Weekend at Crescent Bar!

Amy very generously invited a bunch of us to her family's hideaway spot in central washington for a weekend of drinking, swimming, sweating, bbqing and FUN. Enjoy pics from our weekend trip which includes the 3 hour road trip to Quincy. :)

We cooled off in a small community pool surrounded by little kids and their parents. One entrepreneurial child even convinced Bryan that he was getting a deal by sliding down her homemade slide for FREE.

For more Crescent Bar shots, check out my Picasa web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/WeekendAtCrescentBar

Summer Road Trip to Corvallis

Chris and I made another open-window, "wind-in-our-hair" road trip to Corvallis last weekend to attend the wedding of his high school friend Jesse.

On Saturday, we strolled through a farmer's market, had breakfast at the Broken Yolk, then drove aimlessly through fields of grazing cows and hay until we stumbled across the Tyee winery, where we sampled award-winning Pinot Gris.

Jesse's wedding ceremony and reception were held that Saturday night at Beazell Forest Park. Very lovely wedding, but also very hot. Thank goodness for the open bar (minus the bartender who carded me). :P

We headed the long way home to Seattle by cruising along the foggy Oregon coast. We breezed through (at 25 mph) dozens of small towns including Hebo, Lincoln City and Astoria. For lunch we dropped in on the quirky characters at the Snug Bar and Grill.

Although we didn't have time to make a ton of stops, we did take pictures of the beautiful scenerey and interesting sights along the way. Check em out at my Picasa web album!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/CorvallisRoadTrip

Fourth of July in Quilcene

Chris invited me to his family's Fourth of July gathering in Quilcene. It was a scenic and fun road trip to the peninsula, and even more fun spending time with Chris and his family.

I made the rookie mistake of agreeing to wade into the mud to grab satchels of oysters left by the crazy Quilcene oyster people. I thought it'd be a fun, exciting, new thing to do.

In the end, I did have fun, but not before seriously panicking about falling flat on my face in front of Chris's entire family. I smiled big only after wiggling out of my sticky mud situation and back onto firm ground.

It was a invigorating, fun summer getaway, and I can't wait for next year!

For more gorgeous pics from Quilcene, check out my Picasa web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/lizfong/fourthOfJulyInQuilcene

Spontaneous Apple Cup Road Trip to Pullman!

HOW IT ALL STARTED

Our road trip to Apple Cup started in the same way as all our spontaneous adventures -- with good friends and one craaaaaaaazzzzzy idea!

Like all crazy ideas -- (e.g. Greenlake in January) -- this one was alcohol-induced and fueled by plenty of smack-talking. It all started Friday night at Kona Kitchen (surprise, surprise), where a bunch of us gathered for drinks with out-of-towners Aaron and Deven. Initially, our mundane and safe Saturday plan was to watch the Apple Cup at a sports bar in Seattle. However, after several Mac & Jack pitchers and Washington Apple (Cup) shots, our plan morphed into a spontaneous road trip to Pullman, five hours away.

As our road trip excitement grew, the smack-talk heightened. Several key players guaranteed that they were in it for the long-haul. The boys, (of course), pushed in their chips and proclaimed "ALL IN!" while Amy and Yee Ning -- the token party girls -- were right behind them. In very Jerry MacGuire-esque form, the five of them turned to the rest of us with hopeful "WHO'S COMING WITH ME" eyes.

Court, Naomi and I paused slightly, stealing confused glances at each other, trying to determine if they were really serious, or if this was just another "talk the talk, walk the walk" challenge.

When the roadtrip idea started to materialize into a real plan, we frazzled few still on the fence got skittish and started spitting out conditional clauses:

Naomi: "I'll go if Court goes."
Court: "I'll go if Liz goes."
Naomi (whispering to me, in a last-ditch effort to form an alliance): "You're not going to go, are you?"
Liz (whispering back): "I don't think I have a choice!! Amy and Yee Ning are sleeping over!"

Finally, as our Friday night wound down, the realness of the road trip settled in and we all prepared for an early morning start. We made plans to be on the road by 8 a.m.

And here's where the picture story begins, at 8 a.m. on an Apple Cup Saturday. Enjoy the 46 shots of our 18-hour journey across I-90, through a streak of "nothing," down to Pullman, and into Cougar territory.
[Our "Before" picture, taken at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, after we loaded our sporty Buick Rendezvous with clothes, snacks and water. We six were in it for the long haul.]

[Can't go to the Apple Cup without a Husky foam hat! This puppy led the way.]

THE GORGE

Despite some of Amy's questionable facts (like the purpose of the pole on the boat), she never disappoints when it comes to unveiling simply GORGEous Washington scenery.

TAILGATING

Before parking at WSU, we stocked up on beer and brown bags for the tailgating portion of our road trip. We layered up and cracked open the alcohol to keep us warm. The weather outside was mighty cold at 37 degrees Farenheit.

With not much else to do in the parking lot but drink, we huddled in a circle and played drinking games. We started with the name game, then moved on to Categories. After a few hysterical, yet halted rounds of Categories, we decided to move on to something faster: Rhyme. The Rhyme game starts when one person says a word that starts the rhyme chain. Everyone else has to say a different word that rhymes with the first but doesn't repeat any previous words. Yee Ning threw out the first word.

Yee Ning: "Boat"

Amy: "Moat"

Matt: "Uhhh....Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay?"

All: "Huh?"

Apparently, Matt never got the memo that we were playing Rhyme (he heard "Wine") and thought we were still playing Categories. He thought "moat" was "Moet."

(IF this story's not funny to you, then you just had to be there. A story like this one is why I packed extra panties.)

Buzzed, happy and ready to see the Huskies kick some Cougar ass, we started to make our way to the stadium. As we meandered about the parking lot, we realized that there was no road or stairs down from where we parked. We asked a friendly Coug how to get down.

GAME TIME

"Just hold the fence," he said.

"Whaaaat?" we replied, quizzically and suspiciously, wondering if he was trying to dupe us.

"You've gotta hold the fence down the hill" he said, pointing toward a mud-sodden trail next to a flimsy wire fence.

FUUUUUCKKK, I thought, as I held a full Bud Light and realized I'd have to throw it away so I could cling to the fence.

Step-by-step we descended down that damn hill, passing a woman in the brush who wandered to a trail less traveled so she could pee in privacy.

[Holding on for dear life as we skidded down through the mud to get to the game. (But look how happy we were!!) This was another pee-in-the-pants moment for me. FREAKING fantastic.]

THE DRIVE HOME

There are no pics or stories from the drive home, because as you can imagine, after a 4.5 "mile" trip to Pullman, three hours of tailgating and a 4-hour game, we were exhausted. The ride home was pitch black and pretty quiet.

Huge chocolate KUDOS to Deven, Matt and Aaron for driving us to Pullmn and back. It was an insane drive for them, but the trip in its entirety was well worth the journey.

THE END

Eighteen hours and nearly 600 miles later, the six of us made it home safe, sound and happily exhausted. No maimed roadkill, very few bug splats on the windshield, no injuries or carsick follies, no food poisoning or pants-peeing. (Thank goodness.)

This trip just proves that spontaneity pays off when in excellent company. I haven't had so much genuine fun with these old friends in a long time. Definitely looking forward to the next whimsical trip. :)

Andrew's June Visit to Seattle

My friend Drew planned a June trip to Europe. He needed a few weeks in a foreign place to unwind and explore before he nestled back into med school mode. Ever eager to rattle the cage of bleary-eyed corporate drudgery, I immediately put in a request for vacation and hopped on the Euro-bandwagon.

As I floated on Cloud Nueve and scoured through Rick Steves' recommendations on Portugal, the realities of my job pulled me back to the sad world of responsibility. I grudgingly cancelled my trip for the sake of doing "the right thing" for my team (I was transitioning roles at the time). Although disappointed by our foiled plans, I was happy that Drew still planned to make the trip without me.

A few days before Drew was scheduled to fly out, I got a call from a hoarse, half-conscious Drew, who said he pushed out his medical boards and cancelled his Euro-trip so he could have the optimal amount of study time. "Nerd Alert," I thought, as I simultaneously consoled him and cheered him on for making the "right" decision. ("Right decisions" bite, by the way.)

This story could go on forever the way I'm writing, so I'll fast forward to the part where I convince Drew to visit me in Seattle for a week in lieu of the standard, hackneyed (and fabulous!) Euro-trip that everyone (but us) seems to take.

Here's the story in pics:
Drew arrived late Tuesday afternoon armed with sweets, as he is the sweet tooth king / culinary extraordinaire.Me and my dirty mind thought one thing when I saw the white frosted cupcakes with circle candies in the middle... GOOGLY EYES!!

Chris, Drew and I hit up the Driftwood Bar (one of my fave drinking / reading spots). Not your typical bar, the Driftwood is a great place to read OR play Scrabble!

One day, Drew picked me up from work, only to deliver news that he bought me a pet! Ecstatic, I rushed into my apartment waiting to find a furry little thing or at least a slippery little thing with gills. Instead, I found THIS in my bathtub.
I named him Dinner. :)


Since Europe didn't work out, we thought we'd at least venture out to the San Juan Islands to somewhat satisfy our thirst for exploration.


We "raced" unaware kayakers and high-fived each other as we passed EVERYONE, though no one was really racing with us.
We slalomed through tangles of dense seaweed (the looong, green kind with bulbs), shifting our weight this way and that to maneuver through the mess. One close-call capsize later, we threw out our slalom idea and went back to "racing" 60-year-old birdwatchers.
All in all, a fun week with my friend Drew. Forget Paris, we'll always have the San Juan Islands!!!

[I swear some of these aren't words.]

[View from the ferry.]

Finally on the San Juan Islands we jumped in a kayak, ready to see some Orca whales up close and personal!

During our day-long kayaking trip, punctuated by only a few fleeting moments of bald eagle and seal sightings (THOUGH NO ORCA WHALES), Drew and I found interesting ways to entertain ourselves.