Seaside, Oregon Trip

I love the beach. Especially when there is sun! We went down to Seaside, Oregon for a quick night last weekend to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. It was a quick trip, but we had a great time. Saturday was a beautiful day - actually quite hot! - so once we got to the campsite and had some lunch, we went downtown to the boardwalk and the beach. 

I love all the shops downtown and even though we didn't have a lot of time to do any shopping, we of course had to hit up the arcade so Zach could show off his mad Skee Ball and air hockey skills. Although I did beat him once in Skee Ball. Once is enough for me. :)

I even got a little sunburn at the beach (I did use sunscreen though!) while everyone played frisbee. It is hard being prego and not being able to play! I'm way to competitive to sit on the sidelines! But oh well. It's only temporary... 

We had yummy dinner and s'mores (and birthday cake!) and actually went to bed early (like, before it was even completely dark) so we could get up super early to go clam digging. I wasn't looking forward to the early wake up call, but pulled it together to go see what it was like. I've never been before, but I can't wait til next year already to get my hands dirty! Although it does look like hard work... Instead this year I was the "clam girl" with my sis Jenn. We helped spot all the air pockets that hopefully had a clam in there and I have to say, I was quite good!

Zach caught one on his first try! So awesome!

 

I was amazed with how many people were out there digging! I'd never seen anything like it. We drove down the beach for probably a good 3-4 miles before stopping for our spot and the beach was packed the whole way. Who knew clamming was so big? I certainly didn't... and I can't wait to go next year! Maybe with Little BK strapped on my back and ready to go? Haha. Maybe not... :)

Have I mentioned I'm obsessed with Instagram? Follow me to keep up on my travels, DIY sneak peeks and other random shots. :)

Are you traveling for the holidays? Where are you going? We will be packing... because we found a new rental! Moving in three weeks and can't wait to have more space. Pics to come... probably once we move in (with before & afters of course). 

Germany: Day 1

Well, this is embarrassing. Remember when we went to Germany a year and a half ago? No? Well probably because I didn't tell you all about it! Now that it's Oktoberfest season (and the Unicorns just won the German Bowl for the second year in a row!), I thought I'd finally share our trip with you! 

Germany was the last stop on our Europe trip last summer (as in summer 2011, I know). Our first stop was London, then Paris, and then we went over to the little town of Schwäbisch Hall, Germany. We decided to go there to visit my baby brother and I'm so glad we did. My brother played Quarterback on the professional German football team (American football, not European futbol), the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns!

From Paris, we took the train to Stuttgart to meet up with my parents. They were in London while we were in Paris, and then after Germany were heading to Rome! About an hour into the ride the train stopped and they announced there had been an "animal accident" (whatever that means). We waited in the Stuttgart train station to meet them, not knowing where to meet and not having any cell phones. Luckily, there was a Starbucks, so they knew where to find us! :) 

From Stuttgart we bought a special one way ticket where up to five people can go anywhere in Germany for only 31 Euro. Such a good deal! We had no idea where to sit, so naturally, we sat in First Class. After we started moving, the train guy came by. You know, the guy that checks your ticket. We showed him our one ticket for the four of us and after taking a look he said (in English, but in his thick German accent), "Zer are two problemz vis zis. Vun, you have to sign your ticket. Two, you are sitting virst class." Ha! Then my mom asked "Where is second class?" He said, "Down zer." And pointed anywhere but where we were. He was quite snooty and it was really funny. So we grabbed our huge heavy bags and trekked through the train until someone finally moved so we could have four seats next to each other.

We got to the tiny Schwäbisch Hall train station where my brother was supposed to pick us up, and about a half hour later he did! :) We got all set up (my parents at their hotel, we stayed with my brother in the frat house - more on that later) and then went on a little walk around town. 

Schwäbisch Hall, in my mind, is what a typical Deutschland town should look like. Bavarian style buildings, cobblestone throughout the small downtown streets, little shops and eateries and all along a sweet river. I loved it. I wanted to move there. The people were so nice and the town was so cute. Since we were there during one of the busiest weekends of the summer - they were having their annual Jakobimart - there was a lot going on. We found the year-round beer garden at the park and had dinner. I had a schnitzelburger with fries and it was amazing. Zach had your standard bratwurst and of course we had our first taste of authentic German beer!

Two funny things happened at the beer garden. One - my mom asked if they had sauerkraut for her hot dog. The Germans behind the counter laughed at her! Apparently there is a legend/superstition that says they only have sauerkraut from Autumn to Spring. Good to know. Two - when it came time to order some beer, I asked if they had "light" beer. Yeah, I know. Rookie mistake. Everyone laughed at me and then I just took whatever they gave me at that point. And it was delicious.

We hung out some more enjoying the city and then went to bed early. We stayed at the frat house (aka the "Ami" House) and while it was free, it was far from a luxurious hotel. Especially once we heard the Cockamouse. My lovely brother told the rest of my family (all but me) about this creature that apparently lives on the roof of the room we were staying in. About one minute after we got in bed, I heard the little bastard scurrying on the roof! Scared me so bad! Thanks, bro... 

More later on the rest of our trip!

Fort Flagler Camping

Hello! How was your weekend? Ours we pretty good... we went camping! Zach's parents have a pretty sweet camper (with pop out) with a queen bed, kitchenette, bathroom, dining table (that folds down in to where we slept) and a full couch and two chairs for lounging. It's big and nice and warm and dry. It was supposed to be rainy all weekend but it turned out to be partly sunny! A little windy at times, but still dry, which was great. 

We were camping up at Fort Flagler, which was a really nice camp ground on the peninsula up North by Port Townsend. We roasted mallows, walked the puppies on the beach, played lots of cards. It was a pretty relaxing weekend! Here's some more of our weekend in instagrams (follow @mykane!)...

What did you guys do this weekend?

Friday Harbor Trip

I want to share with you a little about our Friday Harbor trip. Last weekend we took a much needed weekend trip up North to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands for our birthdays and after busy season vacation. I had only been there once before when I was really young, and Zach had never been up that way. I found a Living Social Deal online for the Friday Harbor House, which worked wonderfully! I dropped off Buster Boo at my parents' house for the weekend (my Mom was so excited to babysit her "grand-dog":) and we were off!

We totally lucked out with the weather. I was fully anticipating it to rain all weekend long, but it was beautiful! Such a nice surprise that made waiting for the long ferry ride not so bad at all.

We arrived around six in the evening and got settled in our hotel - the Friday Harbor House. It was located right downtown up on a little hill with a great view of the harbor. I would highly recommend it! The rooms were really nice, complete with a fireplace and two person jet tub. It was so nice to have a really nice hotel room for a change. Usually when we travel, we skimp on the hotel since we would rather spend our money and time doing fun activities. This time, we decided we wanted a nice place to relax, read, and take naps. It was great. And had such a beautiful view from our room!

We had dinner the first night at The Bluff restaurant, which was in our hotel. We got a free appetizer with our Living Social Deal, so took advantage. The appetizer was "Chef's Choice" and happened to be a delicious flat bread with nettle pesto, smoked ham, and cheese. Apparently the chef went out and harvested some nettles that morning to make the nettle pesto. Like I said, delicious. After dinner, we took a nice little walk along the docks at sunset.

Our hotel had a great continental breakfast, then we ventured out to walk about town the next day. It's such a nice place to walk around and just enjoy the sunshine. We stopped in a few shops, including the Pelindaba Lavender Farm shop, a couple antique/thrift shops, and the Whale Wars museum/shop. There was even a little Farmer's Market we stopped by. We were interested to learn most of the local restaurants served organic and local food and ingredients. Did I mention all the food we had was amazing? Well, it was. 

We had lunch at the Rocky Bay Cafe - the sweet potato fries were so good, as was the club sandwich (which we both ordered). Next up a little nap, then we went out to explore the island.

First stop - Roche Harbor. On our way, we drove past the Duck Soup Inn, which came highly recommended by multiple people. Since it was husband's choice (his birthday was that Sunday), we decided to save this place for our next visit. Roche Harbor was a lot smaller than I had thought. I'd seen beautiful pictures of the harbor before we went (it was actually one of the places I would have a liked to have our wedding if it wasn't so far away) and it turned out to be such a charming little town. Although, not a lot was going on. We did stumble upon a wedding though. Such a beautiful venue! We also learned that Roche Harbor used to be one of the largest producers of Lime West of the Mississippi. We didn't stay very long since the only thing open was a furniture store (we didn't even see any restaurants open at 5 on a Saturday!). I did love the Hotel de Haro (where the wedding was taking place). Such a beautiful scene along with some other historic buildings and a quaint little chapel.

After Roche Harbor, we kept driving around the island to Lime Kiln State Park to do a little whale watching. Well, there weren't any whales, but we were hopeful! We did see a sea lion! We were so close to the Canadian border, we had to turn our phones off so we wouldn't get charged. It was so beautiful looking out over the water and seeing the lighthouse.

Next up, birthday dinner at Cask & Schooner back in downtown Friday Harbor. Zach had a yummy chicken sandwich and I had a clam chowder and caesar salad. It was pretty good. The restaurant itself was very charming, decorated as if you were on a big ship. The best part of the meal was dessert - a warm bread pudding with ice cream. It was delicious! And a Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband.

Sunday, we ventured out to the Pelindaba Lavender Farm. Although the lavender wasn't in full bloom (I believe the lavender blooms in the summer), it was still pretty and a great day to be outside. We even picked up a lavender chicken dog bone for the Buster Boy. :)

Back in town, we had to stop by the World's Skinniest Latte Shop and it was worth it.

While we waited for our ferry, we checked out the Griffin Bay Bookstore where Zach bought the book Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer. I have to say, I'm excited to read it too. Overall, it was such a fantastic trip. So relaxing, and just what we needed after an overworked and hectic busy season. I would highly recommend Friday Harbor for a little weekend getaway to relax and get rejuvenated! We can't wait to go back. We love you Friday Harbor!