The Route of the Hiawatha

 To celebrate Labor Day, Jason and I, along with some of our Spokane friends went and rode bikes down The Route of the Hiawatha. 

Holy Moly. What an experience! 

I've heard from a few different sources that this bike trail is a must if living or visiting the inland northwest. I am so glad we did it! It was hands down, one of the most beautiful places I've seen while living in this region. The trail is 15 miles long and is a gentle down hill ride the whole time. You go through 11 tunnels (one of which is 1.66 miles long!) and over 9 high trestles.
The entire terrain seems like something out of a movie. It was unreal.
Trees beyond trees beyond trees.
All your surrounds are so green!
Gorgeous waterfalls just a few feet off the trail. 

Here's how it works-

You'll need:

 -bikes (road bikes not recommended) 

-A helmet

-A headlamp

-A jacket (some of the long tunnels get pretty chilly!)

*If you don't own any of the above, you can rent it from Lookout pass.

You purchase a trail pass, a bus pass and any needed rental gear from Lookout pass. Then you drive about 5 miles down the highway and park your car at the top of the trail. Next, hop on those bikes and ride leisurely for 2.5 hours or so. Bring a lunch and a camera. I promise you'll be stopping multiple times just to enjoy and take in the scenery. When you get to the bottom you load your bikes up on a bus and it takes you right back up to the top!

Easy peasy.

This experience is right there on the top of my list of  Spokane memories. I can't tell you how glad I am we did this. If you ever come this way for a visit, add this to your to-do list.
It'll definitely be something you'll never forget!

Visit this website for info and reservations.

The Tacoma Museum of Glass

While living on the west side of the state this summer, we tried to see and do as much as possible that we couldn't do in Spokane. On our summer bucket list was to visit the Tacoma Museum of Glass. 

Have you ever seen anyone do glass blowing?

It was so cool! The way they maneuvered and stretched the hot molten glass was awesome. It almost looked like salt water taffy. 

Pulling. Expanding. Lengthening, all in one continual motion. 

I seriously could sit and watch it for hours. It was so calming. Almost therapeutic in a way.

I've gained a great appreciation for glass art. There are no two pieces alike. Each one has individual characteristics that makes it unique and unlike another. 

If you ever get a chance to visit a glass museum you must go!

That was my first visit and definitely not my last. 

Pictures taken by my personal photographer.

aka-Jason

Blog Neglect

How does that saying go? Time flies when you're having fun? That is exactly how I am feeling right now :)

We are back in Spokane and embarking on our last year of law school! We have had a fun filled summer and have lots of awesome plans ahead of us too. I plan on sharing it all here on this silly little blog but until then, enjoy these crappy pixilated iphone pictures of our ice cream date we went on tonight at our favorite little sweets shop...

Lots of updates to come! 

Cross my heart. 

xoxo,

Gerberbaby

Dearest Momsie and Popsicle

Two weeks ago we were lucky enough to have my parents come up and visit for a few days. 

It was such a blast!

I've never been much of a homesick kind of girl but having my parents be around and then watching them drive away after only a few days was rough! 

I am so grateful to call these two fine people my mom and dad. They are the kindest, funniest, most generous people I know. I couldn't have asked for better parents. ;) 

On their first night here I whipped up a fantastic dinner and then we sat around the camp fire in the backyard and visited. Being from AZ where its two seasons are either hot or hotter, the 'rents were loving the cooler temperatures the northwest had to offer. They also came bearing gifts! My mom gave me the most darling necklace that she found at a little boutique along the Oregon coast. And for Jason-a grocery bag full of sour candy. ;) He. was. in. heaven. 

PS-doesn't he look like Huckleberry Finn there with his pants above his ankles, dirty feet and holding that stick? 

One thing that you all must do if you ever end up in Seattle is go see the Freemont Troll under the Aurora Bridge. It was sculpted by public artist Steve Badanes. Notice how he's clutching a VW bug as if he just swiped it from the road above. 

Very cool.

On their second to last night here we ate at Wally's Chowder House & Broiler, a fantastic little restaurant right on the Puget Sound. The chowder was quite possibly the best I've ever had. Go there and try it out for yourself! 

After dinner we walked the pier and enjoyed the sunset.  

Are they not the cutest?!

Thank you mom and pops for coming to visit and spoiling us rotten for a few days!

 There are few thing better, in my opinion, than spending time with family and let me tell you, the time we spent together here in Seattle was very much time well spent. 

I love you guys past the starts and the moon!

xoxo

Camping in Leavenworth

 So as I mentioned in my previous post, I'm in the process of training for a marathon. It's going down this October in Leavenworth, WA. Just so you know, I'm not the only crazy person who is doing this thing. Our good friends from Spokane, Tyler and Laura have decided to join in on the fun (i.e.-shin splints, sore knees, heat blisters and mental and physical exhaustion). Conveniently,  Leavenworth is right smack dab in the middle of Seattle and Spokane (where we are currently living and where they are living). A few weekends ago we decided to meet up in Leavenworth, camp for a few nights and check out the course. It was a fabulous weekend that went by way too fast if you ask me! 

Here are a few pictures of our trip- 

Every night was spent relaxing by the camp fire, making smores and swapping stories. Jason appointed himself campfire keeper. He never let that thing get too low and was often off in the trees searching for kindle and firewood. 

Besides a killer early morning run on Saturday, we spent our free time exploring town, hiking trails, relaxing by the river and playing some good ol' card games. 

Left picture-me winning Phase 10 and Jason losing. He's obviously over it. ha!

Right picture-picking out some new hats. 

Here's Tyler reading 50 Shades of Grey on his kindle.  ;)

Just kidding. He was reading Moby Dick. 

Laura was so nice for letting me use her as my hair braiding guinea pig. I'd say I did a pretty good job on both the fishtail and the crownbraid! 

Boy scout Jason and boy scout Tyler spent a good portion of their camp fire time playing with knives and tree branches. I wish I could tell you that they whittled us a duck or something but sadly they did not. They did however make at least 6 really sharp and pointy sticks!

update-Jason asked me to clarify that it's eagle scout Jason and eagle scout Tyler. ;) 

Here's a little collage of what I have to deal with every time I wear a v-neck shirt.

Cleavage alert! 

Thanks Jason for making sure you documented me adjusting my shirt in  at least 4 different frames. 

My life as a carnie

Being that we are only on the west side of the state temporarily (i.e. 3 months), I knew finding a short term job was going to be a tricky task. But then lo and behold I made a discovery...

Have you ever perused the "gigs" section on craigslist? 

ha!

If you've got some time to kill get on that sucker and check it out. It's full of temp jobs and boy oh by are some of them a hoot. 

Like this one for example-

"WANTED. Goodlooking, fit male willing to keep your shirt off for 6-8 hours. Job requires some dancing and spending a good portion of the day on your feet. Saturday-Sunday, pride festival downtown Seattle. Must be outgoing. Gig pays $100 per day. Wear comfortable shoes."

I tried really hard to get Jason to do that gig but sadly he declined. ;) 

I did however find a few winners. At the beginning of the summer I landed a cashiers job at the Rock N' Roll Marathon expo. Since I am in the process of training for a marathon myself, I was pretty pumped to have scored this gig. It payed 14 bucks an hour to spend the day checking people out as they bought ridiculously expensive running gear. And who better to spend the day around then runners? Runners are the HAPPIEST people on earth. Spending time around all those extra endorphins made for a pretty great time. 

After that I found a job listing for a shaved ice and cotton candy enthusiast! Hey, that's me! I love cotton candy! I love shaved ice even more!

Done freaking deal.

Four weekends and counting, you're looking at the newest addition to the carnie world. I even recruited Jason to work at the busy festivals. From law student to carnival worker...I don't think his parents could be prouder. 

Believe it or not, it's actually a lot of fun. Not to toot my own horn but I am a cotton candy pro! That shiz is hard to handle but I've got it down to an art form. :)

It gets pretty hectic and the lines get ridiculously long from time to time, but for the most part its a pretty stress free job. And since its only on the weekends that gives me plenty of time during the week to train for my marathon. Plus, I get all the shaved ice and cotton candy my little heart desires.

WIN WIN WIN

I can't wait to update my resume. 

PS-the people watching at these events is FANTASTIC.

Take this baby for example-

IS THAT NOT THE LARGEST MAN BABY YOU'VE EVER SEEN?!

He only spoke Spanish too. 

Carnie life, I think I might miss you...