Sunday, August 8, 2010

3 months of amnesia

dear readers...

Currently we are enjoying the reason so many people live here: the Seattle summer.
For us, it has been the perfect introduction to a beautiful city surrounded by water, mountains, and forest. The days are long, sunny, and clear, and people stay outside until late in the day making the most of them. This beautiful season typically doesn't start until early July, but it makes up for it by stretching long into September.
We recently bought a book called "Take a Hike In Seattle". It contains information on 89 day hikes that are within 2 hrs of the city. So far we have completed 2 of them. Our goal is to do every hike in the book. Hiking in the Pacific NOrthwest is especially wonderful because of the abundance of old-growth forests, mountains, and lakes in the area. Both of the hikes we have done were very "kid-friendly", meaning that they weren't too long and not too steep. All 3 of us are enjoying getting out in nature and having it so accessible! Chad and I have a plan to climb Mt Rainier (over 14,000 ft) once we get a bit fitter! Have to do a few more hikes first. Amelie has surprised us with how she has taken to hiking. She is very interested in the different trees, plants, and flowers; and she seems to come alive as soon as we get into the forest. Yesterday we did a hike which led us to a beautiful series of waterfalls, the biggest one cascading down more than 150 feet! We found a few amazing swimming holes in the river, but it wasn't warm enough to swim that day so we bookmarked them for another time.
Someone recently told me that Seattlites enjoy 3 months of amnesia and 9 months of misery. This is regarding the famous Seattle weather patterns. Being new to the area, this is not what one wants to hear. I did not sign up for 9 months of misery. Rather, I envisioned something like a light constant drizzle that keeps my skin looking dewy and fresh; and keeps the surrounding forests and flora looking lush and green.


Apparently it is grey here from October to June, which is alarming to my ears. I have been told that I need to purchase a "lightbox". This is one of those things that you sit in front of for 15 minutes each day in order to keep from going insane while living through 9 months of misery. It gives you a certain type of light rays to lighten and brighten your mood and keep your Vitamin D levels healthy. If this is the case, then I am going to need at least 3 of them. Must go and compare prices...