A bluebird day

Two Posts in a row... Please do not stop reading the blog because Erin also contributed and edited along the way!

Memorial Day weekend brought several great things to Seattle, amazing weather, new restaurants, and oh yeah MY PARENTS!!!!!

Mom and Dad were greatly anticipated guests and we were very excited about having them in town. They flew in on the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend and we started off with a nice dinner at one of our new spots, Percy's... fried chicken and no waiting.

Friday brought a great start to the day at my favorite diner, Lost Lake for breakfast and catching up. We spent the day walking around the Capital Hill neighborhood, Pike's Market, Kerry Park, drove around the Magnolia neighborhood to take in the views of the Sound, ending the day with our favorite "gangsters", Bad Jimmy's brewery and Big Mario's pizza.

Saturday was shaping up to be a long day... but was it worth it. We had a Bluebird Day... high sun and clears blue skies. The "Mountain" (Mount Rainier) was out all day, showing off her wonder. All day we kept saying... "what a view"! We started with one of our favorite places, the Paradise area of Rainier National Park. It is a absolutely perfect day for this area of the park. We started with a snowy hike up the mountain side, Mom and Dad in 1/2 inch crampons and Erin and I in snowshoes. We trudged up the mountain side like pioneers, waded through pine tree forests, and professionally navigated sharp cliffs... just a little poetic embellishment just for you Mom, LOL.

We followed up that 1.5 mile snow hike with a new area of the park for everyone. The Grove of Patriarchs, which is an amazing area of the park... 1000 year old trees. It was a beautiful day at Mount Rainier National Park.

After a long day at the park we decided that dinner at the apartment was a good idea. We had something off the grill, thanks for the birthday gift Mom and Dad.

We probably should have guest all of the time because the weather seems to get better in Seattle when the Starck's have guests in town. We opened up the day with a very nice walk through Discovery Park and a relaxing sit on the beach with views of both Rainier and the Olympics.

Erin and I had decided we would try out a new suburb of Seattle on Sunday called Woodenville. This is the winery area of Seattle and sure enough, my parents had already been there. Either way it was great, we started with two bottles of wine, cheese, meats, and caramels for a snack at Chateau Ste Michelle. We found a spot on the grass to layout our blanket and chairs for a couple hours of chatting, snacking and drinking. But that was not the only winery we went to... one is not enough for this team. We then headed to Matthews winery also in Woodinville. Much more of a casual atmosphere at Matthews... more my speed, we sat in Adirondack chairs on the grass enjoying a very good bottle of Cuvee wine. After dinner we headed up to Golden Beach for a perfect sunset over the Olympic Mountain range. Sitting and staring at mountain has certainly not gotten old for this guy.

Monday, we headed off to the beach... Alki to be specific. Yeah, yeah.. we take everyone there, but you will see why when you come to visit. We got there early as we thought it would be very busy... and it was. We got a perfect spot on the beach facing the Olympic Mountain range and enjoyed the nearly 80 degree weather. A soft cool breeze off the the Puget sound made the weather extremely comfortable. We grabbed lunch at one of my favorite spots Blue Moon Burger. It is a converted gas station which serves good burgers, sides and beer. We spent all day on the beach and saw the tide start to change both ways. We were all pretty wiped out from sitting around all day so for dinner we headed out to a neighborhood pizza spot for a quick bit before we headed home for the night.

All in all, we had a great time with Mom and Dad during their visit. It has been very special for us that people continue to come out and visit, and we appreciate having them.

Until our next visitor in June and the Kegler's visit in July - you will be stuck with hiking photos and our first PNW camping trip coming up in a few weeks!