Tickets: bought!

I just bought the cheapest round trip tickets of my life. SEA-AMS, AMS-SEA for $70. 41 days of life in a backpack, coming right up!

the Oyster Dome "Death March"

I think before yesterday I'd already been up Oyster Dome 2 or 3 times this year, but it never really gets old… especially when you get to add more people!

M, me, Kelsey, Melissa, and Jim.

We did the first death march* of the year under sunny 70* skies yesterday. It really doesn’t get better than on a warm day and with a great crew!

*The hike was named the "death march" by a co-worker last year who suggested that we were trying to kill him with the pace we set up the 2000ft hill.

Palouse visit!

This post is loooong overdue... as was the road trip to Pullman that M and I took 3 weeks ago!It was my first time back in my old college town in nearly 2 years, and we had a blast!
We took Highway 2 over the Cascades because a) we missed Seattle traffic, and b) because it was an excuse to stop in Leavenworth! We had to swing by the cheesemonger's shop for Wurst, Rotkohl, and Emmenthaler cheese to go with the Käsespätzle dinner planned for Saturday night.

Buckly the Wandering Bison visits Leavenworth

We rolled into Pullman around 9 and went directly to Wendy’s cute little apartment. She and Phoebe (the greatest fuzzball of a pom-cross you’ve ever met!) let us have their living room to unroll our sleeping bags, and we were all out like light bulbs.

Saturday was cool but sunny, and after omelettes we rendezvoused with Sharon for a hike up Kamiak Butte. It was perfect! We took a trail down the back side fo the hill that was practically empty, leaving us to walk with our own conversation. The one downside to visiting Pullman on Mom’s weekend was the number of moms who were touring the area with their students!

Hiking on the Palouse!

To beat the crowd, we got coffee (Buccer’s!) and lunch (the Co-Op!) in Moscow. M had never been there before, so we dinked around town and introduced him to Hyperspud and TriState. Back in Pullman, we headed over to catch up with the Aasen clan (the girls are so big!) and then home to collaborate on a German dinner. Marcus roasted the brats he’d picked out in Leavenworth under the broiler while Whendy and I improvised Spätzle grater by cutting the corner off of a plastic bag. I squeezed dough out of the bag while Wendy cut the noodles with scissors. It actually turned out pretty well, and with the Emmenthaler under the broiler for a few minutes… With a bottle of Riesling, dinner was not to be rushed!

We weren’t exactly hungry when we went back to Moscow in the morning to visit the Breakfast Club. It was worth it, though! Can you say huckleberry zucchini bread?

Sign outside of the Breakfast Club

The trip home went faster than it ever did in college, helped both by good company in the car and by a stop to see cousin J1 in  Ellensburg.