Seattle New Year

The day after Christmas, Nova and I headed out to Seattle to meet up with Charlie and May.

Reunion!  When we parted ways six months ago, Milenka was just getting her city slicker bearings.  We had a great time with her as our Ballard tour guide.

Dale, Adam and friends helped Milenks and I ring in the new year. Hitting a Capitol Hill dance club was the perfect way to ring in 2011.

Broke up our time in the city with three soul refreshing nights in Willapa Bay where Mike and Ann have an airstream trailer.  Very impressed with the trail systems out there.  Lots of good walking and way cool sea side eating and shopping outposts.

Charlie, May, Nova and I hunkered down in our own trailer across the way.  

Nice to get caught up with family.  Being back on the west coast felt reeeeaal good! Mike and Ann were gracious hosts to us at their coastal sanctuary.

Nova is transformed when she hits the beach.  She proudly tells me she still has "sand in her scalp" from her wind storm trance-dance.

  Oh how I have missed the ocean. I am completely in love with being on the Pacific.  

 Speaking of being completely in love.... :)

 Fun to watch Emma and Willa enjoy their time away from the concrete jungle.

 They are really beautiful to watch running wild and free!

 May-May and Nova Rose.... "Criss cross, apple sauce, double weave, if you please!"

 Looking forward to more time with family and friends on the west side come summer.

 xxoo

Last few months (kind of randomly put together)

Shawn and his high school friend Joe DeSimone steal their daughter's scooters. Dorks. :)

 Nova and Gabby, Joe's daughter, on one of Lake Montebello's exercise stations.

 Trish and Dave took us to the strip of row houses in Hampden where they go all out with lights.

 Hundreds of people are allowed to mill through the streets and up on some of the porches.  This is where Shawn spent New Year's Eve while I was in Seattle.  Apparently it gets pretty wild.

 Trish and Dave have been the best Baltimore tour guides EVER! Love you guys. xo

 Really amazing sculpture and lights.  Plus I seriously love row houses.... all that old brick and so skinny!

 Nova's first Christmas in Baltimore was a big deal for Shawn's parents.  They pulled out all the stops.
Blow-up Harley Santa in front yard.... Shawn leads Nova up to the house blindfolded.

I have never seen so many presents for one person in all my life.  

 Operation Shock and Awe was a success.  Thanks Gail and Denny for Nova's first Baltimore Christmas!

Our house on Willoughby road.  We live 5 minutes across the city line, in the county.  Boring but safe.

This is Nova's best friend Olivia. She lives two doors down.  Double Rock park is two blocks away and provides a little respite from suburbia.

Halloween on Lyndale Avenue. Nova and her grandma await the onslaught armed with candy.  

 Nova with Lyndale friends Rachel and Danielle.

 Baltimore is a crafty place.  During the holidays there are weekly local artisan markets.  This one was held in an old church.

 We thought it would be fun to go to a sock monkey making workshop.  When we arrived we were surprised to find HUNDREDS of people sewing button eyes onto socks.  I liked this guy's sock monkey outfit.

 

 The American Visionary Art Museum won't let you take photos of their amazing exhibits inside but you can snap shots of the outdoor sculptures.

This has become one of our favorite places.

 We met our friend Joyanne Bloom from Juneau at the museum one day.  We had fun Joyanne!

 Giant mirror egg.  Cool.

Along with the constant sunshine, I am really enjoying the fact that there is plenty to do and see in this area.  More to come. :)

Appalachian Trail Re-visited

In 1998 Shawn set out on his own to walk the entire Appalachian Trail.  Along the 2,160 miles that run from Georgia to Maine he joined up with other adventurous souls.  Fellow travelers came from varied backgrounds. All old identities are shed while walking and hikers were known only by their trail names.  Among them were Dragonfly, 30 Seconds, Griz, and King Cheese.  Shawn was Birdman. His family met him at points along the way. Their RV was loaded with hundreds of pounds of food and gallons to drink that they shared with whoever wandered through that day.  These events became known as Bird Fest.

11 years later Shawn's family and I went to one of the Bird Fest sites in Pennsylvania to check out the new Appalachian Trail museum.

The museum has a database that lets you search through photos of yourself and fellow through-hikers.

 An example of one of the shelters along the trail.

Shawn finished the trail in 6 months.  A year later he came to Ketchikan where we met and started an new adventure.