Sunday morning Mack and I decided that we wanted to go explore somewhere within the great state of Washington. Lately we’ve been making a point of going out to get to know places and people. I also like to say we’re working on my “social ineptitude” which usually earns me a glare from Mack. One of my favorite things is to get into the car with Mack and the open road ahead of us. Sometimes we have a place in mind as the final destination but oftentimes my favorite is when there is no end point in mind but rather what looks neat. Two weeks ago we explored a lot of Seattle and the suburbs as we drove around all afternoon with me saying “Left!”, “Right!”, or “Keep going straight!”.

Now, as you remember, I have horrible road rage and get stressed out very easily when I’m the one behind the wheel. These fun adventures wouldn’t be fun if I was behind the wheel since I’d be convinced we’d both die and the cats would be alone and then pain and suffering would ensue… all because I was lost. I can’t handle getting lost in the car. I don’t know why. This drives Mack crazy since, often, when I’m lost instead of consulting my iPhone I’ll call Mack and demand to know where the hell I am and how do I get to the location I am seeking!?

This is why he got me a GPS before we moved to Florida. Best anniversary and graduation present rolled into one EVER.

Mack and I love to drive around or get out and walk around in new areas. It’s all part of my emerging from my shell of awkward shyness and getting to know people. Pushing past my shell of indifference and cynicism and know that yes, sometimes people do suck and hurt you but why shut out the world and the possibility of meeting new awesome people because of those few shitheads?

Sunday after we got all our stuff together and picked up my brother we headed up to Mount Rainier for the day. There is a lot of vast open spaces in western/central Washington and it was a marvel and joy to get to see and experience it. I think hands down the best part was seeing the alpacas tied in front of the fire station in this small town before we got to the park. Why were they tied in front of the fire station? There had to be a story behind that and boy you know we made up our own stories.

We managed to (eventually) got up to Paradise almost in time for sunset despite my brothers insistence that “if we keep stopping you’re going to loose the light.” I was thrilled with all the snow on the side of the road leading up to Paradise and kept exclaiming “SNOW! LOOK! SNOW!” much to Mack and Mark’s amusement. I mean, SNOW people! I won’t go into the depths of my disappointment that we didn’t really get snow this year… while on the other hand I remember what a giant pain driving in the snow is.

So conflicted.

As the sun started to set and I felt like a block of ice after climbing up onto the snow to get some beautiful shots of the mountain. On the way down the mountain we pulled over to look at a random water fall we’d passed on our way up and you know I wanted pictures of it. Unfortunately, there was a huge blockade of ice that stood a good six plus feet between me and the view of the water fall below. Normally I am tall and get some pretty nice shots due to my Sasquatch-esk genes but this time I was pretty much S.O.L..

… until Mack suggested I climb up the ice bank with my $1000+ camera. Trust him, he’d hold me up while I got my shots.

Awesome idea? Or potentially bad one? I blamed him for what happened but he argues that he didn’t force me to do it.

I, of course, thought at the time it was a good idea. So here we are, my converse shoes shoved into the ice bank as I leaned over to get a view of the waterfall with my expensive piece of equipment as I simultaneously hoped the ice wouldn’t give way and I’d fall a few hundred feet to my death.

Gulp.

Taking my last shot I told Mack I was done which was very fortunate since I lost my footing and started falling/sliding down the little ice bank into Mack who was still supporting me. Naturally my instinct was “SAVE THE CAMERA” and I held it away from the ice and my body as the other side of my body took the brunt of the impact.

My rationalization? My body will heal. Thus far I haven’t found the Nikon’s self-heal function. Guess that means I really should read that manual…

Now, a few days later, I have bruises the size of tennis balls on my left legs. Was it worth it? So long as you don’t touch my left leg I’d have to say yes. It was so worth it.

Technorati Tags: photography, day trips, exploring, photos, mountains, mount rainier, ice, snow, bodily harm, washington state, washington, cascades, adventures, nikon d90

I don’t know why but my family does not know the URL of my blog. Each time I hit publish on my blog posts I wonder to myself “should I tell them about my personal blog? and what would they think about it?”

Something stops me from sending out a mass email to my parents and brothers saying “this is my blog, enjoy the laughs!” It’s not like I post anything bad about them and/or stuff I wouldn’t say to their face. Trust me, I read dooce.com and know her blog’s background and learned from her lessons in the matter. So what’s stopping me?

I guess the funny part is that my boyfriends family knows about my blog and my own family only has a vague inkling about this blog. I’ve copied and pasted posts into emails and sent them out before (my brother’s 28th birthday and mother’s day). So, again, what is stopping me from giving them the URL?

Last Saturday my good friend Michelle and I decided that we kind of sucked at this whole “hanging out” and “seeing each other” concept and put a date in stone: Saturday the 26th of January. Yes, Saturday we WOULD hang out. No longer could both our general laziness be considered a valid reason for not seeing each other.

Michelle and I have known each other since sophomore year of high school. I’m not sure I’ve told the story of how we met but I think for awhile Michelle thought I was a legit stalker of some sort. I sat down beside her at an assembly (don’t you remember those? Weren’t they fun? Not) and just struck up a conversation since she seemed like a cool person. A few days later I saw her in the library and it literally took me a week to get up the courage to talk to her and be like “Hey, let’s be friends!”

And she hasn’t been able to get rid of me since.

Anyway, the last time we hung out we wandered around downtown Seattle and explored Pike Place Market. Due to both of our general laziness in checking stuff before doing it we ended up there way before the market was actually open (oops) and just walked around downtown taking random photographs (me) and talking. We had a blast and Michelle quickly remembered how much I liked walking aimlessly downtown for hours at a time.

I’m weird. This isn’t news.

So Saturday I swung by her house, picked her up, and we headed north for the day. In a typical northwest fashion it of course was raining but honestly? It made the adventure all the more sweet. I mean, sure, we could have done without the ATM freaking out and not wanting me to exit the screen; or her leaving her purse at Subway; but hey, it was all in good fun!

And here are some photos from our wonderful adventure (used with my old camera due to it being rainy and wet that day):

(more at the flickr set)

All in all: another great adventure had with an amazing friend!