We met my parents in Long Beach, Washington for a weekend of hikes, history, sandcastles, and occasional sun, and concluded our visit with a half-day adventure across the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon. I had never been to Astoria and didn’t know what to expect. My parents picked up some tourism brochures and on one …
When my mom mentioned that there was some sort of sandcastle building competition held in Washington each year, I had a couple of reactions. First, I had a hard time believing there was a beach somewhere in the state that offered enough viable sand for this activity. While I love the rugged Pacific Northwest coast, …
Continue reading Sandcastles and Sea Views in Long Beach, Washington
There are so many things to learn when you move somewhere new, and among them is the geography. I'm guessing many people have heard of Long Beach. I certainly had. I just assumed that when people here in Washington were referring to it, they meant the one in California. In my defense, a ton of people …
Continue reading Hikes and History of Long Beach, Washington
Usually I am the one pushing my husband to get out of the house on the weekends. It's not that he's not adventurous, it's just that after traveling for work all week, he usually needs a break on the weekends. He was a trooper for my birthday, completing his travels and then turning around and …
In anticipation of our bike trip to Vancouver Island, British Columbia for my birthday, we really wanted to get the bikes out and make sure everything was in working order. There are so many great motorcycle rides in the Pacific Northwest that we had no trouble pulling out a list of routes that would allow …
Continue reading How to Spend a Morning on the Kitsap Peninsula
We continue to make our way through different Seattle neighborhoods, discovering the better known as well as the lesser known things to do, places to eat, and more. Although we've been to Capitol Hill on a few occasions, we haven't spent an entire day there getting to know the neighborhood. A few recent experiences include: Meeting …
The Smith Tower remains an iconic standout on Seattle's skyline, despite being surrounded on all sides by gigantic skyscrapers in various stages of completion. Its bright white exterior and interesting design are easy to spot as you're walking around downtown. We remembered learning about it on our first visit to Seattle in 2010, and although we've seen …
Finding direction and purpose on the road, in the outdoors, and on the page
Finding direction and purpose on the road, in the outdoors, and on the page
Finding direction and purpose on the road, in the outdoors, and on the page
Heather's Compass 