Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill in Seattle has beautiful houses with fantastique gardens.
I want to live in one!

George the Cat

This is George. He is the neighborhood cat.
He visits The Hair Connection on Broadway in Capitol Hill everyday. And just chills.
Now that's an awesome cat.

Espresso Vivace and Cute Dogs

We went to Espresso Vivace's little outdoor stand on Broadway in Capitol Hill. There were many cute dogs.
It's in the gayborhood.
It was good.

Rough Waters, Calm Waters

Look at how choppy the water on the left side of the bridge is compared to the right side (coming back to Seattle from Bellevue). Kinda neat.

Holy Crepe!

These are crepes-to-go by Anita's Crepes in the Bellevue Farmer's Market. I don't know who this Anita person is, but I think it is safe to say she is my personal hero.
Too late in life I find my calling.

Bellevue Farmer's Market

Bellevue Farmer's Market was right by our hotel. We went after we checked out Saturday morning.
Great produce, bread, cheese, crepes, and flowers from local businesses. Washington has a lot of good eats!
And have I mentioned that they manage to grow the most gorgeous flowers?
Especially sunflowers. And zinnias.
And dahlias.
Some artisan beverages available as well.
I bet these are fantastic!
Now that's a friggin' kolache, people!
I wish I could grow carrots like that! Unfortunately, we were flying home this day, so we couldn't buy all that we wanted to.

Paradise

More photos from the Paradise area of Mt Rainier National Park. From the National Park Service website: "When (early settler) James Longmire’s daughter-in-law, Martha, first saw this site, she exclaimed, 'Oh, what a paradise!'"--and thus the site was accurately named. Above, looking down the meadow with deer in the foreground and Paradise Inn behind them.
Map of the Paradise Area trails, stretching up to the Nisqually Glacier, which we did not have time to see. The trail to Camp Muir, base camp for Mt Rainier summit attempts, also begins here. Trails range from pleasant, paved strolls to snowfield trudges.
The charming Paradise Ranger Station, standing straight and tall.
Beautiful, silky cloud formation seen over Tahoma from the meadow.
A peak at the lodge through the trees. This sub-alpine region is the tallest drivable point in the park. It's below the treeline, but the trees have started to shorten.
Baby conifer spouting out the trail side.
A cautious (but very curious) fawn hiding in the trees.
View of the Inn and parking lot from higher up on the trails.
Cutting of the trails destroys protected meadow.
A great look out for taking photos of the Nisqually Glacier (above) on Tahoma. We were there before the snowfalls, but Paradise is one of the snowiest places on earth, receiving 680 inches annually. I would love to go back and stay at the lodge to do some cross country skiing and snowshoeing.
A flowery hillside.
Alpine wildflowers.
More meadow views.
More deer. They weren't frightened of us at all! Living here, they are used to being protected. We're more of an annoyance than anything.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll say again what a wonderful, beautiful place this is. And we only explored a portion of it--but hopefully will be back again soon.