Bridle Trails and Lake Sammamish State Park

I could not attend Nickey's bridal shower or her bachelorette party so I asked if she was available to hang out during the week on her days off.  She said Tuesday would work and asked what I had planned.  I told her it was going to be somewhat of a nice day and asked if she has been to Bridal Trails or Lake Sammamish State Park, she said not that she could remember.  She said she might have been to Lake Sammamish a few times for her mom's work picnics when she was a kid.  I said okay, how would you like to go geocaching with me?  She actually got excited and said yes.  I told her I would be there around one after I got off work.  She said that works perfectly.

I read up on the two caches.  I checked the logs, when they were last found, what trails they were located on, I looked at photos and the hints.  It was worth the extra time so I didn't show up without knowing what I was doing.

I wrote down her address and the two caches just in case something went weird.  I also packed some extra clothes so I could change when I got there after work.

I went to work, it was busy and then I left immediately at 11:30 to head up to Kirkland.  Surprisingly traffic wasn't that bad but I did expect it to be horrible on the way back towards home.  I got to their apartment complex around one.  I had no idea what her apartment number was so I texted and called her.  I got no response for a few minutes.  She called me back and I couldn't hear her.  She said she got crappy service in her apartment.  She came down a few seconds later and escorted me upstairs.  They were on the third floor and I was greeted by their one-eyed dog Piper.  She barked at me majority of the time I was there.  Nickey was getting ready so I talked to Nick about the stuff that was going on in their lives including the upcoming wedding.

I got the quick tour of the apartment and then I used the restroom and changed my clothes.  We got into the Escape and I put coords into the GPS and we were on our way to WaStatePks100: Bridle Trails (GC4AX95) just up the street.

The parking area was very large and there were people actually getting ready to get on their horse to ride some of the trails.  I put in the coordinates and checked my phone to make sure we were taking the correct set of trails.  I read the hint allowed and we were on our way.  We chatted about several things along the way.  When we got to ground zero, or near ground zero, we started looking.  We looked in the area for about ten minutes and then I read some of the logs stating there was another trail and the coordinates were somewhat off.  Nick and Nickey found that trail and I heard "FOUND IT!" very excitedly.  She was stoked that she was the first to find it without the GPS.  Then I heard, "I FOUND MY VERY FIRST GEOCACHE!"  I caught up with them and we pulled it out of its hiding spot to sign the log book and to see what kind of swag was inside the ammo can.

We walked back to the Escape and put in the coordinates for Issaquah and WaStatePks100: Lake Sammamish (GC4A6CY).  Traffic was a little bit more heavy on the interchange of 405 and I-90 but we managed.  Nickey told me that the lake was closed due to a parasite outbreak.  We weren't going anywhere near the lake so we were all good.  We parked at the parking coords and walked to the cache location.  It took us near the soccer fields in kind of a grove/orchard area next to some trees and shrubs.  There was also a bench near the cache site. We started looking and I knew where it was but they didn't.  Nickey made it to where it was and saw evidence of someone using the bathroom near it she refused to get the container.  I wandered over to the spot, grabbed the cache and set it on the bench. 

We signed it and put it back where we found it.  We walked back to the Escape.  It was around 4:30 and they had some more stuff to take care of, plus Nickey had fastpitch later that evening, so we headed back up to Kirkland to drop them off.  It was about 5 when we got back to the apartment.  I used the restroom one more time, told them it was great hanging out with them and that I will see them at the wedding in September.  She said they had fun and to see me then as well and to drive safe home.

I knew traffic would be horrible but this was awful.  It was stop and go through Bellevue, the interchange to 167 and most of 167 through Auburn.  I had an idea.  I called Trish to see when she was leaving for work and if she wanted to have dinner.  I told her I was in traffic and that I would probably be in Puyallup around 6 to 6:30.  She said to keep her posted.  I got into Puyallup around that time and hung out with her upstairs of Korum until we decided on where we wanted to go do dinner.  She suggested the Powerhouse Restaurant and Brewery.  We both had beer, the Powerhouse IPA, I had a burger and she had the fish and chips.  We chatted for an hour and then decided we had to go home.  It was fun chatting and doing something different.  We don't get to see Trish very often and we are trying to see her more.

I got home around 9, got ready for bed and passed out.  The last week has been very busy.

Next Adventure:  Another Trip to Bordeaux and Caching

Seattle Seahawks vs. Dallas Cowboys Pregame

So Nicole started dating a guy who is a sports fan...a sports fan with Seahawk season tickets! Eeee!  His name is Del and we met him in July.  He seemed to fit in pretty well with our group and so far we think he is a good choice for Nicole.  Of course we hinted that we also were sports fans and have never been to a game and would like to go sometime.  We even added that if he didn't want to go to any of them we would gladly buy them off of him.  He considered it.

He took her to the first home preseason game against the Vikings.  This was her first Seahawks game ever and she admitted that she had a great time, this is coming from a lifelong non-sports fan.  We watched it at Buffalo Wild Wings and the fourth quarter killed us.  Our back up quarterback threw a pick six and we lost.  However, during the game Walsh kicked the exact same kick that missed wide left last season during the playoffs that ended their hopes of moving on and I called it.

Nicole texted me a few days later and asked if we wanted to go the next Thursday...which was like in three days from the text.  I told her I would ask Ben because he would be the one to set it all up and agree to go since he worked until 5:30.  It was going to be a long night.  He said yes and he and Del squared it all away.
 
I'M GOING TO A SEAHAWK GAME!!  OMG! OMG!

I made sure everything was squared away on Thursday.  I went to work and got out at 11:30.  I went to the bank for some cash for parking or food.  I came home and took a short nap because I would need it.  I got up and started getting everything ready to go.  He had all of his clothes so I didn't have to worry about that.  I started making some tuna sandwiches for the drive up because I knew we would be stuck in traffic.  I was hoping the traffic would be lighter than normal but you can wish in one hand and poop in the other and see which one fills up first.

I left here around 4:30 to meet up with Ben in Maytown.  He said he might be off at 5 but it all depended on if he had to go on a call or let off by his captain.  I sat in the parking lot for a bit and then tidied up my Escape and put everything I would need into Ben's car since he was driving.  It was very hot and humid out this evening.  I was already sweaty.  He finished his chores and changed his clothes.  We were ready to go.

We left Maytown and got on the freeway around 5:30 and tried to get as many miles behind us as possible since we knew we would end up in traffic at one point.  It was a little slow in Dupont, Tacoma and just before we got to Seattle. 

We got to Seattle around 7:00 and we needed to get off I-5 and find a place to park as soon as possible.  There was one place we could park but by this time it would have been packed.  It was insane the amount of money places wanted for parking.  You almost had to take out a small loan just to park your vehicle.

We barely found a place off of 4th Ave.  We have parked here before for Mariner and Sounder games, those times for cheaper than we had to pay this time.  They were asking for $50 for two more parking spaces.  I offered $40 because that's all we had in cash.  They agreed and let us park there for $40.  We backed in, grabbed all of our stuff, I was really glad we didn't need to bring warm clothes with us this time, and headed out.  We hurried as quick as we could to get to customer service to pick up our tickets that we got through NFL ticket exchange.

We got through security pretty quickly and basically ran to our seats on the upper level.  We finally got to our seats and there was 6 minutes left in the first quarter.  We made it and we were very sweaty.  I don't think we will need our sweatshirts tonight.  We were surrounded by obnoxious Cowboy fans.  We were just glad to be there.  It was awesome to hear the crowd when we scored our first touchdown.

At halftime, both teams went into the locker room tied at 10. Ben and I got up and got something to drink.  We were very thirsty and hot.  We decided on some sprite and a thing of popcorn just to keep us at bay.  We still had some sandwiches in the car for after the game.  We headed back to our seats just after the third quarter began.  We were all set to watch the rest of the game.

The Seahawks started pulling away from the Cowboys once we got out of the third and into the fourth.  We won 27-17 in our third preseason game.  It was awesome to be able to go to a game let alone one that we took control of and pulled it out for a win.

We took a few pictures and made our way back down to the concourse and then to the never ending ramp to the lower level. 

Once we got outside it was chaos.  Lot of people wandering around, hanging out, there was a band playing on a small stage, people selling cheap hotdogs, shops were open, there were some food trucks selling various types of food and of course people smoking pot.  There were no fights surprisingly.  We got to the car in a decent amount of time and we ended up going the long way to the freeway near Boeing. 

The trip down I-5 south wasn't bad until we got to Tacoma near the dome.  Some of the lanes were closed due to late night construction.  It only set us back a few minutes.  Then I remembered that we had to go to Maytown to pick up the Escape.  Ughhh.  We would have been home much sooner if we didn't have to do that.  We got to Maytown around midnight, he dropped me off and we both went the back way to Lacey.  We got home around 12:20ish and I just decided to get ready for bed, the shower could wait until after work the next day.  We got into bed around 1.  Tomorrow was going to come very fast.

GO HAWKS!

Next Adventure:  Bridle Trails and Lake Sammamish State Park

Wild Waves and Enchanted Village

I overheard Ben wanting to go to Wild Waves for the past three summers but it has never worked out.  We either had to work a lot, didn't have any extra money or we did something else with our time.  Now that we have actual jobs that we enjoy we could plan our weeks better.  He had Wednesday's off and I worked until 11:30 and the weather was going to be great.  I was not going to go unless it was 80 degrees or more.  We planned to go on Wednesday.

I got home after work hoping we could leave at noon.  I made sandwiches, got our towels together and extra clothes.  I had to wait for him to get home.  I had no idea he had planned a bunch of things that morning while I was at work.  We didn't leave until 1 and we got stuck in traffic between Dupont and Fife because of a brush fire and didn't get there until 2:30.  We almost turned around but I don't think we would have had time to go another day during the week that was this warm.

We found a place in the parking lot, grabbed everything we would need and headed to the entrance.  We showed them our tickets and immediately got in line to rent a locker.  I couldn't believe how expensive it was, $17 but you got $5 back when you returned the key...so really it was $12.  I didn't change into my swimming suit yet so I found a restroom and got changed as quickly as I could.  I overheard some little girl talk to her mom about body parts...similar to the lines that the little boys says from Kindergarten Cop. 

I met up with Ben at our locker and stuffed everything inside.  We immediately got in line for the Zooma Falls waterslide.  We were probably in line for a good 45 minutes or so.  Ben had talked about the last time he came and that the waterpark had changed a lot.  They incorporated more tube rides and took away the speed slides.  I told him about the last time I was here and what we did.  The place had changed a lot since 1998.  When it was our turn Ben wanted to go down backwards.  There was a spot that was completely dark and we hit a spot where the bottom fell steep very quickly.  It was a rush!  Then we splashed out the end into a pool.

We immediately got in line for the Riptide waterslide and didn't have to wait as long for this one.  We talked to the couple in front of us for a bit.  He had some interesting tattoos and piercings.  When it was our turn we were completely dried off and ready to get into the tube. It was basically a giant toilet bowl (once you tunneled through the tubes) and we were the turd swirling around in it.  This one also squirted you down into an opening where you had a splash landing.  Ben fell off of the tube and I laughed.

I wanted to go into the lazy river and just chill for a bit.  We went around twice and got some funny GoPro footage.  I hope Ben can find the time to put some clips together and put it on YouTube.

We walked over to the Raging River Ride and this time we went in separate tubes.  The assortment of pools were built just high enough to where it took a lot of effort to get yourself out of them.  At the bottom especially it was really hard to get out of it with the combination of the swirling water and the amount of people stuck in the pool.  I think it took me five times just to inch my way to the opening to get out of there.  Ben got lucky and managed to get out quickly.  He waited at the end for me.

We headed over to the activity pool.  This one had short speed slides, a deep to shallow pool and a rock to jump off of.  One of the activities was closed for the day so we couldn't do that one.  We walked up the stairs to the speed slide.  Ben went first and I followed him.  The slide was so fast it took my hair tie off my pony tail and it disappeared.  It sucked not having anything to tie my wet hair back with.  Once I found out it was gone there was no getting it back.  The slide and pool ate my hair tie!  Lame lame lame lame!

We sat in the hot tubs for a bit and then decided to head on over to the Enchanted Village part of the park.  We found out they don't allow GoPros inside this part.  They didn't say why so I sat there while Ben put it in our locker.  I sat next to the pond and watched the very large Koi fish fight with the wild ducks.  It was very entertaining.

We got in line for the Wild Thing and it didn't matter where we got on.  It was just amazing we didn't have to wait in a HUGE line like most rollercoasters I've been on.  The ride went around twice.  The first time I remember riding this thing was in 1998 when we were here with our class.  Lacey and I sat in the front.  I believe this ride was new that same year so it was very popular. 

We only had about an hour or so left so we walked over to Timberhawk of Prey, the wooden rollercoaster.  We waited in line for a bit so we could ride in the front.

Afterwards we used the restroom and then walked around for a few minutes and then Ben took me to another section of the park to go on Lumberjack Falls, a ride similar to Splash Mountain at Disneyland, except it was closed and we were really bummed out.  Lame!  We circled back around and headed back over to our locker.  It was almost time to go so we turned in our key and sat out in the sun for a bit while Ben tinkered with the GoPro.  We gathered our stuff and headed out hoping we waited enough time for the traffic to die down.  We ate our sandwiches as we drove through Milton and Edgewood to Puyallup.  We wanted some ice cream so we stopped off of Meridian on the South Hill and had some Cold Stone.  It hit the spot after being out in the sun most of the day.

I had to stop by my parent's house for the digital camera.  I had to take some pictures for work for the bulletin board we were working on.  We ended up getting talked into putting the chickens and ducks away.  We got home just after 9:30, we showered and got ready for bed.  Tomorrow was going to be an even longer day.

Next Adventure:  Seattle Seahawks vs. Dallas Cowboys Preseason

Relay For Life

I did not plan to stay there the entire time.  Ugh.  24 hours of being awake is hard.

The day before I helped mom set up our tent so we didn’t have to do it the morning before.  Literally no one from the office helped her and she was basically on her own.  They knew about the date a year in advance and everyone conveniently made plans to be gone so they didn’t have to help or be a part of it.  Luckily this year Ben, Trish and I were available to help her or she would have been on her own.  Grandma also came to hang out.

Mom got there around 8 to finish setting up and Trish got there as soon as she could to set up her tent since it took two people to put it up.  I got there after 10 because I went to mom and dad’s to get the step stool and her sewing table.  I unloaded them at our spot, settled in and waited for the event to start at noon.

I waited for Ben to get there because he left a few hours after I did.  I had him bring a surge protector and a few blankets and pillows since the weather was not going to be the greatest and no one likes to be cold.  He got there around 1:30.

Opening ceremonies was pretty emotional for some of the participants; the survivors did a lap around the track to I am a Survivor by blah blah.  They ended up playing that song a few times before the event was over.   Once they crossed the finish line everyone started putting laps in.  I worked on the luminary bags and walked laps in between.  I had just started another lap and I had someone tap me on the shoulder…I was expecting Ben, who was jogging around the track, but I was surprised to see it was Celeste.  I knew she was coming but didn’t know when I would see her.  We walked around the track together for a few miles.  She explained she was here with her friend who had battled leukemia and survived.  I thought that was very cool of her.

I walked a few more laps with Ben and Trish and some with grandma. 

I got all of the luninara bags done and Trish filled them with sand and a candle and set them aside for the ceremony at 10:30 that evening.  We did a few more laps because I wanted an even number before we left for Alex and Megan’s wedding at 6.  I wanted to leave around 4:30 so we had enough time to get there and get ready.  My mom saw the photographer that was taking the team photos so she got his attention telling him that our team was ready and he came over and got a few of us.  I told mom we would be back before 9.

We drove separate vehicles because I thought maybe Ben would have liked to stay and visit for a bit while I went back to help out at the relay.  We stopped at 1-3 to change our clothes into something more presentable to go to the wedding in.  I wore my red top and my nice khakis and some black flip flops, Ben wore a nice button down, khaki shorts and some casual shoes.  Honestly I expected a lot of people at this wedding to be wearing jeans and redneck attire since it was in the Independence area out past Rochester.  We took both vehicles again and I followed Ben and he ended up taking the wrong road, he realized it after he saw where the wedding was down below.  He said that’s where his GPS took him.  Excuses, excuses.

We finally arrived, parked and walked across the hay field into this enchanting wooded area with lots of twinkle lights.  They did a good job of decorating.  The pig Alex picked out was still roasting.  Ben made his rounds talking with the various firefighters for a few minutes.  Then it was time to sit down for the ceremony.  The ceremony lasted about 10 minutes with some technical difficulties with the speaker system.  They shrugged it off and continued on.  They kissed each other and we all went into the reception area to eat pig, potato salad, beans, bread, beer and watermelon.  It was the perfect food.  The beer was made by one of Alex’s friends.

We stood in line, got our food and found a place to sit.  We ended up sitting and talking with Megan’s great aunt and uncle from Georgia the entire time.  They were very nice people.  We finished our food and wandered around talking to other firefighters.  We congratulated Alex and Megan before I had to leave around 8.  I told my mom I would be back to the school before 9.  Ben walked me to my car and told me he would see me in a bit.  I wasn’t sure how much longer he would stay.

I got there just before 9 and Ben had texted me a few times saying that he left shortly after I did.  He got bored and wanted to come back as well.  I thought he would stay longer than that.  I changed out of my nice clothes and back into my walking clothes.  Mom and Trish had ordered pizza from Varsity Pizza out in McKenna.  I was still full from our pig dinner.  Ben showed up a few minutes after I did and he also took some time to change his clothes.  I did a bunch more laps with Celeste, Ben and his mom and we helped spread some more of the luminary bags around the track to fill in the gaps before the ceremony at 10:30.

Ben and I went home to put the chickens and ducks away and to grab the fire pit and some wood.  When we got back we unloaded it and set it aside until after the ceremony.

We walked some more laps and then they turned the lights off for the ceremony.  We listened to their speech, a girl sang a song about hope and we walked a lap to honor those who have survived, is currently fighting and ones who lost the battle with cancer behind a bagpipe player.  It was very emotional for some and a memorable moment for others.

We got back to our tent and ate some pizza while we got warm.  The temperature had dropped and the wind was blowing.  I had to put my sweat pants on. 

Then we continued to walk more laps around the track.  Mom told us to light the fire.  We had someone from the leadership team walk over and told us we could not have it where we had it.  We told her that someone told us we could have it here since we could not have it on the lawn.  She told us sorry so we dumped water on it.  Mom came back from the bank and asked around about the fire pit.  We ended up being able to have it on the concrete slab near our tent next to the fence.  It felt nice once we got the fire started again.  Then we had a bunch of kids hang out with us for a while.

I got up again and started walking laps.  I wanted to walk more than I did two years ago…which was 7 miles.  I can totally walk more than that this year.  A few times I went out with Trish, Ben and my mom and we walked a few. 

Then we chilled inside our tent area wrapped up in blankets.  At some point around 3:30-4:00 I got comfortable and closed my eyes.  I was asleep until about 7:30 because it started lightly sprinkling on my face.  Ben and Trish had gotten up earlier and had put some laps behind them.  Ben told me that he got some coffee and wondered if I wanted any hot chocolate or a muffin.  He brought me both.  I walked the rest of my remaining miles with Trish who was after 24.  I just wanted to finish 12 because that was five miles more than I did two years ago. 

At 10:00 was the Seahawk lap.  Ben wore his West Thurston pullover, I wore my 12^th man jersey and Trish wrapped herself in a Seahawk blanket.  It was fun.

It was almost time to go and I had no idea where mom was.  They did the closing ceremonies and then we started breaking down our tent area.  About 45 minutes later I found out she was in one of the motor homes with the event leadership counting the money so they could take it to the bank.

I put stuff into the Escape and put the rest of it into mom’s car.  Lastly, we grabbed the ice cream out of the freezer, we decided to sell ice cream but the weather was so poor no one hardly bought any, told Trish thank you for coming and safe travels back home and we headed to mom and dad’s house to drop off the stuff.

Dad was home so he helped me take the fire pit to the back of the house and drop it off along with the firewood we didn’t use, the bucket, the Plinko board and our cardboard cutout of Chewie.  I could tell Ben wanted to go home really bad.  We were tired, sore and my toe was killing me.  I wanted some real food and my bed.  We drove the half hour to home, unloaded our stuff into the house, ate a sandwich, took showers and went to bed for a couple of hours.

I got up around 6ish and started doing laundry and cooking dinner.  We put some of our boxes away from moving and then it was time for actual bed.  I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Next Adventure:  Wild Waves and Enchanted Village