The Hazard Chronicles

Last weekend my parents came to town. Months ago, we had planned a big trip even though at the time, such a trip was impossible (yet another reminder of the weirdness of 2020). We had confidence, however, that things would change by October.

It turns out that confidence was misplaced. 2020 continues to be weird.

But even though our original plans did not come to fruition, we still had my parents in town who were more than happy to spend a few days with our kids while Rach and I went out to play. It was a fabulous weekend, and we are grateful that they were so willing to give us this time.

So, what did we do? Seattle.

It really was a refreshingly fabulous trip. It's difficult to write about, because there wasn't anything that really stands out on its own. Rather, it was a conglomerate of time spent together, neat settings, good conversations, proud moments, and new places and experiences that made this trip so worthwhile.

Here are a few photos.

Exploring "The Exits" near Snoqualmie Pass. Ostensibly, we were checking out the local climbing scene. It was too wet to actually get on the rock, but the recent rain also made the atmosphere feel amazing and lush for a brisk Autumn hike.

Beach walk at sunset. The wind was really blowing, riling up the normally calm waters of the Puget Sound. You can't tell in this photo, but watching the waves crash against the retaining wall at Alki Beach was actually pretty wild.

Vertical World. In 1987 they glued some rocks onto some plywood and dubbed themselves America's first climbing gym. Since then, they have updated a little bit, and in the process have become known as the home of some of the nations strongest climbers. We actually spent time here on two of the days- both of which were very productive and encouraging for both of us. Let's just say that we both had, probably, the best gym days of our lives. At least on ropes...

More hiking. This was on a calm day at Discovery Park overlooking the bay. Pretty nice.

We went to a tasting room at Pike Place for lunch one day. It was a neat setting, we had a wonderful host, and the lunch itself was top notch.

One other noteworthy thing about Seattle was just how dead the city was. Lots of businesses (especially small ones) were shut down completely. We actually had a difficult time finding a cafe' to eat at for breakfast. I mean, when coffee shops are shut down in Seattle, you know things have really gotten really weird.

Also, our car got towed. Turns out you can't park in a bus lane. That was fun...

Ok. One more picture. This is the finished tension board in our home gym. I have already spent a lot of time on it and I LOVE it. I think I said this in a different post already, but having this gym really is like a dream come true.

Have a good week!