dirtylibrarian | Entries tagged with fun

Last May (yikes!) I decided I needed to revise my 101 list. You can see the post where I decided what to eliminate here. Technically, the 1001 days expires in November, but I'm just going to ignore that and keep plugging away. But I can't believe it took me so long just to update. Sheesh.

New to the list (old item in parentheses...reasons for dropping in above blog link):

6. Go to a professional hockey game. (Go for a picnic at Bradner Gardens).
13. Go see a performance at The Columbia City Theater (Go see a performance at Lottie’s in Columbia City).
14. Take the Recover Your Chair class at Pacific Fabric. (Eat a meal at Seastar).
36. Do the Fat Salmon open water swim. (Go on a lazy tropical vacation).
37. Attend Slug Fest at Northwest Trek in Eatonville. (Picnic at the park at Bothell Landing).
39. Go summer river tubing. (Eat at the Roanoke Inn on Mercer Island).
40. Go to the Combine Derby in Lind, WA. (Get some pizza at Roberto's on Mercer Island).
48. Attend the Pacific Rim Whale Festival in BC. (Do the Tillicum Village tourist thing).
50. Go camping on Vancouver Island BC. (Eat at Bai-Tong Thai restaurant in SeaTac)
83. Visit Port Gamble and see The Museum of Shells, then eat chocolate at Tea Room. (Beat a video game).
90. Go to Carr's One of a Kind in the World Museum in Spokane. (Give blood - can't!).
94. Go watch movies at the six drive-ins still open in Western Washington (Valley 6 Drive-In - Auburn, Rodeo Triplex Drive-In - Port Orchard, Puget Park Drive-In - Everett, Wheel In Motor Movie - Port Townsend, Skyline Drive-In - Shelton, Blue Fox Drive-In - Oak Harbor). (Watch the movies I haven't seen from the book Never Coming to a Theater Near You).

I decided to leave this one on the list, after a coworker convinced me it was great people watching and a good trip to do with a girlfriend. Plus there are some cheap trips lately:

84. Go to Las Vegas for a weekend.

Things I've decided to change since then:

15. Take a fly fishing class through Patrick's Fly Shop. - I got lessons from a friend last summer. It was fun, but nothing I want to pursue further...too expensive a hobby, I think. Replacing with: Visit Butchart Gardens outside of Victoria.

Thanks to those of you who helped with great suggestions!

Ok...I ac

tually did this on the 13th, but it is something to check off my 101 list.

I headed out to Vashon Island with bookchick, her adorable child, and her husband (who as a native of the island was extremely helpful to have along). As far as festivals go, this was pretty standard small town fair. We started the day at an all-you-can-eat pancake feed, where I was surprised to eat four pancakes, as I am usually not a big fan. But they came with strawberries and ham, coffee and juice, and sweet young boy scouts came around regularly to top off your beverages and call you ma'am. It was very nice.

The street fair was pretty standard stuff. The usual mix of cheap fair items, crafts folks, hippie stuff and food. I bought this somewhat awesome rhinestone encrusted belt buck

le. There was an vintage auto parade that was somewhat baffling. It took forever to get underway, and then just went right down the middle of all the vendors! There were many cool old cards, but there was also a strange mix of cars that didn't seem worth bragging about to me, but perhaps I am out of touch with the world of vintage. Either that or the parade organizers of Vashon are extremely kind.

I spotted my least favorite ex, but happily he passed by obliviously, and I was not forced to make conversation.

This was not the best small town event I've been too, but it wasn't bad. And it was a joy to hang out with my friends and their delightful child.

I'm not sure why this one took so long to get around to. I've had the kite for years, and carry it in the trunk of my car pretty much all the time (which does seem a bit silly, what with today's gas prices). Gasworks park is super easy to get to. And for all we complain about it, nice days in Seattle aren't that hard to find. This is the sort of thing that is best done with company, and it was a good opportunity to show off a great view of Seattle to an out of town guest...plus she was impressed that there were a good 20 people out there just flying kites...probably hundreds just hanging out. I highly recommend kite flying, t

hough it was not as relaxing as I had been expecting. Once you get it going, it is a lot of work! Plus, my kite has this weird propensity to suddenly just drop (though it did better up very high than most kites there), and I was paranoid about it falling on people's heads (it did interrupt at least one romantic moment, but nobody was injured ;) I'd totally be up for doing this again, maybe with a picnic, so let me know if you want to try it out sometime. And I just picked up a second kite...so it could make a good group outing.

Despite a week of terrible, cold downpours and generally gloomy weather...I finally got out and went camping at Dash Point State Park this weekend. I had been planning on checking this place out for ages, intrigued by the fact there was a state park in Federal Way of all places. Plus, according to the State Parks website, this is also the nearest campground to my house...close enough to actually go to after work. Which is what I did.

Happily, I seem to have found a new camping buddy, and general hang out and seek random adventures pal. E. is a member of my bookgroup whom I had not met until this last month, as we always seem to go when the other one isn't there. But we hit it right off, and I decided to see if she liked camping. She does, and not just car camping, but has experience as a river rafting guide and has done some backpacking too. Hooray!

So she picked me up after work Saturday and we drove down to Federal Way not really knowing what to expect. Neither of us had been to Dash Point. And for that matter, we really didn't know each other beyond name and a few mutual friends. A true adventure indeed. But it was GREAT. Dash Point is your typical Washington State Parks campground. Lots of cozy little campsites, each with a parking space, fire pit, picnic table, and room for at least one tent, depending on the spot you got. I paid the extra $7 to make an advanced reservation (just in case it was nice weather and everyone decided to go camping...ha!), and the spot we were assigned was too small for two tents, right next to a large group, and pretty exposed to the road. So we drove around until we found a few better candidates and drove back to the check in booth to see if we could switch. No problem! So we got a nice spacious spot, just a short straight shot to the bathrooms, and very close to the path to the beach (spot #20 if you are thinking about going here).

We quickly set up camp, ate dinner, and took the half mile hike down to the beach. And were very surprised to find how tiny it was. I made a joke that the sand dollars on the park's logo were almost as big as the beach. It was dusk, so we decided to head back to camp and check out the beach again in the morning...maybe it would be bigger when the tide went out?

Back at camp E. got a nice little fire going, and we drank beer and made smores. I remembered my camp chairs this time, so we were pretty comfortable. E. is great company...smart, funny, and lots of stories to tell. As the fire died down, we realized it wasn't really that dark. If you are wanting to go start gazing, this is not the place...the lights of Tacoma are very near!

Got up in the morning and drank tea and read. Went back down to the beach, and surprise! It was suddenly a HUGE mudflat. We eagerly wandered out to check things out. We wondered why more people weren't exploring it. It was terrific! We saw something neither of us had seen before...a live sand dollar! And another. And another. And we wandered on a bit and noticed some buried mostly in the sand. And then looked around and realized there were EVERYWHERE. And suddenly we both freaked out about stepping on them and hurting them, so we made as hasty and careful retreat as we could. It was both agonizing and hilarious. Then we stuck to the shore and picked up some trash, then headed back to the truck.

After we left the campground we decided to look for yard sales. We found one that was completely

played out, so next decided to follow the suggestion of a sign that said "Explore Federal Way - check out the Bonsai Collection". But on the way we were lured into Big Lots, and also got some burnt espresso at the place across the parking lot. The Bonsai Collection was pretty cool...although it is hard for me to not think of it as part of the fanciest PR piece ever. Weyerhaeuser has this as part of their Federal Way complex...which has one of my favorite office building ever! And a collection of rhododendrons, fields of lupin, and many running paths for the public to enjoy. Oh that all businesses did so many nice things for the public. But it makes you wonder, why do they feel they have to? I recommend reading the book The Good Rain by Timothy Egan to get more insight on this...it is an awesome book.

Overall, a great weekend. If you are looking for a quick fix of trees, forest, slugs and camping...Dash Point

State Park is terrific!

Hello friends,

I have been meaning to revise my 101 list...some things on it are just lame (parks and restaurants in the area of my old job) and some are impossible (I'm not allowed to give blood, as I am high-risk for mad cow, who knew?)

Looking at rebellibrarian's flickr today I was inspired to put a trip to Hearst Castle on the list. Ideally I'd like most things to be in the Seattle area, though stuff in Vancouver, Victoria, and Portland would be fun too. Stuff on the North side of Seattle up through Snohomish and Island Counties is also acceptable, if you have heard of something fun to do there.

Please suggest your favorite touristy and other local activities that I might not have tried yet that you think I should...including stuff you've been wanting to do, and would like me to join you for!

Here are things I am currently working on:

Go camping at Dash Point State Park - 6/7/2008
Go on the Columbia City Garden Walk - 6/14/2008
Go to the Klondike National Historic Park. - Actually did this Saturday!
Get a decent bicycle. - in the works.
Take at least four drum lessons. 1 out of 4 completed. Need to make appointment for more.
Write a poem a day for a month. - began last week.
Cook 12 new recipes within a year. - have done about half. Plan to finish this summer.
Play a gig with my band. - ok, a potluck next week, but good enough!

Here are things I am axing, with why:

Go for a picnic at Bradner Gardens (Not much a destination)
Eat a meal at Seastar (Don't know why it was on the list in the first place).
Picnic at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. (Near old job, not terribly exciting).
Go on a lazy tropical vacation. (This was a cheat...I put it on right before Belize).
Picnic at the park at Bothell Landing. (Again, nearish to old job, and kinda boring sounding).
Eat at the Roanoke Inn on Mercer Island.
Get some pizza at Roberto's on Mercer Island. (Again, old location).
Do the Tillicum Village tourist thing. - Cheesy and no one is interested in going with me.
Eat at Bai-Tong Thai restaurant in SeaTac. - No idea why on list.
Return to the Maryhill Museum of Art and nearby faux Stonehenge. - Museum closed for remodeling.
Beat a video game. - You know, I just don't care enough.
Go to Las Vegas for a weekend (never been as an adult). - Not actually excited about this.
Give blood. (Mad Cow threat!)
Watch the movies I haven't seen from the book Never Coming to a Theater Near You (0/78) - too many movies to watch already! Not lacking for ideas.

So...I need 13 new things. Be creative people!

Here are the things I am changing, and how:

Take a fly fishing class through Patrick's Fly Shop. - A friend is going to teach me this summer.
Sell dirtylibrarian.com and apply money to student loans. - Need to make a plan to actually do something with this if I'm not going to sell it. Ideas?
Fill all the picture frames I own and hang them. - Fill or get rid of by end of summer.
Improve basement: a) remove wood from dirt, adding new reinforcements to dirt retainers; b) add vents; c) ~~insulate heat ducts~~; d) plug holes for rodents.(1/4) - I'm not sure how to plug the holes, but I am thinking about paying to have a restraining wall installed. Too much hard labor to do it myself?

Here is what I am currently planning on keeping that seem doable. Let me know if you want to schedule a play-date for one:

Evening out:

Go to a Farestart Thursday night dinner.
Eat a meal at Rovers
Go see a performance at Lottie’s in Columbia City
Go to a poetry event at Open Books in Wallingford.
Hang out with the butterflies at the Pacific Science Center.
Go see a professional hockey game.

Day activity in town:

Take the U-District audio walking tour (from the U District library)
Take an audio tour of the Suzzallo Library (and find the sylvan theater and the medicinal herb gardens).
Fly a kite at Gas Works Park.
Go to the Seattle Chinese Garden.
Eat a sandwich at Armandino's Salumi (open Tue-Fri 11-4)

Day trip out of Seattle:

Hike Cougar Mountain.
Take the Argosy Cruise of Lake Washington from Kirkland.
Go to a demolition derby.
Make a day trip to the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island.
Attend the King County Fair.
Go to a rodeo.
Take a tour of the giant Boeing plant.
Find Jimi Hendrix's grave in Renton.
Go to the Strawberry Festival on Vashon Island (July 12-14, 2008).
Go watch a race at the Marymoor Velodrome.
Go on a free boat ride at The Center for Wooden Boats.
Go on a whale watching tour.
Spend a day at Point Defiance Park.
Ride in a hot air balloon.

Vacation of some sort:

Go camping at Mt. St. Helens.
Go camping on the coast and visit the World Kite Museum.
Ride a mule down the Grand Canyon.
See the Northern Lights and some glaciers in Alaska.
Go to Montreal and eat poutine.
Visit Graceland.
Backpack the Wonderland Trail (93 miles!)
Visit the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo. (Too expensive? Should I drop?)
Hike and camp the Shi Shi Trail.

Projects:

Post a photo a day for a month.
Take a photography class.
Take a cooking class at Cooks World
Take a scuba diving class so I can see Octopus in person.
Get lifeguard certification.
Learn how to polka, and go to a polka show.
Sell excess books/cds/etc and apply money towards student loans.
Take a dance class.
Get paid for writing an article (by myself).
Make marble magnets.
Complete an emergency preparedness plan.

Random:

Drive a hoovercraft. (Is this really a possibility?)

I feel like I am cheating, and have started the weekend early. I called my friend J. to see if she wanted to hit the hip-hop water aerobics class tonight, and she declined and invited me to karaoke at Bush Garden instead. Hooray! I love karaoke, but am still working to overcome some real shyness/social-anxiety type issues around it. I'm finally getting to the point where I see value in getting up and butchering songs, as I did tonight with one of my all time favorites: Slow Boat to China. After that I went with a safer standby, These Boots Are Made for Walking. And while I don't know how good it sounded, I went out in a burst of glory with Sweet Child of Mine.

Now I get to sleep for 3 hours before bringing J. and her fella H. to the airport. Happily, I get to work from home today. This is new to me, and I feel a bit guilty staying up so late knowing I really do have to work tomorrow...but also knowing I will be driving 2 hours less is very happy making.

Its so funny. I was delighted to remember to go to the 25th Annual Great Wallingford Wurst Festival. I forgot I was supposed to pig out...but I did it anyways!

Here is my delicious meal, minus salad (beer and soda...so decedent!) Plus I had an extra braut, and all three of my friends' corns.

Here are my three friends

holyoutlaw,

juliebata, and

gryph (all eating salmon! at the wurst festival!):

And me, with my wurst:

Afterward, I found I had missed a wad of phone messages, and was compelled to go see Knocked Up (finally!)

Current Mood: chipper

terriblestorm and I had been talking about hanging out for ages. We realized we hadn't actually seen each other in person for almost 2

years! It is strange how with LJ you can be in touch with someone regularly, but really be totally out of touch at the same time.

So we decided to do something off my 101 list. I must say, I'm really enjoying this aspect of the list. No longer am I going back and forth with people with the whole "what do you want to do" indecision. They ask, I send them stuff off the list! Working out the times still takes work, but I am getting to do all this fun and interesting stuff with my pals, and getting a feeling of accomplishment to boot!

We met Saturday morning in West Seattle at Alki Kayak Tours. The plan was to take the lighthouse and wildlife tour, but it was so darn windy, the guide decided we would instead go up the

Duwamish River. I was not disappointed by this, as I have been curious about this river for a while now. It took me years to realize there was a river there...it is so overrun with industry, there is barely any natural shore left.

It is however fascinating, for their are tugboats, barges, docks, cranes and all kinds of things you normally don't get to see up close.

We had a ton of fun. It ended up being a lot of work, due to the wind, but it gave us a real feeling of accomplishment. Plus, we saw a harbor seal, a sea lion, and some birds. I hope to do this again sometime soon.