road trip, day 4

Rick in the woods, originally uploaded by Kaijsa.

On Tuesday, our first full day in the Seattle area, we got off to a slow start. Once we got some errands out of the way, we drove up to Granite Falls and hiked Mt. Pilchuck. Despite growing up a stone's throw away and even going to a high school with Pilchuck in its name, I'd never hiked there before.

It was a warm, slightly muggy day, but the tree canopy kept us shaded at least half the time. Hiking at much lower altitude was nice, as we breathing was so much easier. I wasn't a total superhero, though; I was pretty tired from three days in the car and was a little draggy and very sweaty from the humidity. We didn't summit, but it was a really nice hike.

Afterwords, we stopped at the fish ladder at the falls. Here, I did feel pretty awesome after walking up 88 steps without getting at all winded. The fish ladder here is kind of disappointing, as you can't see the fish. The falls were pretty, though.

On the way back to my parents' place, I jumped of Highway 9 in Marysville. I wanted to drive by my childhood house, but all the new construction in the area confused me and I drove right past the neighborhood at first. Weird. It's strange to feel completely disconnected from the place I lived for 18 years of my life.

On the way home, we picked up some pork chops and other stuff for a barbecue with my parents. My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew came over, too. I think Rick had a nice time, but after two nights with my family, I think he was ready to get out and do something more interesting for his vacation. We'd been in town 24 hours and hadn't really gotten near Seattle.

Up next: beer, libraries, more beer, and pies and beer.