dour musings

yesterday we walked around the bellevue college campus. there is a sculpture that is sort of like wireframe stairs up into the sky. i wonder if the patron was a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold?

last saturday we went for three short hikes instead of a long one. we started off with little si, a small foothill next to mt si. at 5 miles round trip and 1250 ft elevation gain it was a perfect quick hike on a perfect day. it was sunny and warmed up to 72 degrees, which felt really rather hot. next we hiked to the bottom of snoqualmie falls. amanda and i visited the falls last year, but amanda hadn't been to the bottom before. lastly we walked a very short trail at redmond watershed park and picked up a trail map for future use. we heard lots of tree frogs, but were unable to catch a glimpse of any.
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we stopped for lunch at the snoqualmie brewery. good food and beer and a handy location for after a hike!

on the way home we picked up a pizza from briatore, our favorite little pizza place in bellevue.

Labels: breweries, food, hiking, pictures, weather

to celebrate the temporary return of cooler, wetter weather, amanda and i hiked to lake serene on saturday in fresh snow. it's a beautiful place and a good workout. it's always interesting to see the differences in ecosystems and microclimates when you ascend a few thousand feet. this time it was very still and quiet by the lake except for the occasional cracking sounds from rocks and ice falling off mt index. i've been to lake serene twice now, once in the rain and once in the snow, and i haven't seen the lake without ice on it yet. we'll return some sunny summer day.

on sunday we went to three brewpubs in downtown seattle. they were nothing special and we crossed them off our list. even on a sunday the crowds downtown are not our cup of tea, but sometimes it's fun to go anyway.

Labels: breweries, hiking, pictures

last friday i took my camera to work and took some pictures around the office.

then amanda and i headed out to visit 4 breweries in the ballard area. i've been taking notes on our beer tastings and it's great to be able to refer back to them, but i'm quickly going to have an unwieldy amount of information. for now i'm just typing them in notes on my iphone, but soon i'll either find or create a better way to organize my beer tasting notes.

we started by visiting theo chocolate and taking a walk (and pictures) along the fremont canal. the weather was nice and the cormorants in the trees were cool. later while walking around ballard we stopped by a wood furniture store, which had a lot of nice local wood furniture at fair prices, but they say they just can't compete with asia for the little things. right now i only have room and need for a couple of small things, but i'm simply not interested in pieces that aren't locally made. so i'm still investigating local woodworkers. does anybody know a good place to buy wood products in the pacific northwest?

brief overview of the 4 breweries we visited:
fremont brewing: good beers, great casual neighborhood brewery. we'll definitely be back.
jolly roger taproom (maritime pacific brewing): good beers, but maybe a bit skewed malty except for the IPA. we had deep fried bacon (very good) and their onion rings (unique, but too smoky for us). despite good beer and interesting fried foods, we will be hesitant to return because of the atmosphere. they just moved to a new bigger location and they already can't accommodate the demand. it was VERY LOUD and crowded. try to go at an off time!
hale's ales: they had more than a dozen beers on tap. the sampler we had was a mixed bag. we'll try the rest of their beers sometime. the atmosphere was like a family restaurant and the brewery area was open for viewing. it was quiet and felt like a refuge after jolly roger.
naked city taphouse: they only had two of their own beers on tap, but both were excellent! their big lebrewski imperial stout is among the best stouts we've had. we split a sandwich and salad and both were very good. we'll be back!

overall it was a great experience and a very fun friday. by doing so much on a friday evening it made the whole weekend feel longer (in a good way). i'll be increasingly utilizing that technique as the days extend and the weather warms.

on saturday we returned to the uw campus for the final time for a while. the cherry trees are in full bloom now and certainly a sight to behold. however, it's like a circus in the quad with all the photographers and videographers and tourists and prospective students! i was happy to see the trees, but i don't think i'll make it a tradition. there are pretty trees elsewhere to see! we also swung by the botanical garden (it's closed on weekends) and the herb garden (too early in the season). we'll probably go see those sometime in the summer.

Labels: adventures, breweries, pictures

when i began with digital photography in 1998, it was little more than a toy. the resolution was low, the quality was low, and the camera wasn't even that cheap. but despite the drawbacks i enjoyed it even more than i thought i would. for the first time i could capture any moment. well, sort of. no matter the context, my ability to capture the moment could not do it justice. over the years i became more interested in photography and upgraded my equipment a few times. in 2005 i got a canon digital rebel, allowing me to take "real" pictures for the first time. but i've been using the lens that came with it ever since, which was in some ways better than anything i'd used before, but for my style it was inferior to my previous glass in a few key technical ways. in the years since 2005 i've taken some great snapshots, but i've lost my interest in the art of photography. the investment required to reach the next level was steep. i've finally made the investment and my eyes are open again. f2.8 + IS + a quality UV filter + lens hood allow me to do things i could never do before and let me investigate subjects in a way that i have been missing for a long time. feel free to follow me as i discover the possibilities.

last thursday amanda and i went to mercer slough after work and took some pictures in the twilight.

on saturday we took some pictures around the apartment complex, then went for a hike at lord hill, then went to breweries in everett.

sunday we walked all over the university of washington campus. our primary destination was the union bay natural area, which is a nice bird habitat. last christmas i picked up ibird explorer western for my iphone so amanda and i could identify the birds we see on our hikes. so far we've identified 20 different birds. it's really cool to know what birds are around just by hearing their calls.

Labels: breweries, hiking, pictures

we've had beautiful sunny weather for about a week. amanda and i have been taking advantage of it by spending more time outside. i've also been taking advantage of the clear nights to play with skygazer on my iphone.

last wednesday i took my camera to work and took a walk at lunchtime to take pictures of pretty things.
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on thursday we went to malt and vine to taste the legendary pliny the younger, considered by many to be the best beer in the world. it was great! not necessarily my favorite, but a fine beer for sure. malt and vine can get very crowded for special events, so it was nice to be able to sit outside and not get drizzled on this time!
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saturday we went for a bike ride on the sammamish river trail. we started at marymoor park and rode to woodinville, where we had lunch at teddy's. we had teriyaki burgers and garlic fries and they were delicious! the trail wasn't too crowded and we saw many pretty flowers, cool remote control planes, and a flock of canadian geese. we hadn't been on a bike ride for months, so at the end we were a bit tired and sore, but we had a really nice day in the sunshine.
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sunday was amanda's birthday. we took a nice stroll around the bellevue botanical garden.
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Labels: adventures, bike, breweries, food, pictures, weather

on sunday, amanda and i went for a hike at squak mountain. we hiked all the way over it to the picnic area in the may valley, had lunch, then hiked back over. it was overcast and lightly drizzling when we started, got very foggy, then cleared up and was a nice day. we saw some spring flowers, lots of mushrooms, many cougar tracks, and a pair of eagles.
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today i had the day off for presidents' day and amanda and i walked around the uw campus. there were many spring flowers, but the big old cherry trees aren't blooming yet. we'll go back in a couple of weeks.
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Labels: hiking, pictures

last november was the wettest ever in seattle. for two weeks in december we had record cold temperatures. january was the warmest on record. now we have springtime in february. trees have buds, daffodils are up, some shrubs are in full bloom, cherry trees are blossoming. two months early.

Labels: weather

stop the presses! do you get tons of advertising flyers in the mail? do you just toss them out? recycle them, maybe? yesterday i did something that has been on my list for a long time. i noticed who was responsible for sending me the local advertising flyers, went to their website, and removed my address from their mailing list. it was surprisingly easy and it will save so much paper over the coming years. please consider doing the same; it just takes a few minutes. and if you actually use the coupons, it's quite likely that you can get the same coupons and learn about the same sales on their website. i also try to remove my address from the mailing list for any other catalogs and flyers i receive. that is sometimes more difficult. today i had to call two companies, but it still wasn't that bad. even better than Recycling the paper is Reducing the amount that is mailed out.

Labels: green

amanda and i have had a busy january! we hiked every weekend!

last saturday we went south to the enumclaw area and did 2 hikes and visited 2 breweries!

it was a cloudy and drizzly day, but only a light drizzle off and on. no rain gear was necessary. our first hike was at federation forest state park, a small section of preserved old growth forest in a heavily logged area along the white river near mt rainier. it was great to see the huge old trees! some of the trail was through a bog and was the muddiest trail we've hiked yet. saw deer tracks but no deer. the "hobbit houses" were in a remote section of forest. people have left gnomes and other trinkets. it was partly fun and partly creepy.
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our second hike was at mud mountain rim along the white river downstream from federation forest near the mud mountain dam, which is a large old flood control dam. at that point the white river has carved a deep gorge. the trail followed the rim of the gorge for a few miles. there were some nice views into the gorge culminating at a bench directly across from a stream cascading down the opposite side of the gorge.
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we visited elkhead brewing in buckley, wa. the beers were surprisingly good for a place out in the middle of nowhere. they brew about a dozen different beers and we liked almost all of them. they had a good porter with licorice root and a pepper beer that is almost too spicy to drink! we will definitely be back when we go to mt rainier in the summer.

we had burgers at shake n go. they tasted sooo good, but we were starving by then. ;) the fried mushrooms were good too.

we visited trade route brewing in pacific, wa. the beers were interesting, but kind of gross. not interested in drinking any of them again.

Labels: breweries, food, hiking, pictures