This Weekend Did Not Suck: Memorial Day 2017

Okay, actually it started to.

I came down with the blues on Friday, missing my man (😏 whoops did I just say that out loud?) and feeling like I was going to have the worst Memorial Day Staycation while all my friends were out and about. What cured these sad thoughts? BEING OUTSIDE. and realizing how grateful I am to be living exactly how I am currently.

Saturday Morning we got to boat on Andrews Bay and try to doughnot get sunburnt. Lots of White Claw + Sandwiches later we we’re feeling pretty silly. Sidenote: I am obsessed with Lyons Grocery for deli style subs. Do yourself a favor and check them out. Kayla made some of her famous Sangria and we all made some new friends. (see yacht in background!)

If you’re lucky enough to get to spend time on the water in the Seattle/Bellevue area, Andrews Bay and Meydenbauer Bay are my two favorite places to lounge out! Be sure to bring an air pump for your floaties, unless you want to be sore from using a hand pump four days later (😐 I guess I wasn’t as in shape for the summer as originally thought…)

Sunday was another jam-packed day, woke up and went to Folklife Festival at Seattle Center with Kira and Stella. It was great to see families show up early to beat the heat and catch some of the earlier music acts. We grabbed a salmon Caesar salad and joined! We spent our time shopping at the local vendors, including Pieces to Peaces who now sells my favorite hiking accessory! There headbands and beanies are handmade in Olympia, and the fabric and patterns are amaaaaaazing. Thanks to Kira for encouraging all the shopping. (And for some incredible outtakes!)

I had to rush away to get into the mountains with my go to backpacking-buddy Jordan and new friend Joe! So I walked out of Seattle Center a little more broke and a lot more sprightly! We booked it to the South Cascades to hit up Packwood Lake for our first backpacking trip of the summer. It was a great overnight, with little elevation gain to get my body used to carrying a 60-L again.

And the view… Wow!

Got to love exploring new places!

We made it in time for sunset!

The view from our campsite were next level. I have to call out ALMIGHTY JOE for saving my phone from falling off the trail down a cliffside. And for making us a fire. And trying to catch a fish. And for the ice cream. You rock.

After falling asleep to the most relaxing fire + serenade by Bon Iver (the extra weight for the bluetooth speaker was worth it) we woke up to everyone packing out to this beautiful sight and managed to miss all Memorial Day traffic. South Cascades for the win! Ended it with all you can eat sushi, and another boat day on Monday. As I’m writing this I think I am still riding the high of gratitude I have for being able to pack in all this adventure.

It’s safe to say I really turned around this weekend.

And I am ready.

Ready for summer. Ready to learn more about myself and the new and exciting people coming into my life. Ready for California (again!) and to continue new creative projects, while enjoying this sunshine that we’ve been graced with in the Pacific Northwest!

Also– I have started compiling some old and new spots that I want to backpack this summer. Welcome any suggestions or friends interested in joining 🙂

 

I’m Grumpy, Can We Go Camping Again Already?

This weekend was pretty uneventful. I defaulted to looking at photos and playing computer games while staying in. In the midst of tidying up my Photos Library I realized I didn’t share our first camping trip of the season with our friends Kayla and Matt. I want NOTHING more than to be back in this sunshine and be dirty and scraped up from tripping over rocks, watching the sun set over Lake Wenatchee. The campground was at the state park, and although I usually prefer solitude of backpacking camping I was pleasantly surprised with how empty it was. I have my eye on a campsite at Glacier View next time were up that way. Check out the end of this post for some more camping tips 🙂

I can’t even recall the details of how it became decided to go to Lake Wenatchee, but we got the car packed up and headed east Friday after work. Got camp set up and busted out a board game. Mya joined us for a bit before she passed out in Kayla’s arms.

lol at Mya contemplating life by the fire

We had talked my dad into coming over to Leavenworth to visit, so after some oatmeal in my Jetboil we drove around a bit and then went into town. This is where we stopped at the campsite on the other end of the lake, Glacier View Campground. Apparently this end sits in a little cove with little to no wind and attracts LOTS of mosquitos, we were in love with the views that a lot of the campsites had. We will be back to stay for sure after June when the bugs aren’t so bad.

My dad rode over on his Indian and got his usual KOA campsite so we went to go hammock for a bit after our lunch at Fresh Burger Cafe– Not your typical german food but these guys know how to put together an amazing burger.

We decided to check out Hidden Lake, a small hike near Lake Wenatchee. We had a great time stumbling through the woods. It really ended our trip with a bang.

Some of my other favorite shots from this weekend were when we got back from our hike and went for a walk.

What a nice weekend. Can’t wait to be back outdoors next weekend. If anyone is a late planner and wants to join us for Memorial Day Weekend get in touch 🙂

I’m excited to start compiling my favorite campsites this summer, and i’ll be sure to share them all here and link to posts in the future!

Lake Diablo, Colonial Creek Campground

Lake Wenatchee – Glacier View Campground

(Don’t forget bugspray!)

Verlot/Mt Index

Lake Chelan – Can anyone PLEASE help me get to the “boat in” campgrounds here??

 

Photo to come! 😉

 

Our Weekend in Colorado: Denver, Boulder, Golden and More

This was one of those trips that I booked on a whim, forgot about until the week it was happening, and then proceeded to have the most amazing vacation with my best friends. In December when The 1975 Tour got announced I was looking at the dates for Seattle, but my eyes did the emoji face when I saw that the next show was at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. It was hands down the easiest decision to buy tickets to both shows. Many people compare the venue to The Gorge in Washington – but I have to say although they are both beautiful outdoor venues, they are gloriously different in their own way.

Now I’m sure many of you saw my snapchat (@ellofrankenbery hollaa), but there is no. way. to do it justice without experiencing this place. Internationally known, this venue sits between two towering red sandstone rocks.

I highly recommend anyone who has a love for music and outdoors to look out for this venue on any band tour. Tickets to Denver from Seattle are as low as $140 and the experience is priceless.

Things You Should Know About Denver

1. Springtime has VERY weird weather. I didn’t know this when I booked our trip. I didn’t really grasp this when people were telling me this season is very unpredictable. We got snow, 34 degree freezing rain, incredible blue skies and awesome sunsets… but be prepared for everything and anything!

2. Remember friends, you cannot buy alcohol at grocery stores yet. Liquor stores close as early as 5pm so remember to prepare if you’re planning a weekend. I forgot how lucky we are in Washington to be able to walk into a Safeway and get a bottle of wine!

3. Frontier Airlines is based out of Denver... but I can’t recall having a good experience with them. Southwest all the way baby!

4. There are a lot of awesome Air BNB’s for ridiculously good deals, but pay attention to the season. This city loves their Broncos and their Rockies… so book early unless you’re traveling in their off-seasons.

5. Red Rocks Amphitheater doesn’t allow selfie sticks. Sorry Jordan.

Okay, Are You Ready to Fall in Love?

Stella, Jordan and I collectively took over 500 photos in 4 days of the beautiful rockies, Boulder Flat Irons, and landmarks… in all kinds of weather. I’ll save you some of the tirades that happened in our hotel rooms, and show you the primes.

When we got to the airport, Jordan darted into one of those expensive knickknack stores and said she was buying something that she saw last time she was flying somewhere. That “knickknack” turned out to be a beautiful print by Frida Clements that was bigger than Jordan herself. Stella and I were doubtful it would make the entire weekend of crazyX3 so we snapped a photo of her with it and admired more of her artwork.

 

We got out of the freezing rain and into our Air BNB late Saturday afternoon and settled into our king sized bed that we decided we’d all share.

Our View from our Air BNB Rooftop! Look at those beautiful mountains ❤

 

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Saturday Night we took a chance without a reservation at this restaurant in the Highland neighborhood called Linger–if you ever venture this way GO TO THIS RESTAURANT. Find a table in the upstairs lounge and order one of everything. They have beautiful cocktails and lovely waitresses and amazing global small plates. Not to mention complimentary valet parking… Have I said how much I love Denver yet?? They gave us free fish tacos and a small dessert mousse for Stellas 23rd celebration, as well as bars to check out after. I never felt intimidated by anyone we got served by in our weekend here. The went to Viewhouse for a few cheap drinks and dancing and the Gin Mill, both were full of people out celebrating. Click the photos below for their info!

 

The next morning we got on the waitlist for Snooze, another must visit for any brunch enthusiast. The wait is worth it, especially downtown where you have Union Station. Our bartender suggested a tattoo art gallery– because by this point, we wanted to leave a piece of Denver on us forever. (Jordan said she was never leaving!)

After an amazing colorful meal at snooze, we were off to Ritual Tattoo Art Gallery for a walk in appointment to each get three foxes… for fox sake.

 

lovely phallic doodles on the water closet door

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They turned out so amazing! Many thanks to Jake Diamond!

Monday we headed out of the city and went to Chautauqua Park in Boulder, CO. We went shopping in the outdoor Pearl St Mall and ate at the Organic Sandwich Shop.

After some shopping we made the drive to Golden, CO to check into our hotel, The Table Mountain Inn. At this point we learned that it was necessary to buy alcohol early, and got to getting ready. Had ‘the best happy hour in Golden’ downstairs at our hotel and then ran around and took photos.

lolololol

I told a lot of friends and family that I went to Denver for Red Rocks + The 1975, but I think you can tell we did much more than that. They did put on an incredible show, including an acoustic song, Nana, that I didn’t get to hear in Seattle because Matty was ‘feeling blue’. I think he was stunned by the glorious venue he was in and felt connected to the new music they put out.

If you haven’t given this band the chance please go watch these beautiful music videos. Probably some of the more beautiful short films i’ve ever seen: Robbers, The Sound, and A Change of Heart being my newest favorite.

Trying to squeeze one last adventure before we left on Tuesday, we drove up to Lookout Mountain and got to see Golden on a beautiful clear day. Wrapped up our trip with some southern style ‘Po Boys, Mac and Cheese, and a Bloody Mary Sampler at Sassafrass and snatched the window seat home.

Granted we found a lot of reasons to fall in love this weekend. Four days wasn’t enough time to try everything and we will definitely be back. If you’re looking for cool restaurants to eat, fun bars to dance, or places to explore around Denver – feel free to comment below or reach out! I’m going to go ice my fingers from writing this huge blog post and head down to Greenlake Bar and Grill just in time for happy hour.

This Evening

Was the greatest. (My posts seem to always have that opening statement, but I swear something about this night…)

It was such a reward to be done with school today and just RELAX. I feel like it was the first night since we got back from Montana that we actually got a break. He got his apartment cleaned up while I set up his new bathroom stuff we got him. I wish we took before photos but just picture this:

atrocity.

ha ha. Anyways here are the after pictures of the new setup!
Shower curtain from Target.

Once the bathroom was done, I got to experience GrubHub. Basically, any metro area has people that will deliver food to you. So lets say you were craving thai and italian, they will go to each restaurant pick it up and deliver it right to you. THE BEST. Sorry for the kinda of blurry iPhone photos– I was in a rush to eat : ) Going to finish this evening off with fleece blankets and Dexter. It’s crazy that January is already basically over. It’s making summer seem like it’s in the distant future. I can’t wait.

Road trip!

This weekend was purely brilliant and I am still in a daze from it. I packed completely wrong and slept most of the car ride, while the boys jammed to heavy metal and rock music. (I’m a very heavy sleeper.) Nevertheless here are some great photos on the drive up there. We stopped quite a few times to take some photos. (Okay, maybe more than a few)

I also got to try out my new Olloclip, which is so neat! It’s a lens you attach to your iphone to take fisheye, macro, and wide angle shots. Really highlights the beautiful camera power that Apple has designed. Here is a photo of me using it:

 

And here are some shots I liked:

Our next stop was near spokane area, right off the highway the sun was going down and we found brilliant shadows created by the trees. These are some of my favorite shots, ever.

    

This is my glamorous friend, Nick.

I’ll post our adventures that we had when we got to Montana later on. In the meantime I am still trying to locate all my essentials that got lost in Pete (the rabbit) on the car ride back home. This was after as we were leaving. Pretty huh?

Reminscing the Past: Crescent Bar

One of those memories that was purely awesome primarily because of the people you were with. This was last summer, when all of my best friends went on a roadtrip to Crescent Bar to see John Mayer at the Gorge.

We stayed at Wild Horse Campground in George, Wa. I was pretty impressed with how our campsite turned out (Photo below). A tip for you all: DON’T FORGET LIGHT. We spent every night in the dark because someone forgot the lantern. (Not pointing fingers though!)

The drive down was amazing. We took the scenic route, stopping at Snoqualmie Falls. Also drove passed these awesome wind towers. Live it.

Overall was an awesome trip. With awesome friends!

The Question

Maybe blondes do really have more fun? As I am looking back on my iPhoto library, I am really missing summer. People seem happier, weather is nicer, etc. But I know this summer will be amazing. It’s going to top them all. Graduation. 21. and then hopefully a whole shift change of adventures in Australia by 2015. In the meantime, here is me reminiscing on my blonde days.

Including but not limited:

• Dancing in my front yard, trying to do cartwheels, tanning and drawing with chalk
• Heading to Debuke River to have a campfire and fall asleep under the stars
• Tradition: Ixtapa dates with friends visiting
• Eating pizza. Enough said.
• Index Mountain (Secret) Hike
• Three Lakes in Snohomish, Wa

Reviewing the Past: Concerts

I apologize in advanced, as this post may be slightly text-heavy. Music sparks my firey side in that aspect.

Ask anyone who knows me personally (ESPECIALLY my parents…) and they would probably agree that I spend the majority of my money on two things.

• Tattoos
• & Concerts.

What I love about shows is you are doing something that is actually helping real people. Example being one day I decided a trip to Seattle was in order. After Milo got off work I practically threw him in my car, grabbed some Panda Express (His favorite, obviously before we decided to start eating healthier) and showed up at one of our favorite venues, El Corazon, for its intimate size and wide variety of music genres. I don’t even remember who we saw that night but it was perceived they were playing for immediate family and friends, and really appreciated our support of attending. If you have a smaller venue in your city, pick the most unknown band line up you see on their calendar and attend. From experience in dating an audio engineer (Website can be seen here) I really have a better understanding on how much time goes into creating actual music. (You know, the kind of people that call themselves a band, with real instruments.)

Before there was such a thing as Paradiso and Summer Jam at the Gorge, Warped Tour was an event of its own that topped the list of things to accomplish during the summer. It’s pretty sad to see the comparison to a picture from warped tour and that of an EDM festival.

But then again everyone at Warped is all down in the pit going hard ; )

Anyways, my aim here is not to harp on EDM whatsoever. That is a fun topic of it’s own to experience with friends, and I’ll probably make a post about it in the future. My heart will always lie with punk rock music. What can I say. I miss these times.

Reviewing the Past: Seaside

A tourist trap you have to experience just for the swing sets on the beaches. I haven’t found a better place. (but i’m all ears!)

Probably the funniest memories ever captured was when we went on this ride that is on the main road in town with his niece and we were trying to make funny pictures at his mom. I think it’s important to do play the tourist at least once in your life. Who wants to be that person who finds the worst in things?

Also got some great exercise longboarding down the boardwalk. (Clearly) exploring in the photo below.

As a side note, I have to admit I was in the worst shape in my life at this stage in my relationship! Looking back at all these photos is hard but whats amazing is the progress both I and Miles has gone through!

Left, Summer 2011. Right Spring of 2013 (not exactly sure what we were doing in the candid on the right! He’s gotten even more in shape since this, meanwhile I still have some more work to go!)

 

Board Games

A random night in playing sorry with Miles and Cove.