getting a free dauber and $10 worth of bingo cards to play.

So no winnings here, but I went out the next day and received my free scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Cotton Candy is yummy

And a free pastry at Panera. Lemon Drop Cookie was delicious.

Add to the list of sweets - a gift of Frans Salted Caramels by my boss and I was in sweet tooth heaven.

I finally ended the birthday celebration at a Korean Barbecue Restaurant. My mom and I had no idea at first what we were doing, but we caught quickly. So much meat!

Happy to say it was a really good birthday!

Noble Knob

Got another hike in the books last Sunday, woot! I met up with the trailsider group and hiked to Noble Knob. The hike was easy compared to getting there. I love unmarked roads, haha. Once we finally got to the trailhead we hiked easily to our lookout point. (5 miles roundtrip)

Happy 4th of July! Hope everyone celebrated the freedom we enjoy in our beautiful country.

Rampart Ridge Trail

Nothing feels as good as hiking boots on my feet, backpack on my back and somewhere to go. Last Sunday, I met up with Darrol to hike the Rampart Ridge Trail in the Mt. Rainier National Park. It's one of Darrol's favorite hikes and I could see why.  A five mile loop with an elevation gain that won't make you feel like you are suffering for one and two - the view at the top is so peaceful on a clear sunny day.

 Because this park is so family friendly, I encourage you to arrive early to avoid the large crowds.

 I think this special tree decided to take up yoga and wanted to do the reverse pose Viparita Virabhadrasana

 This hike started in Longmire.

 Vista view point. Wouldn't hurt if that tree decided to fall down.

 Mr. Chipmunk aka timber tiger decided I was easy pickings for lunch. He enjoyed all of my leftover nuts.

 When in Longmire, start the loop going left so that when you descend you see this instead of having it to your back.

 When I left the park at 2pm, the line to get in at the Nisqually Entrance was super LONG! Note to self: Good job for waking up early! I will be back soon!

Trip to Rialto Beach and the pit stops along the way

I met Tajar and Sarah on meetup.com and we ventured out together to Rialto Beach from the Edmonds ferry dock at 10:30am. I have fond memories of Rialto Beach so the idea of going back there felt magical. We arrived in Kingston and headed for Hwy 101.

It was nice to have someone else drive so I could take in the scenery especially as we approached Lake Crescent. As we got closer to Sequim, we stopped off at one lavender farm.

We then drove a little further til we saw a sign that said Wildlife Lookout Point and pulled over for the panoramic view.

We left here with hungry stomachs and made our way to Granny's Cafe on Hwy 101 in Port Angeles.

Thumbs up for the bacon, cranberry, goat cheese spinach salad I ordered.

Next stop Lake Crescent for a very short hike to Marymere Falls.

Burnt out tree on the way. The hike was 1.8 miles through old growth forest. We crossed two bridges and came upon a trail staircase leading up to Marymere Falls.

Pretty cool tree to sit in on a hot summer day.

The trail takes you under the highway into this tunnel which made the best echoes. We made it back to the car excited to reach our destination. Rialto Beach was calling our names. 45 miles later the beach wind was on our face.

 I brought a plastic bag so I could pick up some drift wood and pretty rocks for future terrariums. After a little walking we decided a nap on the beach was called for.

Knarly piece of wood on the beach that I couldn't resist photographing. The beach can be so cold, so I came prepared with hiking boots, snowboard jacket and knitted cap! That is my kinda comfortable. Tajar and Sarah took off their shoes and got hit by fast incoming wave. Shrieks and screams followed!

We left the beach and drove back to Port Angeles for a Mexican dinner and a short drive to the Kingston ferry arriving back in Edmonds at 10:10pm. It was a long full day filled with good and funny memories. Well, one bad memory is Sarah got a speeding ticket right before Hood Canal Bridge as we were heading to Kingston. Beware of the speed trap right before the bridge. I had an hour drive south back to my apt. in Sumner putting me at 12:40am to bed. I was so exhausted, but even more excited that my alarm was going to go off in 5 hours and 10 minutes to hike Rampart Ridge Trail in Mt. Rainier National Park with another new friend.

Behind in times

Father's day passed and I told my dad he would get a card from me in a couple of months, ha! I just moved into a new apartment and have yet to craft, but it's on the to do list. Pics to come. I love my new place because my balcony overlooks a river and we have a large bunny population :)

Cards for MOM

Here's a share of some Mother's Day cards I made for this Sunday.