Learning is Living

Mt Baker and the north cascades

My good friends Jodi and Brett invited me to join them president's day weekend up near Mt Baker for some fun in the snow. I was reminded again what a treasure that area of the north cascades is. It's a shame I don't make it there more often. I plan to change that in the coming year.

Views of shuksan from our snowshoe

fancy footwork

winter wonderland

Cama Beach

I took some of my favorite ladies up to Camano Island this weekend for a little R&R at the newly opened Cama Beach State Park Resort. It was a fantastic weekend of girl time, sunshine and wine. Well worth a repeat visit sometime soon...

Some of my favorite ladies

The view from our cabin

Walking the beach

Looking across the sound.

Sunset

What I do...

This blog is all about what i do outside of work, which is what I consider "living". But the work I do, Structural Engineering, can be really satisfying too. Especially when you get to attend the opening of a project you saw from start to finish. Blank Paper to completed building. And it's even more impressive when you get to view that building along with a glorious winter sunset.

Finding some aloha

The afore mentioned "cheating" escapes of November and December had left me long overdue for a real one. By the tail end of the Seattle Christmas Snowpocolypse I had reached my breaking point. I booked myself a MLK weekend escape to Hawaii. One of the benefits of living on the west coast is that it's fairly cheap and easy to get there. This was my first trip and it was much too short... but something tells me i'll be back.

Waikiki

Honolulu Farmer's Market

Gallant Men of the USS Arizona

The ship lies below

On the beach

Books and a cocktail

Waikiki Sunset

Looking up the windward coast

Driving

The North Shore

If you want to see more photos you can go here...

inspired...

I saw a posting on flickr asking people to submit their top photos of 2008. I couldn't narrow mine down to just one so I decided to post my top 16 here (8 from the US and 8 from argentina).... let me know which one you vote for.

In Argentina...

Recoleta

Penguins

Sunshine

Big Ice

Cerro Torre & wood

Fitz Roy

Cerro Torre & Ice

Sunrise on Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre

In the US...

Wolsfeld

Superior

Baker

Teanaway

Patriarchs

Beach

Low Tide

Ferry Sunset

November and December "out of town"

So remember that my out of town once a month goal has loose rules... and in the last two months of 2008 I stretched those a little further. Some may say I'm cheating. I prefer to think of it as following the spirit of the law, if not the letter. See, the intent of the monthly goal is to take myself out of my routine once a month. In this I refresh my spirit and avoid the passing of endless weeks without something notable to acknowledge.

By those rules these experiences fit the bill...

NOVEMBER... Northgate Mall.

Being from the land where malls were born I have had more than my fair share of mall experiences. Nothing says Minneapolis like a dash from your car to the front door in sub zero temps to avoid having to carry your coat around all day. Still, since moving to this fair city my mall experiences have been (thankfully) limited. In my urban neighborhood it's frankly more convenient to shop local than to drive to the mall. But the lure of forever 21 lured Trish and I to Northgate. The whole experience was out of body. Not necessarily refreshing, but notable enough to shake things up a bit. Thanks to trish for the iphone pics.

Too bad i don't need another light up waterfall

New york? or Northgate Red Robin

DECEMBER... snowed in.

Seattle loves snow--when it comes rarely and melts out by the next day. Everyone takes a little vacation, deadlines shift, and people bundle their kids up more than is necessary for the 33 degree temperatures. Still, this year's Blizzard of 2008 had even the most star-y eyed of seattlites experiencing a little cabin fever. I spent the week in a state of confusion, being bombarded with memories on what a real winter is like. I was never so relieved to see a thaw.

Then and now

As you saw in my previous post, this fall marked a return to a special minnesota place. Wolsfeld Woods. One of the few (small) remnants of the big woods. It was saved because of its maple trees which were used for sap. I've been coming here a long time and it's changed a lot but it's still beautiful. And now for a side by side comparison...

1982

2008

Minnesota

This fall was the first time I had returned to the midwest in the fall since I moved 8 years ago. I forgot how beautiful the midwest could be with amazing sunny days and brilliant color and no mosquitos. Of course I know it isn't always that way but it sure felt nice. I was oddly nostalgic for good ol' MN. And had a wonderful time connecting with friends and family.

The restored Fitger's Brewery in Duluth