Seattle Summer, the Tonkers, and Blackberry Pie!

August is the best month to visit Seattle, as I’ve probably  told most of you at some point.  While there are sometimes exceptions,  August days are sunny, void of humidity, and full of deep blue skies, tons of hiking opportunities, and all the blackberries and blueberries you could ever pick.  Patrick and Brianne visited us our first August here (along with Blythe, Aaron’s parents, Kim Nichols, and my mom).  Since then, Patrick and Brianne have had a baby, moved to Iowa, and are now 4 months pregnant with their second.  I was thrilled when they called to say they were coming for another visit (and leaving little Patrick with his grandmother).  Don’t get me wrong, I love babies, and I’d really really love to meet him, but our condo is pretty small.

It was a relaxing visit, and we usually didn’t leave the house until at least noon.  Patrick watched at least 8 episodes of Arrested Development (we introduced him to the Bluth Family), we spent an afternoon picking blackberries at Discovery Park, and we ate at Pike Place Chowder, Blue C, Dilletante’s, and Assimba (our favorite Ethiopian place down the street).  After picking three full bowls of blackberries, Brianne helped me make my first blackberry pie (with homemade crust).  I’m happy to say that it was pretty tasty, especially a la mode. 

 On Sunday we woke up early and took the ferry over to Bainbridge, then drove to Olympic NP.  Hurricane Ridge was closed because of a landslide (whoops), so we spent most of our time on the shore at Rialto Beach, then took a short hike to Sol Duc Falls.  For lunch we stopped in Forks, and while we avoided most of the Twilight madness, Patrick did make sure to order the “Twilight” sub from Subway (Ham and Chicken? How does that equal vampires?).  The ferry wait was ridiculous once we got to Bainbridge, so we drove south via Tacoma, and I finally got to drive over the Tacoma Narrows (with the mountain in pink in the distance).  It was a good day.

We had a great visit, but I really needed to catch up on some sleep this week.  I’m teaching in the mornings for a study skills camp, which has reminded me just how draining kids can be.  Aaron is back to his regular work routine and is playing ultimate with a league at work.  Yesterday I surprised him and came to watch his game, which of course he won.  It was good to just sit on the sidelines and cheer him on.  I’m working on being a better cheerleader these days.