2021 Recap

I made an effort in 2021 to think about the highlights each month. Some months it was very easy to find things that stood out, other months it was hard. Things like the fact that we returned to the air – Dom took ten flights in 2021 – stood out as a highlight for the year. Each of those trips were to somewhere we had visited before, however each time we enjoyed completely new experiences. With all that said, here is a look back at our families highlights of 2021.

January – The new year started off slow, but sunny. Dom and mom continued to explore the parks and playgrounds around Seattle when it was not raining. As a family we were able to take a boat over to both the Blake Island and Bainbridge Island. Elliott the otter continued to go everywhere with Dom; grocery shopping, boating, the dentist, playgrounds, and even to the zoo.

February – Mom and dad took a few days away to celebrate dad’s birthday in Woodenville with some wine tastings. Then the snow hit Seattle, and we all went sledding down the streets to the village. We were able to borrowing a sled and enjoyed testing it out. The month ended with our first flight in over of year. The family went South to the Palm Springs area, we had gone in 2019 but this time we rented a house in Desert Hot Springs rather than stay at a resort community.

March – After a week in the sun we returned home to the cold weather. The rain did hold off a bit so continued to get outside as much as we could. This included some outside dining. To help with the COVID regulations Seattle’s streets are now filled with tables under canopies. Dom gave his balance bike another try, and used it to go everywhere in Magnolia for the next few months. The big thing for the month was the adults getting there first doses of the vaccine so that we would be fully vaccinated by the summer.

April – Seattle was in full bloom and it was raining mostly cherry blossoms. Dom keep busy visiting all his favorite spots around Seattle; Kubota Gardens, Blake Island, the Magnolia boat launch, Seattle Aquarium, Swanson’s Garden Center, Carkeek Park and best of all playing at his friends house’s again! Mom went back to work for a few days and a raccoon took of with Dom’s lunch while we were collecting shells on Blake Island. The sneaky critter climbed into the boat through an open window, taking the wrapped grilled cheese from our lunch bag. We could not figure out where the sandwich disappeared to until he returned to see about more snacks.

May – The rain continued to hold off for most of the month and we went boating for Mother’s Day. Dom picked a playground from a map, and we drove North of Seattle to check it out. We had it all to ourselves and he loved running around the skate park. After being closed for most of 2020 the Ballard Locks reopened to foot traffic. We went to watch the boats pass through and then watched the bees visiting the flowers at the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens. The month ended with a trip to San Diego – where things got a little scary. Chris had a heart attack while we were there, thankfully he is okay. I am also very thankful that we had Miss Emilia with us, and Miss Sarah visited us in San Diego too. With their help Dom was able to be spared the chaos of the hospital and enjoy the sand and playgrounds.

June – We returned to a few of our pre-Covid activities like Baseball games, going to the playgrounds with friends, and rides on the bus. Dom discovered Taco Time quesadillas and they are now his favorite take out food. Well it is tied with the grilled cheese from the Fisherman’s Green Market & Deli. After being without an office for over a year it looked like Chris have one to go to again. We went to check out where it was and took a ride on the light rail around South Lake Union. The warmer weather continued to make it possible to enjoy some boat trips around the sound. After talking about for several summers Dom and Mom went strawberry picking for the first time. The berries were good but Dom enjoyed playing in the dirt more than picking. For Father’s Day we went to a Mariners game. It ended with a Grand Slam after 10 innings.

July – For the fourth of July we took our fourth van camping trip, staying at Dash Point State Park. Dom rode his balance bike around the camp ground and we tested out Chris’ gas fire pit. Once back home it was a busy month, Mom and Dad saw live music again. The last time had been in February of 2020. This was actually two performances by Vaudeville Etiquette at the Edmonds Center for Performing Art. After our successful strawberry picking adventure Dom and Mom went blueberry picking. Dom love picking the berries and we came home with close to two pounds of berries. Then Daddy’s daddy came to visit, we took a boat over to Bainbridge Island one day and spent another day fishing on Lake Washington. This was the first summer Dom was really old enough for summer camp. He has a few weeks of playing with other kids as a way to get ready for preschool in the fall. Mom and Dad got ready for the upcoming hockey season by attending the Kraken NHL Draft event at Gas Works Park.

August – After a very busy July, August was more relaxed. Mom and Dad started the month with a quick weekend away and Dom had another week of camp. The remainder of the month was spent in Hawaii. We crossed another of the islands off our list and stayed on Kaua’i. The trip gave Dom a chance to really play in the ocean and practice with his life vest in the pool.

September – We flew back from Hawaii the day before Dom turned 5. He celebrated his birthday with a Taco Time quesadilla and the most frosting covered cupcake mom could find at the store. On Labor Day we took at boat over to Bainbridge and meet up with friends that live there for the afternoon. September also marked Dom’s return to preschool, and an excellent five check-up. Dad took a weekend way with friends, while Mom and Dom had an unsuccessful apple picking trip. While we did not come home with fruit, we did feed some pears to a funny pig. Things continued to reopen in Seattle so Mom and Dad went to the movies and checked out the new hockey practice facility.

October – On the fourth we celebrated out 18th wedding anniversary with a weekend away in Leavenworth. Then Dom and mom flew across the country to visit Gramp and the rest of the Brooks family in Vermont. We picked apples, fed the cows, saw where Mom built a fort as a kid, played soccer with Gramp and the cousins, and acted like a leaf-peeper. Then on our way back to Seattle visited friends that moved to Boston in 2019. We went to the New England Aquarium, visited with Uncle Patrick, and saw some of the Boston Marathon before flying home. Back in Seattle we all went to the Seattle Center to see what was happening for the home opener for the Kraken, and Mom and Dad went to their first Kraken Game. We also lost power for over eight hours, a new experience for Dom who started to realize home many things rely on electricity. The month ended with Dom dressing as an Orange dinosaur for Halloween, but staying home to watch the other kids trick-or-treat.

November – The family got away from the gray and rain with a trip to Las Vegas. Dad was working so Mom took Dom out and about. Even with eight trips to Las Vegas for Mom and Dad this was completely different and a lot of fun. November was finished up with Dom getting his first COVID vaccination, more Kraken games, and friends visiting for thanksgiving.

December – We were able to continue a few holiday traditions that we had started in recent years. One of which was to visit the Volunteer Park Conservatory to see the model train display. After Dom and Mom walked around the Seattle Asian Art Museum which had recently reopened. In addition to making several different batches of cookies to share with our friends, Mom helped Dom decorate a gingerbread house. This year was very successful. The trick was to work with a pre-made house and store bought frosting. While we did not make out to see the lights at night this year, we did visit the zoo twice to see the holiday lantern display during the day. Mom and Dad celebrated ten years in Seattle with a stay near the Space Needle and a Kraken game. I crossed a new museum off the list before the end of the year, extending a streak to 17 years. Dom had a great Christmas; Santa brought him the Minecraft game he wished for, and several new Lego sets. The year ended with snow, which Dom loved.

That was out 2021, hope everyone else had a full year too.

Las Vegas – Escape from the Rain

November 2021 started with an escape from the rain and gloom of Seattle to the warmth of Las Vegas. Even though we have been to Las Vegas 6+ times (2004, 2006, 2007, 2011) this was a new adventure for our family. We skipped the hotels and rented a house for the week. It was only a few minutes from the strip and old Vegas, with a pool and hot tub. As an added bonus there was some private space for Miss Emilia so she could join us and keep up with her school work. Chris was still working during the day, which was key since he is out of vacation days, but then mom and dad could get out in the evenings.

Our home for the week. Dom spent most of the time at the house in the hot tub.

As soon as he was awake Dom wanted to check out the hot tub. With Dad trying to get some work done, Mom and Dom left the house and went to the strip. Dom insisted he wasn’t going to have any fun but quickly was doing just that. We went to the M&M store at MGM Grand, got cake at the Hello Kitty Cafe, ran around The Park by T-Mobile arena, visited the Hershey Store, walked around the “streets” inside New York-New York Casino, and best of all … we went on the moving walkways into Excalibur Hotel.

That night after Dom had more hot tub time, it was the parents turn to explore. We checked out Circa casino and 8 East for dinner. So much of the Fremont street area has changed over the year, and Circa is a perfect example, I remember it as Mermaids Casino.

: Cake from Hello Kitty Cafe

Day two was what Dom had been waiting for, the Discovery Children’s Museum. He had seen Blippi visit it and play with in the water world exhibit. So we spent the morning exploring every area of the museum. Dom left drenched from the water activities, which was fine because he spent the rest of the day floating about in the hot tub. Mom and Dad then had a evening out with dinner at a show at the Cosmopolitan. We went to see Opium, since we had loved the show Absinthe by the same company, but we will not be recommending this particular show.

: This counted as the best part of the trip for Dom.

Our third day in Las Vegas was Saturday, which meant we all got out of the house in the morning. We started the day with a trip to Avengers Station at Treasure Island. Dom had mixed reviews; he loved some of the costumes and the ants that were projected on the floor, but did not like some of the interactive elements. Unfortunately he was not up for participating in a group photo, but that could be in part to his empty stomach. After a quick lunch we went to Fremont street. It was a complete sensory overload for Dom, we did one walk up and back and then went to the playground at the container park. That was a complete success, Dom found a bunch of older boys to play a battle game with and would have been happy playing the rest of the day.

Dom attempting to “prove worthy to wield mjolnir”

On Sunday Dom and Miss Emilia took a drive out to the Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead, and the Hoover Dam. With time on their own, Mom and Dad then were able to watch some football, visit a few casinos, and explore Fremont Street a bit more. While Dom got to have this hands in two states at once, Mom and Dad listened to some live music and even ran into someone we knew in the street. It was a successful day for everyone.

: Exploring Lake Mead

Hoover Dam

If you want a crazy flash back, we had taken a motorcycle out to the Valley of Fire back in 2006.

Monday had Dad returning to work, so Mom and Dom got out of the house in the morning and went to Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden. At first Dom was not interested in any of it, but he does like trails, garden’s and Cacti so he quickly changed his mind. The cactus garden was all decorated for the holidays, which I will say was a bit weird. After following the path through the whole garden we went inside to see the factory. It was a slow day, they were only packaging chocolate hearts so we did not get to see much of the process. We did taste test some before going to a playground. After that we drove by the Vegas sign on the way back the house for more Hot Tub time.

: Inside the Ethel M factory

For our last day Dom and Mom went to Mandalay Bay in the morning to see the Shark Reef. Dom loved that it was designed like a ancient temple and a sunken ship, plus he like touching the stingrays. After we had our fill of sea creatures we walked over to Luxor to eat before going home for … more Hot Tub time. Mom and Dad had tickets for the Kraken versus the Las Vegas Golden Knights at the arena. We all went together to the strip to check out the fountains at Bellagio before the game. The Kraken unfortunately did not win, but we had some great seats behind the net and enjoyed the game anyway.

: Dragons, fish and turtles

And then it was over. This was our first time staying off strip, and the first time bringing a kid alone and it went really well. Chris even said they he preferred it to Palm Springs for a warm weather trip with a short flight from Seattle. Dom wants to go back to several of the places we had visited, never wanted to leave the hot tub, and loved all the “feather girls” he saw walking around the casinos. So I guess it just a matter of time before we are back in Vegas.

Kauaʻi – End of Summer Escape

We’d planned to spend two weeks in Germany during the fall of 2020. That didn’t happen.

We’d planned to spend two weeks in Germany during the fall of 2021. That didn’t happen.

We decided on somewhere “nearby” that we’d probably not visit after we left Seattle in the next few years. That did happen.

Dom had never been to Hawai’i and we’d never been to Kauaʻi, so we made it happen with a direct flight on Alaska Airlines. We used a $100 companion fare for Dom and Melissa flew on miles, so we got to the island for much cheaper than is typical. I think it came to like $250 per person. For reference, weekend flights are usually in the $500-600 range. The island is fairly spaced out and remote (thankfully), so we rented a car (with miles!) and a two bedroom VRBO condo in the Princeville area, on the north side of the island. We booked this trip as soon as Alaska switched to no change fees and before vaccines were available; figuring we could cancel/move it if COVID prevented us from traveling. Good news is the trip went off without a hitch.

This trip was an odd intersection of life. Dom was not vaccinated, Hawai’i was on the backside of its travel crunch, and I’d just gotten another team reporting to me at work the week prior. Our plan was to keep mostly to ourselves, which we did for the most part. I didn’t take my computer, but I was coming off of a crazy summer at work, and I did stay connected to via work email on my phone. That’s against my better judgment, however I was in the final days of hiring two folks for a severely understaffed team. Keeping watch was going to make my fall that much easier. I know… it’s work and I’m making excuses. Trust me when I say I am well aware I made this decision after having a heart attack on the last vacation. I will be making healthier choices in 2022 and beyond.

We didn’t make a ton of plans going into this trip. Melissa marked things on the island, and I did a little research on activities, but it was mostly a play by ear kinda thing. We did the normal grocery shopping and cooking at “home” thing, with several carry out, and maybe 2-3 outdoor meals. It’s kinda a blur, to be honest. We went to the condo community pool a couple days, we drove to some remote beaches a few days, and we traveled to the south of the island for tourist stuff one day. The pace of life on Kauaʻi is a wee bit different than, say, Honolulu, and lends itself to waking up each morning without a set plan.

The beaches on the island are different than most other places we’ve been, as you end up driving down some work out dirt road to a beautiful beach with calm waters and very few people. We always loaded up and went in the morning, as it’s easier to get Dom out of the house and the beaches were nigh barren when we got there. I think it was the first time either Melissa or Dom had really swam in an ocean. I was too exhausted to do much swimming, but I grew up swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and am glad they had that experience. PNW waters are anything but forgiving.

Total non-sequitur… we also grabbed lots of fruits at a local farmer’s market.

Other fun things included lots of drone flights (I brought mine), an adults-only walking food tour in Hanalei, and a family outing in a Polaris 1000 cc 4 Seater UTV. That last activity was Dom’s first real outing of that type and certainly the first time doing off-road stuff. He had a lot of fun getting dirty, but the helmet did end up hurting him by the end. No surprise there – he’ll need to be fitted if ever really gets into motorsports. I ate so much dirt and dust, even with a mask on, but there were enough “oh crap” moments to keep you on your toes and heart rate elevated. Especially when you’re driving an almost-five-year-old in a three point belt. The minimum age was five – he was only eight days shy! Nothing bad happened.

I think Kauaʻi if my favorite island of the four Melissa and I have been to. We’re not really beach people or big on hot weather, but I can see the appeal.