Bungee!

It’s been a year since the “great bungee jump of 2009″.

There could not have been a more fitting metaphor for the last year.

I wish I could’ve gotten a copy of the video.  You’d have heard me screaming the whole way down.

 

Roller Coaster Tycoon

“Often the only control we have is choosing how we are going to respond to the ride.”

This is the Anaconda at King’s Dominion in Virginia. Yes, I rode it. I love roller coasters.

Actually, Jarrod rode it with me and he hates roller coasters. I was totally impressed.

Eastern WA Wine

I spent this past weekend on a wine trip to Eastern WA with friends. Some of the most beautiful wineries were the ones we stopped at on the way to Walla Walla, including Fidelitas, Hightower Cellars, and Three Rivers.

The landscape was stunning

Once in Walla Walla, we set up at the Budget Inn and promptly set off for more tasting rooms. Highlights in town included Sleight of Hand, Seven Hills Winery, and Forgeron Cellars. My palate (and sobriety) were ruined by this point, but I enjoyed the quaint downtown of Walla Walla and the afternoon sun.

We had purple teeth by noon.

Just outside of town were the stunning landscapes of Waters Winery, Dusted Valley, and Basel Cellars. It was at Dusted Valley that we met the mobile food truck from which I bought the most delicious tomato and watermelon salad.

Vines

We ate well, drank delicious wines, and I couldn’t have been happier to eek out the last days of summer in the dry landscape of eastern WA.

Most of the gang, on the way east.

Saturday

Saturday was an unexpectedly lovely day. I spent most of it with my friend John, sitting on his patio (pictured here) drinking wine (pictured below.)

What was so perfect about this little corner below is that the brick building in the background is Serafina, a delicious little Italian joint. As they prepped for dinner, John and I were scent bombed with wave after wave of delicious food smells. I swear to you, it continued all afternoon. The weather was perfect, the Chardonnay cool and crisp, the magazines brand new, and the culmination of all of it put the day right over the top. It was sensory overload at its best.

I am truly grateful for old friends, simple pleasures, and the time to enjoy it all. Life is good.

Tennis

You know what else sounds fun lately?  Tennis.  Though I have no real experience with this sport, I wouldn’t mind trying to play.   Also, I think cans of tennis balls smell really good.

This is my BFF's niece ... hitting the courts.

If any of you Seattleites ever want to hit balls/huff tennis ball cans with me, let me know!

On the road

I don’t know about on bicycles, but I bet these would make  exhilarating motorcycle rides.

Filing under: To Do

Outdoorsin’ it

WA State Parks yurts, cabins, rustic shelters

SIGN ME UP!

You nailed it, Rob Brezny.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In one possible scenario I could foresee for you
in the coming week, you’re sweaty and tearful, enmeshed in an extreme
state that causes an internal blockage to dissolve. The sweat is purgative,
the tears are cathartic, and you’re riding a wave of relief and release that
clears out a backlog of emotional congestion. In a second possible future,
I could see you as supernaturally relaxed and exuberant, periodically
laughing so hard that you break up an internal blockage. The calm is
purgative, the laughter is cathartic, and you’re riding a wave of relief and
release that clears out a backlog of emotional congestion. Which scenario
would you prefer?

I chose the second, and manifested it on Sunday. We floated for so many hours in the pool that I went to bed feeling like I was on a ship.  I am so grateful for friends and cathartic laughter and summer and sunshine.

Chocolate

For the To Do list:

Theo Chocolate factory tour.

I think it sounds like a lovely way to spend a Saturday this fall.  It’s only $6, and I’ve heard there are lots of samples.  Want in?

I had their Cherry and Almond bar last week for the first time and can’t stop thinking about it.

Whitewater

You must already know how enamored I am with Groupons and taking advantage of all the great “one-day deals” around town.  So for mere pennies on the dollar (as rafting trips go), a few of us took the opportunity to go whitewater rafting on the Wenatchee river last Saturday.   Our coupon bought us a pre-rafting BBQ on the River Recreation grounds and approximately 3 hours on the river. It was a bit chilly and was mostly overcast, but we had a fabulous time.  Our guide, Angela, was top notch and we had a great “ride”, despite that it’s late in the season and the river was mostly class 2 rapids w/a few 3′s thrown in.  Overall, Team “Aplets and Cotlets” had an amazing day and is already planning a trip back for some peak water and hotter sun earlier in the season next year.

On the way back we stopped in Leavenworth, Washington’s “Bavarian Getaway” in the foothills of the Cascade mountains for beer and sausages and schnitzel and spaetzle and whatever it all was.  Turns out German food goes down great after a day of whitewater, and I highly recommend this day trip to any and all adventurers seeking a fabulous summer day trip in the Seattle area.

Jocelyn, Zeina, Randi, Josh, and Josh

Pre-river

AV Teepee provided the reggae jams.

Joce rocking her wetsuit

Team "Aplets and Cotlets"