Happy Friday! A week ago, M, K and I piled into our intrepid car and drove an hour and a half east to Central Washington. Destination: Roslyn, WA. A former coal mining town, it became a surprising tourist draw when the 90s hit show Northern Exposure was filmed there. They even have a Northern Exposure festival every year.
This was a big deal for us because we really don’t take very many vacations.
We stayed in a most charming Bed and Breakfast called The Huckleberry House. M and I used to drive up to Roslyn from time to time pre-K. Sadly, the owners are thinking of closing the business, so we feel lucky that we squeezed in before the closure. Temperatures were hot but not scorching and we biked, swam and read books:
It was a little magical — maybe even more than a little. We slept in a king-sized bed all together, squished like polar bears. We had lots of coffee shop breaks, because that’s what we do. When we went to rent bikes, the store owner didn’t have a small enough bike for K, so he called upon the towns folk, and several people rallied and rustled up a battered pink two-wheeler. Community spirit, it’s still alive. We got lost on a gravel trail while searching for the way to the river, then cut across farmland and got lost again. We never found the river, but ate trail mix near the Suncadia resort. On our way out of town, we meandered through the Farmer’s market and I got a bag of my favorite Rainier cherries.
We have no travel plans this weekend, and it took me all this while to unpack the small amount of luggage we took with us last week. I’m enjoying memory bursts from our little getaway as I store toiletries back into the closet, fold laundry, place the books we read on our shelf.
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K could not get enough of skateboard camp this week – I’m shocked! She skated for almost 6 hours per day! We promised her very own skateboard if she still liked it at the end of the week, so we’re off to go shopping.
Mama, I want the kind of wheels that glow in the dark. Or wait, maybe the ones that make cool sounds. I hear they’re only two or three dollars.
I wish. I had no idea that there were all these specialized wheels…it’s a whole new world.
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Have a delightful weekend, friends! I plan to sew and sew and sew…
Another trip planned
We will head out to Indy*
Must sew summer garb
*M was able to get a week off from work, so we’ll be visiting family in the midwest in a couple of weeks!
i love those little get away’s. last year my husband and our two little ones went off cherry picking for the weekend and although it was only an overnight stay, it was bliss. coastal walks, fresh seafood, chasing gulls and picking boxes and boxes of cherries from our rented tree. plus when we returned home we got months of memories every time we ate up all our fruit.
Little weekend retreats are so revitalizing, aren’t they? I can eat cherries forever (though not so good for the digestive system) and used to go cherry-picking in California when I was a kid so I have fond memories…Thanks, Sarah!
sounds like the perfect magical weekend! and what lovely photos to help relive the memories. love your story of the pink bike that was procured:) Hope your trip to Indy will be equally wonderful! There’s a great children’s museum if you’re looking for something to do.
I hope you’re taking pictures of K on her skateboard – I love that image!
The children’s museum in Indy is insane Lucinda! I can’t believe they actually have a full-size carousel indoors. M used to work there in high school and has a lot of funny stories about those days. And yes, lots and lots of photos of K shredding the skatepark (I don’t even know if that’s the right terminology, but it sounds good!). 🙂
Your little one is so COOL!! Skateboard camp!? Awesome.
Right?? I just love that she’s way into it. There were only four girls out of about 25 kids at camp, and I think it gave her a new kind of confidence. 🙂
oh! What a beautiful place. And Rainier cherries! And skateboard camp, even. Awesome. Happy Summer!
Happy Summer to you, Sharon! It’s been a great start of the season so far… 🙂
Some of the comments on this video show how people think a little too deeply about something. I think it’s great that K has found something she enjoys doing. Lovely to see you encouraging her 🙂
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/opinion/gnarly-in-pink.html?_r=0
Oh, I loved watching the video and I showed it to K too. Thank you, Alana! I agree that it seems like some of the commenters got intense about the whole thing…but to each his/her own I guess.
I hope I can still show my face her after Germany beat the USA yesterday at the worldcup 😉
The place you visited sounds so wonderful! I am happy you got to spend such carefree days. Just looking at your pictures relaxed me! And I just loved watching Northern Exposure when I was in South Carolina in the 90s… I had totally forgotten about it… (And thirtysomething!… do you remember that show? I used to love that, too – and I was 17!) Have a wonderful weekend and happy sewing!
Oh Ute, you might as well be speaking Russian to me…World cup, shmorld cup is my motto. 😉 I’ve actually not seen the show though I’ve heard so many good things about it. A South African friend was telling me today that the show was popular in South Africa too, and they translated the title to something like “Hello, Alaska!” Thirtysomething! Yep, I remember that one too!
What great pictures! I especially love that first one. We’ve been meaning to get back to that area as it’s quite lovely. My husband has dreams of buying a bit of land out that way and sticking a yurt on it for our vacation cabin. We shall see….
Thanks, Elizabeth! It’s such a quick and satisfying destination from Seattle, don’t you think? There’s so much beautiful nature all around Washington. We’re thinking of camping up in Belingham at some point! I like your husband’s dream — mine has a similar one 🙂