Category Archives: Weekends

Berry monday: u-pick

July 29, 2013

It seems I have been a bit berry crazed this summer so I thought it would be fun to write a berry related post every Monday for the next few weeks. I have pictures, recipes, ideas, and tips so basically it should be really fun.

First up is my trip to the most amazing u-pick berry farm I’ve ever been to. I picked 17 pounds of berries which fueled this idea in the first place. I had just gotten back from San Francisco the night before and I was up early the next day running around trying to catch a bus to my friends house. At this point I was thinking perhaps I had over committed myself, which I tend to do, but when we got to the farm I knew I had made the right choice.

They had u-pick everything! They had marionberries, raspberries, tayberries, boysenberries, blueberries, and blackberries! I was in berry heaven. Every row seemed to be more exciting than the next. I just picked and picked until it was time to go and that’s when I realized I had picked 17 pounds of berries in the same time my friends picked half as many.

^boysenberries! They were huge, it’s hard to tell how large but they are around the same size as a small plum.

^tayberries a mix between a blackberry and a raspberry-oh my!

^blueberries we very plentiful and delicious.

-marionberries, raspberries, blackberries.

Come back next week for more berry goodness! What’s your favorite berry recipe?

San francisco: part 2

July 25, 2013

My second day touring around San Francisco also happened to be the day I was flying out but I booked it later so I’d have a full day of running around the city. We started our day at one of the largest farmer’s markets I’ve ever been to near and in the ferry building. It was so fun, you all should know by now how much I LOVE farmer’s markets. I bought a few things but the whole time I was really wishing I get get some of everything. Especially the giant bunch of basil my friend got for $2! At least I got to smell it all day which was heavily.

We walked around inside where I bought dried mushrooms, also if you know me you know this is a weird purchase because I’m not the biggest fan of them but I’m trying. I also bought a large bag of Acme bread to take back and it was so good we ate it in a day of a half of my getting back to Seattle.

Then we walked a ways so I could get a view of Alcatraz and on the way we got these sweet dragon tattoos (there was some sort of event going on near the science museum). I also got to see the crooked part of Lombard street. It’s been a while since I’ve had a more touristy vacation and I was enjoying it.

I couldn’t leave San Francisco without first riding on a trolley car. It was a little scary since they stuck us on the very end standing on the outside. I was basically holding on with one arm as we went up some pretty big hills. We took a seat as soon as we could.

After even more walking I had another veggie burger with some really good fries (I’m a freak for good fries) and then I packed up and headed out. Thanks for a good time San Francisco!

First washington camping trip!

July 16, 2013

This past weekend Walker and I went camping in Washington for the first time. We had attempted to plan a trip but were overwhelmed with the choices, the information we didn’t have or know, and lack of time we had preplanned to plan. So our friend contacted her friend who already had a Saturday trip planned so we tagged along.

We headed out Saturday morning and since the trail head was only an hour away it didn’t take long to get there. Once everyone had arrived we hit the trail. We hiked over 4 miles (up almost all the way) through alpine-like wilderness to Pratt Lake and then another 1/2 mile past that lake to a second lake where we set up camp for the night.

Before it cooled down too much we took a dip in the lake. It was cold but refreshing in a way only a cold freshwater lake in the wilderness can be. Once everyone was in their warm clothes we sat down to have dinner. It was fun, except perhaps the persistent bugs trying to bite us. We played games into the evening and went to bed relatively late for a hiking trip.

We woke up the next morning, had breakfast, took down camp and packed up, and hiked out. It was another beautiful day but we were tired and going down hill the whole way back was hard on the knees. We were pretty excited to see the parking lot.

It was a pretty short trip but we learned a little about camping in the area and I think we’re ready to venture out on our own now. Also I got to turn my phone off for 24 hours and it was bliss not checking it once during that time. We’ve recovered from our soreness and are ready to head out again soon!

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