AM~Erica Snaps at the View

So anyway...

To end our day at the beach and at Fort Lewis, we tried a seafood restaurant called Steamers. We went because it was recommended. I had the grilled salmon with pesto butter (I think that's what it was) along with some smashed potatoes & coleslaw. Those potatoes were pretty good! Teen Boy is starting to get into the fish & chips scene. YEA! Steamers had a choice of either fried cod as your fish choice...or...FRIED SALMON!?! Since he already had cod from Homeport (which he really liked), he decided to try the salmon.

I want to take a moment for this small PSA by saying that salmon is NOT meant to be fried. It just isn't. And, even for all the weird things & combos Teen Boy finds to eat, the salmon did not rank near the top. So, overall...meh.

However...as we left the restaurant, the sun was setting, and there was a pier in the middle of the water next to Steamers. Well, this is what we saw:

Yeah. Exactly. And this picture really doesn't even capture just how gorgeous it actually was. But allow me to share a couple more I snapped  of the scenery...which you will see how gorgeous it all was!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...I do miss it.

There was also another surprise in the water...at least for me. I looked down to see floating, roundish "blobs" in the water. As I looked closer (from a pier above), I noticed the tentacles on the underside of them as they traveled thru the water: Jellyfish.

Yes...that's a jellyfish

In the same water, very close by, There were also geese relaxing & floating in the water, too:

But I think what got me most was the coexistence in the water between the geese & the jellyfish:

That, my friends, was wild to witness!

Well, we were all taking in the scenery before we left for the night...probably because I forced them to pause so I could take some pics. LOL!

And then, after a long & fabulous first full-day...we headed back to the hotel. We needed rest for tomorrow...

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Hits the Beach in a Sweater

So anyway...

After a long day of travel & being in a fog (I got up at 2:30 AM to get everyone up & out the door by 4:00 AM to catch a 6:20 AM flight), we started out our next day heading to Pacific Northwest coastline. We wanted the kids to be able to experience the ocean...of course! I haven't been to the Pacific Ocean since I was 4-years-old, and that was in California.

The drive was going to take us about 2 hours. And it became very apparent as to why Washington is called "The Evergreen State."

But first, I want to show you a picture of what we totally missed seeing on our first day:

I did not take this pic, but this is the MOUNTAIN we missed by being in such a crazy fog of exhaustion. This is the amazing Mount Rainier. I happen to look out the window of our rental car, as we left our hotel, and saw this massive mountain. D'oh! I couldn't get my camera out in time to snap a pic. And it was covered by clouds the rest of the time. Seriously. This was the only time we saw the mountain. We didn't have time to go to the mountain...that will be a future trip.

As we traveled onward, we saw beautiful, evergreen scenery!

Well, you get the idea. And amazing, right? It was breathtaking! And was totally inspiring thoughts of Christmas.

And...for all of the Twihards out there:

Yep, that would be the exit to take to Forks, WA. No, we did not take the exit. We were headed to Ocean Shores. Yes, I took this to torture Teen Girl, who just happens to loath Twilight. LOL!

Now, please enjoy a few fabulous pics from when we hit the beach...in 50+ degree weather...

Again...amazing, right? It was chilly, refreshing, and absolutely beautiful!

Now keep in mind that we didn't think to take towels with us to clean our feet. D'oh! We had to carefully get back into our rental car (again, D'oh), and headed back to the sad bathrooms to try to clean off our feet. Ummm...it was near yoga trying to get our feet clean: walk in, take off shoe/flip-flop, stick foot into sink & turn on water, hold foot in air while cleaning shoe in sink, one-foot hop over to air dryer to dry shoe & foot as best as possible, put shoe back on; repeat on other foot. Glad there weren't any cameras...however, it might have been entertaining...

We did visit a gift shop at the shore, but we were really unimpressed with what they had. But I did ask if there was someplace close by they could recommend to eat lunch, and the lady I asked brought up a place called Homeport that happened to be a 3-year-running award-winning holder for their clam chowder. SOLD! We went & tried it out. Hubby & I got the chowder, cod & prawn combo; Teen Boy got the cod...it was SO good!! I do wish we could've brought a vat of the chowder home with us! I'm drooling right now just thinking about it. Teen girl got a turkey sandwich which totally fell apart. We call that "karma", which she is more than familiar with. Lil Guy got a burger that looked really good! Apparently it was since he devoured it.

No matter, I am in the process of finding recipes for fish & chips, plus clam chowder. I must try to recreate this lunch more than you know...

Then, after a relaxing morning & afternoon by the ocean, in chilly weather, a drive around a coastal town, and a fabulous lunch...we were headed back to get cleaned up for the evening. A visit to Fort Lewis!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica is Starting a Bucket List

So anyway...

I just got back from the Pacific Northwest. The family & I visited the Tacoma/Seattle area, plus added in a trip to the coast to witness, experience & stand in the Pacific Ocean. It was amazing!

Right now, in the Midwest, it is a miserable triple digit heatwave. Bluh. I cannot stand this time of year. I believe I already pointed that out.

However...up in the Northwest, we experienced temps ranging anywhere in the 50's to the mid 70's. That, my friends, is heaven on earth for the hubby & me. *swoon* Plus, I got to get my geek-girl on again. Woot! I will cover that in a future post in the near future.

Until then, my hubby & I were discussing things we wish we had time to do while we were there...and even imagined living up there. This led us to a conversation of a bucket list.

I always hear of people having their "bucket lists"...I'm usually impressed, but never really had anything to put on one for myself. Sure I have desires of experiences I'd love to do...but I could never wrap my head around what might show up on a list. Maybe I'm more of a spontaneous thinker that I don't really have a "plan", necessarily. Until the visit up north. It was inspiring. Really. So, hubby & I began a thought process of a bucket list. Like:

~ Riding horseback along the beach
~ The Seattle coffee crawl
~ Living in Seattle
~ Having a beach house along the northwestern pacific shoreline
~ Taking a ferry tour along the coast
~ Getting fresh seafood to smoke/grill from Pike Place Market
~ Hiking Mt. Rainier
~ Going to Ireland
~ Doing the Fall Northeastern B&B hiking tour
~ Visiting Times Square & seeing some Broadway shows

So...that's a start. And they aren't all from the Pacific Northwest. But remember? I said it was inspiring!

Also, you may notice that I didn't list any bungee jumping or skydiving. That's because those over-adventurous things aren't my bag. My idea of things I want to experience before I leave Earth are much different than most, I'm sure. But each to their own, right?

And when I get to do these things...you will know after the fact. I try not to openly broadcast when I take a trip. And I get a bit cryptic when I am on a trip...for good reason. So keep that in mind for future reference. HA! (But true...)

Until then...stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica