San Diego

In March I went to San Diego for a few days just for fun. I stayed in a hostel a couple blocks from the beach, went on lots of beachside runs, ate some good food, and took lots of pictures.

Christmas 2017

Christmas break was good and slow this year. I took Zoey out for a walk every morning, I ate way too much of my mom's pudding dessert "Next Best Thing to Robert Redford", and we had a white Christmas in Western Washington for the first time in my memory. We also spent one evening in downtown Seattle, when we went to the completely gluten free restaurant Capitol Cider, and I also got to briefly meet up with an old neighbor from when I lived up there.

Early in December before I headed home for break, Paula and I went to pick out a Christmas tree for our house in Provo. My favorite tree lot is Frederico's, and despite the fact that we only took the one picture, I thought we found a really good tree this year. It was a little taller and fuller than last year's tree, and it looked great with white lights all over it.

As we were putting up the tree we had to saw off a few of the branches at the base in order to get it into the stand, and I decided to use those branches to make a wreath for our front door. I used this tutorial to refresh my memory on how to make a wreath, and did the whole thing in a few hours on a Sunday afternoon while watching a Seahawks game. I wasn't sure how it'd turn out, but I ended up being surprisingly happy with it! I liked how full it looked, and I also felt pretty happy with my choice of ribbon color.

Here is a semi-random collection of photos from over Christmas.

Antelope Island

I spent Sunday afternoon on Antelope Island, and it was lovely and moody and at one point it was so pretty that I cried. My blood sugar may or may not have been a factor in the crying, but still. It was very pretty.

I didn't have much of a plan going into this thing, which was mostly on purpose. Since Antelope Island is a state park, you have to pay $10 at a booth before you cross the causeway to the island, which worked out well for me because they offered me a map. After driving across I pulled off to look at the map, and decided to start with the visitor's center since it was close by, would probably give me an idea of what to do next, and also, I had to pee.

The visitor's center had very intense bathrooms (very heavy steel stall doors?), but it was otherwise completely precious. There were some exhibits that talked about the wildlife, history, and geology of the island. I grabbed a handful of brochures and other informational papers, including one with a map and description of each trail, another one that talked about stargazing from the park, one for Golden Spike National Historical Site which I plan on visiting at some point, and finally, and possibly my favorite, what appears to be some sort of literary magazine called Friends of Great Salt Lake. (Turns out it's a newsletter.) After looking at the exhibits I came to a tiny theater with unfinished walls and a handful of plastic chairs. It was playing a short film on loop that featured a notably younger Terry Tempest Williams talking about various features of the island in a very romantic tone. It was one of the strangest visitor's center movies I've ever seen, with blur and fisheye lens effects on the shots of various wildlife, and I am very sorry but after a quick google it doesn't seem like it is available on the internet. But, lucky you, there is commentary by other people who have also seen this film.

After the movie ended it seemed like there wouldn't be anything else in that building that could beat it, so I figured it was time to get going. Next on the docket was getting a glimpse of some bison, since that seems to be one of the defining features of the island. From the visitor's center I could see in the distance a bunch of cars pulled off the side of the road, and some large dark blobs in the grass, so I drove in that direction.

I knew as I drove, obviously, that I was driving to go see some bison. And yet! Even knowing what I was heading toward, when I arrived at the spot with all the cars pulled to the side, I was startled at how large the bison were. I'm not sure I've ever seen bison in real life, but they were probably within fifty feet of the road, grazing, and they were massive. It didn't seem like they much noticed or cared that we were all there, staring at them, which I'm sure is an indicator that they are somewhat used to this. Still, seeing as I had just seen an exhibit at the visitor's center that noted how to tell "how close is too close?" to the bison, and also some ways to tell if a bison is about to charge, I was... cautious.

I snapped a few photos. There were a couple guys nearby who seemed to not have seen the same exhibit I had, or simply did not care, and who kept inching closer and calling out to the bison. I was not about to stick around to find out how the bison felt about that, or if the bison were in a charging mood, so I didn't stay long.

I got back in the car and started driving again, and ended up following a truck up a side road that lead to a viewpoint and the trailhead for the Buffalo Point Trail. According to the trail map I had picked up at the visitor's center, this trail was less than a mile round trip, which sounded just right.

One of the things I love about living in the desert is the combination of colors of the orange/red rocks and the dusty green of the sagebrush. That color combination was on full display on this trail, and I took plenty of photos. The hike up only took about fifteen minutes, and at the top were gorgeous views of the lake and mountains in all directions. It was an overcast day, and the light was very diffuse which made everything look almost transparent. The lake and the mountains and the clouds all kind of bled together, with the mountains reflected in the lake, and the colors of everything being so similar. It's not an effect you get much around here, so it was really interesting and unexpected to see these familiar surroundings in that light. As I was standing there, I also realized how much that particular view reminded me of being in Seattle. Looking west over the Puget Sound, to the snow-covered mountain range on the other side. Overcast skies. The color scheme was a bit different (Seattle is just so green!), but it was still really beautiful.

I hung out at Buffalo Point for a bit. Walked the little paths, climbed the rocks, took more pictures. Once I arrived back at my car, I realized there was only one other thing I wanted to do, and that was to drive down the long road on the eastern shore of the island. Mostly just to see what I could find, and make sure I didn't miss anything.

I checked my map, drove back down the road, past the bison and their many spectators, and almost all the way back to the causeway. And then I turned right.

This was maybe my favorite part of the trip. Dusk settling in on the already overcast skies made everything feel even more moody and dramatic. I only saw a few other cars on that road while I was there, and when I stopped and got out to take a picture at one point, I realized it was completely silent. I stood in the middle of the road, and held my breath for a second, and it was nice to just listen to the silence. When I got back in the car, I put on Kesha's album Rainbow, ate some of the chocolate I'd brought as a snack, and just drove until the road ran out. It was great.

Overall I was really happy with how things went. Going into it I wasn't sure if I would have enough time or if I should have made a plan, but everything went really smoothly. I felt like I had the time to get a feel for the place and see the most important parts. It was far enough away that it felt like getting out of town but it wasn't too far a drive. I got to do a little hiking, and I came away with some pictures I'm pretty happy with, too.

Alright, The Crown

I've been watching The Crown on Netflix while on the elliptical at the gym. I'm only partway through the first season so far, so I'm still developing my opinions, but I have two quick thoughts.

First, the costumes. They aren't in the vein of styles I would generally be into, but sheesh. There are tons of really great strapless dresses, and even the fur looks fun to wear (see above, obvs).

Second, the show does some really satisfying process scenes. For example, there are scenes where it follows telephone calls through all the many telephone switch rooms. Or most recently, I noticed one where preparations were being made for a state dinner, and you see them setting an extremely long table with very fancy settings. I was a little surprised when I realized how into those scenes I was, but I think it appeals to either my organizational side, or the part of me that loves patterns, or both? Is it just me?

It took me a bit to get into it, but I love me a show with a strong female lead, and it feels like it's starting to pick up steam in terms of pace. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Coy's Wedding

My brother got married a couple summers ago, on July 23, 2016. 

They had a sweet little ceremony at a small park on the Sound in Steilacoom. That area is really familiar to me as I grew up in and around Steilacoom and Anderson Island, but I don't get a chance to spend much time there. It was good to be back.

I've been to plenty of weddings before, but this was the first wedding we've had for a sibling. Something I wasn't expecting was how interesting it would be watching all the sides of my family come together. My mom and grandma interacting with my dad's side of the family was something that stuck out in particular. It was really striking seeing them together. It was also interesting watching my dad meet Brecken's dad. Not all of the interactions were comfortable or easy, of course, but it felt like a good opportunity to break the invisible barrier that has been there for so long. Everyone was pleasant, and the ceremony was beautiful.

While the last of the preparations were taking place, I walked around and took a few photos. 

(had a bit of a mishap with the film, hence the graininess of some of them)

My mom, and my dad's dad. The last time they interacted was probably ~18 years prior to this.

Our dad meets Brecken's dad.

And a few from the reception, which was held in Brecken's grandmother's backyard in Sumner.

I thought I'd throw these in, as a bonus. The first one is Emily getting made up for the wedding (she hates wearing makeup), and the second is my snap story from the day.