Cascade Vacation

This marked our fourth year exploring outside of Seattle with the Kizer family. Over Memorial day weekend, with two toddlers in tow, we skipped the tents and yurts. Our two families spent four nights in Suncadia; walking the trails, visiting the pool and hot tub, and checking out playgrounds. We even took a short drive into Roslyn to try out their playground. Dominic loved having a playmate there each morning, and the adults even managed to put together a puzzle in the evening.

After Memorial Day we said goodbye to the Kizers and continued further East to Thorp, WA. The remainder of the week was spent at a cabin on the Yakima River. The river was high and swift, so Dominic and mommy only briefly visited the river blank. Daddy however had a fly fishing lesson one afternoon. The rest of the time was spent exploring around the cabin, picking wild flowers, visiting Ellensburg Canyon Winery, and taking a trip into Ellensburg for groceries and beer at the Iron Horse Brewery Pub.

In total, the time was a quiet and as relaxing as any trip with an almost two year old can be. We are fortunate that he slept great in our make shift crib, he loved the sound of the train going by, and happily watched “Dory” on repeat. At this age, vacation is living your home life somewhere else… but it beats work and we get to spend a lot of time together. Next? Italy.

Camping at Kanaskat-Palmer (IV)

We have a bit of a backlog on photos, but here’s a set from our recent camping trip to Kanaskat-Palmer State Park. This was our fourth year camping, the second with Dom, and first with just the Derecola clan. We elected to stay in a yurt again this year – it’s a great combination of spending most of your day outdoors and having enough indoor space for Dom to sleep somewhat normally. We’ve actually figured out how to use his crib mattress with a play yard as his bed… and also that we could carry them in our roof box.

We spent most of the weekend walking around the campground, hanging out at our camp, and playing in the Green River that’s adjacent to the park. The water was pretty chilly – probably in the 60s – but Dom didn’t seem to mind once he got used to walking around on rocks. He spent the entire time picking up rocks and throwing them in the water. As in, that’s literally all he did… and he thought it was awesome. I took a swim in the river; something I’ve realized I haven’t done enough of lately.

I was actually surprised by this campground, given it’s only 40 minutes outside Seattle and an hour from home. We’ve driven as far as 6 hours (8 with traffic) to camp, so this was a welcome change – especially with a toddler. It’s missing the grandiose reasons for going to some of the places we have, but it’s a perfectly acceptable way to escape life for awhile. There’s no cell service, you can hear the river, and most everyone was friendly. The place is definitely more of a weekend spot for locals (lots of campers) vs. the hipster outdoor folks with their slacklines.

Dom slept pretty well and the weekend was relatively painless… if not tiring chasing a toddler non-stop… so maybe we’ll be switching back to a tent for our fifth year? We’ve also been talking teardrop trailers, so who knows. Oh, the weather was great. We rarely get that lucky.

40th in New Orleans

I turned 40 years old in New Orleans. If you’re keeping track, that was nearly four months ago. I’ve had these pictures uploaded for the better part of two months, but I never found the time to sit down and write my thoughts. The interesting thing about writing a trip summary this much later is things are probably boiled down to the stuff that’ll you remember for a long time.

So what do I remember? I’ll say this – I really do like New Orleans as a place to visit. The history, architecture, food, and music make for a city that is a great way to spend a week. People thought we were crazy when we said we were taking an 17 month old, but I submit there are plenty of family things to do there. We walked through the French Quarter a few times, include during a date night for just Melissa and me; there are so many great things that aren’t the New Orleans you hear about.

Our trip was most definitely not as restful as we wanted and a lot of that comes town to a pretty terrible airbnb situation. It was actually bad enough that I never wrote a review… and our host didn’t either. I think we just wanted to be done with each other after the week we had. Anyway, it was nice to get away for awhile and spend time with three generations of family as I ticked over another decade.

Through coincidence, we ended up there the week before Mardi Gras. It was a great time to be in the city, with many parades scheduled for the locals. We ended up at a Game of Thrones theme dog parade – Dom thought it was amazing. I’d been to New Orleans for a 40-hour bachelor party; this was a different experience… in a good way. I know we’ll be back to enjoy more of the food and music the city has to offer. We’ll just need to figure out if it’s a parents-only trip or we make it another family affair.

Oh, and we got a midnight flight time on the way home from the airport. It was one helluva day with an 11 am check out, 7 pm flight (Central Time), and a toddler that didn’t nap. The one thing I appear to do more easily in my 40s is roll with the situation. Having a kid probably helps with that. Anyway, go to New Orleans. It’s a beautiful place. Just make sure you have a/c. :grin: