It's only April but today we had one of those throughly spectacular days that define the summer and perfectly capped a weekend of getting things done. I burrowed into my closet and whipped out a pair of shorts and sandals that hadn't seen active duty since early October.
Yesterday Dia and I spent a solid five hours coming to grips with how unbelievably crappy airline websites are--it took that long to suss out when we could/could not use miles to get free tickets to the various places we need to get to in the next four months. We had mixed success with free travel but did plan our summer and book something like nine travel itineraries between now and mid-September.
If anyone has a tip for some awesomely beautiful and relaxing destination for a weekend on the Olympic Peninsula in May that doesn not involve camping, let me know. That's the one trip we haven't booked yet.
Last night involved a terrific evening out with Larry, accomplished academic and insurgent clown. Seriously.
Today had us going to the dump and tossing out/recycling all manner of crap that's populated our backyard for at least a couple of years. We celebrated by acquiring some fabulous deck furniture. It's not even May and we're a hair's breath away from being ready to entertain. Last year we spent May overwhelmed by the jungle that was our backyard. Ha! Not this year.
There was a brief visit to Elaine's birthday brunch, which had stretched well into evening, and then it was back home to make dinner and hear one of the oddest sentences to ever come out of my wife's mouth: "Oh my god, Alex's tail is on fire." It was.
It was a fabulous weekend. And we're supposed to hit 71 degrees today! As far as places to visit for a weekend in May... This isn't really the Olympic Peninsula, but rather the coast of Washington, but Mark and I stayed at Ocean Crest Resort in Moclips in 2001 and it was fabulous. This place is on the cliffs above the beach. We had a balcony and a fireplace. And the restaurant was excellent. It was a long time ago, so I don't know what it's like now, but it is a place we've often talked about visiting again. Here's the link: http://www.oceancrestresort.com/index.html (It may have changed since we were there - I was looking at the pictures of the rooms and don't remember the fabrics clashing quite so badly when we stayed there.)
Posted by: T | Monday, April 24, 2006 at 09:33
can't fault you for bad parenting, Riley caught on fire not too long ago ()jumped onto a candle) -- cats, they know the risks.....
Posted by: brian | Monday, April 24, 2006 at 10:48
I've stayed at Kalaloch Lodge (http://www.visitkalaloch.com/) on the Olympic Peninsula, which is rustic but a good alternative to camping. We had our own cabin and you can ask for you own stove and/or oven. I also recall that the restauarnt was pretty decent for Aramark. It's not too far from the Hoh Rainforest, which was unfortunately rained out when we were there in the winter.
Not what you asked for, but Cannon Beach, Oregon, was a great trip I am wanting to repeat. We took I5 onlay as far as Olympia and drove mellow side roads the rest of the way through Washington, still getting there in 3 hours. We stayed at the Surfsand Resort which I loved, because we could see the beach and ocean right from our bed and the becach is literally right out your door.
Posted by: Kerry | Monday, April 24, 2006 at 13:04
This place on the Hood Canal is nice: http://www.alderbrookresort.com/
Posted by: Jen | Monday, April 24, 2006 at 20:51
Oh my gosh, is Alex okay? How did his tail catch on fire?
News on our cat front: The spring months have produced three new kittens, sadly, all belong to a very feral mamma cat.
Posted by: Sara | Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at 14:54