Forrest and Mandy do Rachel Lake Trail

Unlike our regular (and local) 4-mile hikes, Rachel Lake is an "intermediate" rated 8+ mile hike just past Snoqualmie Pass. And boy, it sure was challenging.

The first 2 miles were what I was expecting for an "intermediate" hike. We breezed through the first half of the incline, with our group of 10, and only stopped twice for photos. The second 2 miles of the incline were treacherous and steep! The giant rocks, slippery stream crossings, and intimidating tree roots in constant succession were difficult for me. Although, the others who are actually in shape fared better... of course.

At the end of the ascent, we relaxed at Rachel Lake, which I had assumed would be at the bottom of the mountain. No, it's between 2 mountain peaks! And it's beautiful, with refreshing icy water to dip your tootsies in. It felt SO NICE to get those hiking boots off for a while. During our break, Forrest befriended and cuddled up with a nice man who had a beach towel. These dogs ain't loyal!

After enjoying the scenery, we headed back down the mountain. The first half of the descent was ROUGH. More rough than ascending, methinks! I stepped gingerly through the trail, low and slow, and I was especially careful because Forrest was pulling me downhill. It was stressful scanning between my footing, the high brush whipping my face, and the leash to make sure that Forrest had enough slack or support when he made his own calculated leaps. By the time we got to the second half of the ascent, I was so relieved to not be going downhill anymore. But our exhausted legs still had 2 more miles to go. I felt like it was never going to end. Matt, Forrest, and I finished our 3 bottles of water shortly after we had begun descending. The summer mid-afternoon sun was beating down on us.

This is, by far, the most difficult hike that Forrest has experienced, and toward the end he literally gave up. He normally pulls for the duration of our hikes, and can't contain himself. Today, toward the end, he didn't want to lead anymore. As I was walking, I felt a strong resistance from the leash, and when I turned around Forrest had turned on his side and was being dragged on the gravel. POOR FORREST! After some encouraging words, he was on his feet again to finish the hike. I was elated when we finally reached the parking lot! The first half of the group had finished ~30 minutes before us, and were waiting with the cars running and A/C on full blast. LOL. Matt and I finished about 10 minutes before the last of us.

On the way home, we stopped for refreshing beverages and ended up getting Icees from Burger King for FREE! Best way to end a hike. The dogs were both pooped, and Matt, Chelsie, and I were tired too.. until we got the Icees!

Pretty sure I shouldn't do any more intermediate+ hikes until I start working out regularly. Even though today was fun and challenging, I'm mostly happy that I didn't hurt myself. I must say, though, that the struggle was worth it for the occasion. We had a good group of people, gorgeous weather, and amazing PNW terrain. Can't complain about that!

Wicked the musical, at the Paramount!

I've wanted to see Wicked for years, but every time I checked showtimes it was either sold out or no one was interested in joining me (because they'd already seen it). This week, somehow the stars aligned, and Christina ended up with extra tickets to see Wicked at the Paramount!

And they weren't just any tickets. They were VIP entrance, with access to the private lounge, and balcony seats that were front and center. Christina's brother had been on a waiting list for a year to get those tickets, and I was ECSTATIC that they thought to ask us!

We met up near the VIP entrance and took a few photos with the Wicked truck. And then we headed into the private lounge where we enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and a round of drinks. When we arrived at our seats, I was so impressed by the view. I don't think seats get any better than that at the Paramount.

The first act was phenomenal, enthralling, and captivating from beginning to end. I was almost in tears by the end of the defying gravity scene! I loved the jokes, and I really loved Galinda's character. It was very Mean Girls at first, and then became a bit Hunger Games (the Emerald City reminded me of the Capitol), and throughout the musical I was reminded of Legally Blonde. At intermission, I was a ball of adrenaline and I even thought to myself... I'd LOVE to be in a musical! The singing, the dancing, the costumes, and energy. The perfect timing and props!

We got another round of drinks, this time in sippy cups, so that we could enjoy them at our seats. Luckily, we had access to the private bathrooms, because the line at the general restroom was horrendous. The second act was almost as amazing as the first, and I was at the edge of my seat for every minute. Prior to seeing Wicked, I had only a very vague idea of the plot. I really appreciated the angle that it took on the traditional Wizard of Oz events, and I think the musical was REALLY well done.

I am so happy we got to go. I love Wicked! I had goosebumps because it was THAT good. <3

July 4th weekend low-carB-BQ!

After returning from Carmel, and having a stressful work week, I couldn't agree with Matt more when he suggested that we stay home for the 4th instead of going to Spokane. One huge benefit of staying home was having air conditioning... BUT THEN the A/C went out late Thursday night. And of course all of the businesses were on holiday on Friday. WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH. 

Matt smoked a pork butt from 9 PM to 4 AM. And it was so delicious on Saturday! We invited the dog regulars over, and a few other people showed up. We had a low-carB-BQ! Chicken heart skewers with red onion, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Pulled pork tacos. Grilled corn! Sarah and Sean brought the most adorable balled and carved watermelon, with a really delicious cheese plate and crackers. Chelsie brought a pasta and veggie salad (so perfect for the heat A/C-less temps) and these strawberry cheesecake treats. SO GOOD! Other people brought snackety snacks, and we ended up with plenty of food! 

We spent the day bbqing, chatting, eating, and hiding in the backyard shade. The dogs were entertaining as always, and daylight slipped away before we knew it. When the mosquitoes came out in full force, and we realized that the tiki torches weren't cutting it, we moved the party to the front of the house to watch the neighbors set off fireworks. 

Someone brought sparklers and people were playing with those. We spent a good amount of time just sprawled out on the driveway, wasted, with music blaring from Eric's over-sized pickup truck. And, it was, amazing. I'd never imagined how much fun it would be to just relax, on cement, for a hot summer night. With wine and beer galore, just out in the open, in our suburban neighborhood. I don't think I've ever felt so American! We played some drinking games when we went back into the house, but people started dropping like flies. Too much fun!! 

On Sunday, Sean and Sarah came over to do the spicy Korean noodle challenge! Wilson came over with Blizzard, and brought Korean spare ribs. Now that I think about it, we had a very Korean Sunday, LOL. Sarah and I cooked up the noodles the best way we knew how, making them with broth, and then when we started the challenge we realized that the noodles weren't very spicy at all. Upon a closer examination of the package, we realized that we were supposed to cook them dry so they would be coasted in a paste instead of a broth. NooOOOooOOOooo. We'll have to do it again! Too bad we couldn't read the Korean, though. Charles was so useless. We sent him a picture of text, and he replied with "the last four words are 'did you know?'" .... HAHAHAHAHA. 

And we caught Forrest rolling a frog into the ground. Last time we caught him, it was a snail. YUCK!

 

The T-Wick Wedding

The long-awaited and much-anticipated wedding of C+T finally arrived! And if there ever was a whirlwind of a wedding... THIS WAS IT!

The Holly Farm in Carmel was ab-so-lute-ly gorgeous. I was thinking it would be a rustic, drought-stricken farm (LOL), but it was actually much more like a lush jungle. Very Jurassic Park-esque.

The Seattle people arrived late to the celebrations, and missed the Thursday BBQ (as well as the bubble soccer early Friday). WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. We flew into SJC on Friday at noon, happened to lunch at Chez Sovan becuase of a last minute rec from Alan. HOLY moly, the amok (fish wrapped in leaves) was so tasty! We actually showed up after they had closed for the day, which was my bad because I didn't check the hours, but the owner was SO nice he seated and served us anyway. We ended up getting to chat with him and he was super friendly with tons of jokes. Such a treat.

The drive to Monterey wasn't bad, but the traffic after we had settled in to our hotel was. So we stayed at our hotels until dinner, and met up to dine Nan for her belated. The food at Jeninni Kitchen & Wine Bar was hit or miss. I did love the eggplant fries, a whole lot. I didn't love the steak. And their customized cocktails made with wine (but tastes like classic liquor mixes) were really good. The Mule. MHM! After dinner, we headed to the farm where I was so happy to see everyone!

I spent more time catching up with people than getting trashed -- thank goodness I stayed sober enough to drive back to the hotel! Running around on the farm, at night, in the darkness, and getting lost between sections, was pretty exciting. The farm is a crazy cool wedding venue. And EVERYONE was there! The first night was my favorite night, even though it was probably the shortest night.

On Saturday morning, Matt was hungober, and I got up late... as usual. We got dressed and headed into town to get some coffee. I wanted a quick manicure, but I was out of luck - no last min walk-ins! When we got to the farm, we had some beers and hung out while Nan curled my hair. We eventually got seated for the ceremony, where C+T married under a gigantic mystical tree. It was so Fern Gully! Gary was a great officiator, and T looked so freaking happy. I cried, of course -- I couldn't not.

We gathered for photos with groups, with friends, and even had an aeriel drone shot. Go technology!

Cocktail hour was AMAZING with a wide variety of hors deourves. Lots more photos and chatting, and so much merrymaking.

At dinner, our table was the last to be called. And by the time we were called, I wasn't even hungry anymore. I ate some mac 'n cheese and a few roasted veggies. but that was about it.

And then after dinner and the heartfelt speeches, came the dancing!

And after the dancing, and before more dancing, came the DESSERT!!!! Ice cream and waffles and topping and OMG. That was my favorite food of the wedding.. HAHAHA. Saturday was a long day, but it was so much fun. A gazillion awesome pictures were taken and happy moments were made. C+T looked ecstatic. And relieved actually, as the night wound down.

On Sunday, we checked out of our hotel and went to Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Santa Cruz. Freaking Charles asked Nan to get Thai food, which took like 40 mins (instead of just agreeing with sandwiches which take ten minutes tops LOL). The beer that I sampled from people, was ok. I didn't drink because of the long drive ahead. I didn't want to stop every 30 minutes.

When we got back to the city, we ended up just getting ready at Nan's because we had our luggage anyway. Nan did mah hair again! Off to SSF we went, to Grand Palace which was not grand at all. Not one bit. The dishes were so dirty. The employees weren't nice. BUT THE LION DANCERS WERE SO COOL!! And they played the 'who is more _____' game where the couple sat back to back, which is always interesting. They did really well, which isn't surprising! I also got to see Andy's sister's baby. Such a cutie. And Andy's mom, who I haven't seen in at least four years! And then, after the dinners many courses, there were sesame balls for dessert. YES!!!!!! Way better than red bean soup!

And the dancing. Oh the dancing. People got a little wild, Chad's dad was tearing up the dance floor. So were many others. It was exciting! I wish more people had stayed to dance, but I suppose it was a Sunday night.

People cleared out early, and we went to In 'n Out to get some more food. It felt like old times!! I used to go to In 'n Our and Carl's JR. in Daly City all the time... when I had better metabolism. HAHA. We went back to Nan's place and hung out for a while longer.

Monday flew by so quickly. Matt and I got ready, picked up lunch at Cafe Darwin (per Nan's rec, and what a great rec), and then picked up my mom from work. She and I ate at home while Matt went shopping with Charles and Alom. I was worried about  my mom, that she's getting older and her health is deterioriating; however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that she's doing just fine. We gossiped about my friends and her current language student. It was not as long of a lunch as I wanted, but she had to go back to work for a meeting. It was so nice though!

When we were taking hte AirTrain to the terminal at SFO, after dropping off the rental car, the train door closed on me. I was like in the door, and it closed. DO THEY NOT HAVE SENSORS. And Charles laughed at me. BOO!!!!!! If he had walked FASTER then I wouldn't been in the door on time. Luckily I jumped into the next door that was just closing. So stressful.

What a great trip, and to see everyone together and have a nice long weekend with them... I couldn't ask for me. I thought Kay was the happiest bride I've ever seen, but I think T rivaled her.

See?