Shortly after I returned from the Florida Keys, I flew out to Portland, Oregon for Bonney’s west coast baby shower. She asked Laura and Courtney (friends of hers from college) and me to fly out a few days early for a little get away to the coast before the shower. After we all arrived in Portland we drove to a little coastal town called Manzanita where we stayed in a great cabin that was walking distance to the beach. We watched movies, shopped, walked on the beach and just relaxed. It was great! We all had a great time together, but felt it was much too short. Above is a photo of the four of us outside our cabin. After a couple of days, we headed back to Portland for Bonney’s shower that was being held at her house and co-hosted by her niece and a friend from soccer.

In late February Aaron and I spent a weekend in New York to a) celebrate Aaron’s Birthday, b) to visit with Bonney and c) so that Sarah could attend Bonney’s east coast (that’s right there was a west coast one too) baby shower. We had a great weekend with lots of city walks and lots of good eating. Bonney introduced us to The Highline – a public park that has been built on an elevated rail structure (carried a freight train from the 1930s – the 1980s) in Manhattan’s West Side. We ate at Shun Lee Palace, City Bakery, Katz’s Deli and Artisanal – not too bad for just a weekend. And Sarah joined Bonney’s family and friends at a celebration for the baby we now know as Rowan.

In October last year Aaron and I took a much needed vacation and traveled out west to Orcas Island off of the coast of Washington State. We took a trip to Orcas Island over the summer of 2008 and liked it so much we decided to go back. Again, we flew out to Seattle, met up with Bonney and Patrick and made our way out via ferry to the San Juan Islands. We rented the same house as the year before and quickly settled back in. It was a little cooler than our last visit – so we wore fleeces rather than tee shirts – but we loved it just the same. We played games, read books, had delicious food both that we made and out at restaurants, explored the island – and relaxed. Having enjoyed the same house two years in a row, I think we are all starting to delude ourselves that it’s ours…

Our week of relaxation on Orcas Island continued. We spent a lot of time at the house, reading, playing games, napping and hanging out. Mid week we decided to check out Orcas Island’s namesake and went on a whale watch. It was a cool and damp day, but we saw seals, sea lions and plenty of orcas. Nothing got super close to the boat, but it was still nice to be out on the water and see some wildlife.

While on the island we did a fair amount of cooking at the house, but did hit up a couple of local restaurants: The Kitchen, Rose’s Bakery & Cafe, Lu Lu’s Pasta Rustica and Aaron’s favorite, Cafe Olga. Cafe Olga served a Dungeness crab, baked egg dish for breakfast that Aaron was particularly fond of. On Friday, we left the quiet of the island and moved into Seattle for the weekend. Patrick and Aaron attended PAX, a gaming conference and met up with friends, while Bonney and I shopped and wandered the city. It was a great vacation. Click on the image above to see the second half of the photos.

Back in August, Aaron and I spent a relaxing week with Bonney and Patrick on Orcas Island, of the San Juan Islands, off the coast of Washington state. We flew to Seattle where we met Bonney and Patrick, spent the night in a small inn right on the coast and drove onto the ferry, first thing the following morning. The day we arrived on Orcas was sunny and clear, knowing this was unusual weather for the area (it is often misty and overcast, or rainy) we decided to make the most of our day. We went to an outdoor farmer’s market and stocked up on local produce (and some fresh baked cupcakes) and then we drove through Moran State Park and up Mount Constitution (2,409 feet high), knowing a clear day would mean great views. Mount Constitution is the highest point of all the islands and the panoramic views are breathtaking. The above photo is of Aaron and I at the peak, with a view of Mount Baker behind us. Then, we finally drove out to the cute house that we had rented for the week, right on the water. Click on the picture above to see the first half of the photos from our vacation.

Back at the end of May, Bonney and Emily came east for the second annual Girls Weekend. Last year they came and stayed with me in Salem and we had so much fun, we decided to do it again, but this time to go somewhere new – so the three of us ventured north, to Ogunquit Maine. We rented a 2 bedroom cottage at The Dunes, which was perfectly lovely. It was nothing fancy, but had a small full kitchen, living room with fire place and TV, bathroom, 2 bedrooms, screened in porch and some Adirondack chairs outside from which you could see the ocean. It was pretty sweet. We got pedicures, watched movies, shopped, chartered a sailboat, took a walk along the shore, lounged outside, read books and ate lots of yummy food. Here were some of our favorites:
- The Silver Lining – the sail boat we charted – it was great to be out on the water and we had the boat to ourselves, minus the crew.
- Harbor Candy Shop – an amazing home made candy store – Emily in particular was thrilled to find some candy called divinity? And Aaron did enjoy the fruit slices I brought home for him.
- Caffe Prego – casual pizza/salad/gelato place – we had dinner there one night. Good pizza.
- Barnacle Billy’s – dive fish fry place on the water with outdoor seating. Bonney must have eaten 4 or 5 lobster rolls over the long weekend and claimed theirs was the best.
- MC Perkins Cove – pricey, but good food, beautiful views, nice ambiance.

We had a great time. Next year Girls Weekend might be extended to Girls Week :) Click on the above photo (sorry the colors a little off) to see the album of photos from our trip.

In the beginning of April, Aaron and I took a short vacation to Chicago to visit our friends David and Emily, who are both professors at Northwestern University. We also had a brief visit with Bonney and Patrick, who met us out there. AND, completely by coincidence, Molly was in Chicago for a performance with her singing group – so we were lucky enough to spend an evening with her as well.

We had a great time and managed to do a lot in a few days. Weather wise we lucked out and were able to spend a lot of time outside exploring the city on foot. We visited Northwestern, walked around Millennium Park (saw Cloud Gate or “The Bean” and the Pritzker Pavilion), shopped on Michigan Avenue, took an architectural tour of the city by boat on the Chicago River and saw the Hopper exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition to all of this we did some fabulous eating: Chicago style pizza, an old school steak house (Gene & Georgetti’s Restaurant), Latin American food at De La Costa, sushi, etc, etc. We had a great time and hope to go back again soon. Click on the photo above of Molly and Aaron to see the album of photos from our trip.

Ages ago, back in September, Aaron and I were joined by Emily, Bonney and Patrick for a quick visit to the shore. It was a low key weekend of relaxing, gaming and good food. It was even warm enough to swim. Here’s a photo of the five of us at the end of the weekend.

At the end of March, Aaron went away for a week on vacation to a board game convention, and I thought – what a perfect time for a girls’ weekend. I invited our dear friends Emily and Bonney to come east for a long weekend with me. They both arrived in time for a brief visit (and a couple of rounds of guitar hero) with Aaron, before he left for his vacation. Then, Bonney, Emily and I enjoyed a relaxing weekend of pedicures, chick movies, good meals and even a long walk in the woods. The three of us had a great time together and I hope have started a new tradition…we’re thinking next time we may even travel somewhere.
Click on the above photo to see the few pictures we took during the visit.

This past weekend, I drove out to Mount Holyoke to meet Abby and Jill, good friends from my college days. This year was the 10th anniversary of our graduation, but none of us made it to the reunion weekend in May – so this was our own private reunion. We met up at the new and improved campus center and spent a couple hours walking around campus, both admiring what had changed and reminiscing about things that had not. Afterwards we wandered over to the Village Commons for lunch and chatted about what’s new and going on in each of our lives. It was a quick visit, but fun to catch up and see campus again.