Contrary to popular belief, winters in Seattle aren’t a constant stream of depressing rain and clouds (although having grown up a desert rat, I quite enjoy the rain). The sun does occasionally make an appearance during the winter, as occurred a few weeks ago when we had nearly an entire week of incredible blue skies and sunshine.

Earlier this winter we purchased the Seattle CityPass, which lets you visit a bunch of touristy things for a ridiculously low price. With the appearance of blue skies, we seized the opportunity to use our ticket for the Space Needle.

Built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the Space Needle quickly became the symbol of Seattle. At a height of 605 feet, the Space Needle offers amazing views of the Seattle city skyline, Elliott Bay, Mount Rainier, and the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges. One trip to the top and you’ll quickly agree that this is the most beautiful city in the United States.

Downtown Seattle

Ships in Elliott Bay

Lake Union

Mount Rainier in the distance

The rest of the photos are here.

After a particularly long stretch of foul weather, including a week of snow and ice storms, we were coming down with a slight case of cabin fever. So, despite the cold and rain (this is the Pacific Northwest, after all) we decided to head over to Whidbey Island for a short hike at Deception Pass State Park. We hiked from West Beach to Goose Rock, and this has definitely been one of my favorite hikes so far (I just wish it were a little longer). The scenery is absolutely stunning – a combination of driftwood-choked beaches, small offshore islands, and old growth forests.

The rest of the photos are here.

I love snow. Probably because I grew up in a place where the average winter temperature is 74 degrees, so I never had the whole winter wonderland experience. We woke up to our first snowfall of the year here in Seattle. It doesn’t snow here very often, so the entire neighborhood was outdoors throwing snowballs and sledding down the city’s many hills (and, of course, there were plenty of idiot drivers out). Here are a few shots I took on a walk around our First Hill neighborhood.

View from our apartment. It started to come down pretty heavily around noon.

One of the great things about living in the Pacific Northwest is the hiking. Yes, the east coast has hiking, but nothing that compares to what we have on the West Coast (in fact, I am hard pressed to come up with anything the east coast does better. Subway systems, maybe).

Back in October we hiked the Snow Lake Trail, located in the Snoqualmie Region an hour’s drive from Seattle. The hike was eight miles roundtrip, and not very strenuous, especially considering how quickly we seemed to gain elevation. This supposedly one of the most popular hiking trails in the region, but since we went in October when it was a bit chillier, it wasn’t very crowded.

At about 3.5 miles in, once you reach the ridge, you are greeted by the sight of this beautiful alpine lake:

One of several waterfalls

By the lakeshore

And what better way to end a long day of hiking than by visiting the local brewery? The Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom is located not far from where we went hiking, so we ended the day with a giant plate of nachos and delicious beer sampler:

This fellow was standing in the middle of California State Route 1 while we were driving from San Francisco to Eureka, California last year as part of our 1,500+ mile road trip up the West Coast. While the vast majority of California State Route One is devoid of livestock, this particular portion wound its way through miles and miles of dairy farms. With its beautiful rolling hills and proximity to some of the best coastline in the country, it is no wonder that California is home to the happiest cows in the country.

Next to train travel, road trips are one of my favorite ways to travel. If embarking on your own road trip, always make sure that your motor insurance is valid and up-to-date (in many states, proof of insurance is required by law). A policy that includes car breakdown cover is also very worthwhile to have, as you may find yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere if your car encounters mechanical difficulties. Carrying one of these policies definitely ensures peace of mind.

This past weekend we took a daytrip to the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park, which is a four hour drive from Seattle. I’ve wanted to visit the rain forest since we arrived in Seattle two months ago and figured we should do it while the weather was decent (as it turned out, “decent” was an understatement – it was 80 degrees and clear skies on Saturday).

On our way to the rain forest we stopped at the park’s Kalaloch Area, which features several miles of unspoiled beaches. I was surprised how warm the water was – I expected it to be much, much colder.

We continued onward to the Hoh Rain Forest where we hiked (well, more like strolled) the Hall of Mosses and Spruce Nature Trails. The Hoh Rain Forest is one of the largest temperate rain forests in the United States and receives 141 to 165 inches of precipitation per year. The forest is incredibly beautiful and unique, featuring large bigleaf maples and Sitka spruces draped with thick clumps of moss and a floor of lush ferns.

After our short hike through the rain forest, we headed back to the coast for a quick stop at Second Beach. I had heard good things about this particular beach, and it did not disappoint. To reach the beach from the parking lot, you must hike a .7 mile trail through lush, green forest, but eventually rays of sunshine penetrate the thick canopy and the trees begin to thin out, treating you to some spectacular coastal scenery.

We had a long drive back to Seattle that evening, but stopped at 8th St Ale House in Hoquiam for dinner. After a long day enjoying the great outdoors, what could be better than a pint of beer and fish & chips?

The rest of the photos are here. Enjoy!

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Wyoming

We arrived in Seattle nearly two weeks ago and have settled into our apartment with the exception that most of our belongings are currently on a broken-down truck somewhere in South Dakota. Yeah, I’m kinda regretting using Allied Van Lines to move everything, but it’ll get here eventually.

Anyways, some some selected thoughts from our recent road trip:

- Before traveling through the South (ie, Kentucky) check the NASCAR schedule, or else you might find yourself stuck in traffic for hours.

- My uncle in Illinois still makes the greatest BBQ sauce in the world.

- Drivers in Red Bud, IL have no idea how stop signs work.

- There is a Churchill Museum in the middle of nowhere, Missouri. Random.

- Columbia, MO has some damn good beer (see Flat Branch Brewery)

- I was amazed at how many wineries there are in Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. Now this may be the California chauvinist part of me speaking, but, seriously?!

- Everyone said that driving through Kansas is horrible. I can see where they are coming from as far as the monotony of the drive, but I actually thought it was quite relaxing. I love cruising along with some good music.

- I am pretty sure I was the only person driving through Kansas with a surfboard.

- Colorado is incredibly beautiful, especially during thunderstorms. I loved Denver and Fort Collins (the breweries definitely helped) and could definitely see myself living in Colorado. Thanks to Liz, Nick, and Wrigley for their hospitality.

- State troopers in Wyoming don’t care if you pass them at 85mph in a 65mph zone.

- Yellowstone is really that amazing and deserving of its reputation. Photos will be up shortly.

- Buffalo meat should be served in more restaurants.

- My Xterra is a bug killin’ machine.

- There are only two radio stations in Montana. One plays country music; the other plays nothing but “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult.

- After driving for two weeks, I actually miss being on the road.

- I am very, very glad to be in Seattle while the rest of the country is experiencing a heat wave. Our temperatures here have been in the high 60s/low 70s.

- I can’t believe I actually left DC. This is truly a dream come true. I was actually shedding tears of joy as I sat in Beltway traffic on our way out of the metro area. It has been a long, strange, frustrating, and simultaneously wonderful decade in our nation’s capitol.

Oh, and it cost me $577 to drive across the country, just $30 shy of Cost2Drive’s prediction. Not bad.

Here is another photo from January’s West Coast road trip, when we drove 1500 miles up the coast from Southern California to Seattle using a discount car rental we snagged online (here is a small bit of advice, though – if the rental agency gives you a Chevy HHR as your rental car, ask for a different car. It is horribly uncomfortable).

While Central California’s Big Sur seems to grab all the glory when it comes to panoramic ocean vistas in California, I think the coast of northern California is just as beautiful (and certainly far less crowded). Sonoma Coast State Beach is located just off Highway 1 approximately 80 miles north of San Francisco. If you are lucky, you may be able to spot the gray whales, harbor seals and California sea lions that live in this area. Just be careful of the cliffs and don’t enter the water unless you are a strong swimmer, as the rip current can be deadly (also, the water is incredibly cold up here).

As much as I loved this place, we didn’t spend much time here, just stopping briefly at this spot to take a few photos before continuing 100 miles northward to Fort Bragg, where we had a delicious dinner of beer and fish and chips at the North Coast Brewing Company. I would definitely like to return to the Sonoma Coast sometime in the future to explore it further.

We didn’t spend much time on the Oregon coast, since our main reason for being in Oregon was to scout Portland as a potential city to relocate to from Washington, DC (as it turns out, we are moving to Seattle in July 2011). Also, a quick shout out to my friend and fellow LSE alum, Erin, and her husband, David, for cooking a delicious dinner for us at their home in Salem. Much appreciated!

The beautiful Oregon Coast

The tallest trees in the world can be found in the Redwood Empire, the strip of land that stretches along California’s northern coast from San Francisco to the Oregon border. While driving from Eureka to Portland, we stopped in the Redwood National and State Parks to walk amongst these giants.

Elk everywhere

The redwoods were incredible. This place is definitely on my list of destinations I will be returning to sometime in the future.

More photos here.