So, I've been very remiss in keeping the blog up-to-date this past month. My apologies; reflections this past week made me realize that I really need to do a better job keeping in touch with people in my lives, so, if we haven't caught up in a while, please - let's do!
Anyways, a snapshot into the past few weeks:
A Week of Firsts
In my last post, I briefly mentioned my first boating experience as well as my first trip to a U.S. National Park. That Thursday (June 21st), all the Microsoft Explorer interns went out to Lake Union to partake in an "electric boat scavenger hunt". When I heard this, I imagined high-speed boats racing around the lake. Instead, our luxury boats maxed out at about 6 mph. Nevertheless, it was still a great experience.
Me and my chill driver
Technically, you have to be over 21 to drive the boat, but my boat's driver was really chill, so I got to take our baby for a 15-minute spin! After me, one of my roommates took her turn at the wheel. However, just as she was getting her bearing and steering "sea legs", a large yacht came out of nowhere right in front of us! Thankfully, our driver had quick reflexes and halted the boat, but we were less than four inches away from the yacht when both sea vessels came to a complete stop. Needless to say, the people on the yacht weren't the happiest campers.
My roommate soaking in the sun
Boat 8! (the winning boat)
Our scavenger hunt entailed answering trivia facts about Seattle as well as locating various landmarks around the lake. One of these landmarks was the boat house that was part of the set of the classic 90s rom-com "Sleepless in Seattle". We were giving clues like "What fowled the house that never sleeps?" and "What lives at the Living museum?" (to answer the former: Boat houses are often labelled for rent or for sale by a statue of a bird, so we had to take a picture of the bird that "fowled" the "Sleepless in Seattle" boat house; you can work on the other clue).
Me and the Olympic National Park crew
That weekend (June 22-24), I also camped and hiked in Olympic National Park with one of my roommates and two of her friends living in the Seattle area. I simply can not capture the breathtaking views and moments of the great outdoors. Despite the fact that I am a relative "noob" to the whole outdoors experience, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and my company and highly encourage others to adventure into the outdoors. I was particularly impressed with the National Park's Service ability to provide accessible trails for everyone from the week-long wilderness backpackers to the families with small children.
Close brush with deer
Despite an omninous forecast of rain throughout the weekend, we were able to see great views of the Pacific Ocean, the Hoh rain forest, and many cute (and some not-so-cute) creatures. While hiking through one of the rain forests, we encountered a herd of elk just a ways off the trail and stood face to face with some elk no more than 10 feet away. It was literally breathtaking seeing these large beasts calmly eat as we silently snapped photos and revelled in the opportunity.
Just hanging around
Pensive thoughts along Kalaloch beach
More excited thoughts along Kalaloch beach
Sand Spraying fun at the beach
One of my other favorite moments from the trip included our last stop at a beach that let you drive in the sand. We were driving in an four-wheel-drive Suburu and had a blast spinning circles in the sand and even daring to see how far into the tide we could go with the car. It was pretty funny all-around because we left a window open while trying to carve donuts into the sand and a wall of sand flooded our car during one particularly sweet turn. While we enjoyed frolicking in the sand, another car apparently tried to copy our skimboarding stunt and was subsequently pulled over by the beach police for driving in the water. Oops. Anyways, through the fun and laughter, I was reminded daily in the most amazing ways of the beauty of God's creation.
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