Washington: Picnic Point Park Sunset and High tide

I've done a post showing off how gorgeous Picnic Point Park is before, but that was during low-tide, which is an entirely different sort of experience from the park during high-tide, which is when these photos were taken. If you're not really familiar with the significant difference the tide makes, I understand- coming from the desert, there was a long portion of my life where I really didn't comprehend or appreciate just how much the tide can change, and how heavily that impacts the landscape. The Pacific Northwest, and especially Seattle, is predominantly rocky cliffs and forested hills jutting out of the surf, in case names like Queen Anne Hill or Capitol Hill weren't suggestive enough. Some of these hills are artifical, like the majority of Occidental Park and the nearby sports stadiums that house Seattle's professional sports teams, but the natural ones are largely the result of volcanic and tectonic activity causing the plates to protrude and gain altitude. In a city with as much water as Seattle has, either surrounding or occupying space within it, being above sea-level is a wise thing to consider when looking at real-estate.  

Picnic Point Park is close to several different small cities north of Seattle, making it a popular destination for the locals of those various little municipalities. On this particular visit we found the beach somewhat less crowded than the last time, which was a nice surprise, but the high water levels combined with the bracing cold might serve as an explanation for the absence of other visitors. Sure, it was brisk, but we had an excellent time wandering the beach and watching the sunset. Our friend Christina went with us, taking photos of her own and providing commentary as she's much more knowledgeable about the area than we are. She's been living in Washington for years now and is an active outdoorswoman who gets out and takes photos whenever the opportunity presents itself. It was her idea to go to the beach, in fact, and who are we to argue?  

There are, of course, ample photos below!

Washington: Mukilteo Ferry, Ivar's Seafood by the pier

After leisurely meandering through the Mukilteo Lighthouse Park for a while and enjoying the stunning scenery and people (and pup) watching, we had to acknowledge our rapidly growing hunger growling in our bellies before it evolved into either of us being outright hangry! Luckily for us, within a short few minutes walk of the Lighthouse Park is an Ivar's restaurant and takeaway window, where you can load up on fresh-from-the-ocean goodies cooked up hot and fresh for you! They also offer root beer floats, so whether you're looking to cool off in the warmer summer months or simply an excitable fan of root beer and ice cream paired in a drinking vessel, that's a nice surprise. Antho, of course, had to have one. Not gonna lie, it was pretty damn good, too. I'm more of a savory person, so I was super excited about my fried oysters- and let me tell you guys, I was not disappointed. I can eat oysters in any form, whether it's fresh off the half shell or battered and deep fried, and Ivar's were super juicy and ultra-fresh, and a damn fine bit of fried oysters. 

Antho opted for some of the fried cod, and he was quite pleased with his choice, too. I snagged a bite or two of his fish and it was so juicy the liquid gushed down my hand, which I take as a good sign. Maybe be wary if you're not a fan of wearing your food, or smelling like your fish dinner later, but we weren't complaining one bit. We found a comfortable place to sit away from the minimal crowds, where we could listen to the gentle lapping of the waves as they rhythmically beat against the pier. Gulls stood their ever-vigilant watch as we ate, hoping for a snack. Even though the food was SO good, we couldn't help but toss out a fry or two as an offering to our feathered friends. There was even a large jellyfish who drifted (swam? floated?) by, offering us plenty of opportunities to photograph their undulating advances.  When we finished eating, we wandered a little further down the path, finding a little cove where we could take in the sunset and coincidentally find ourselves surprised by a suddenly rapid-rise of the tides. We escaped to high ground in time, and caught a ferry returning to the dock to disembark the passengers, which was fun to see from a new vantage point.

 Overall we had a blast, and we're excited to see where we end up next!

Washington: Mukilteo Lighthouse Park

Mukilteo, a hard (for us) to pronounce but lovely community North of Seattle, is home to a gorgeous beachfront park and a busy ferry route. During one of our free afternoons of exploration, we decided to head up North and see what all the fuss was about! We're glad we went for it, as we had an absolutely lovely time strolling through the park and taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the area. Well, more smells for Antho than there were for me, given that my sniffer is pretty weak and bordering on full-on anosmia, but I digress. As the sun began to slowly lower itself in the sky, we were able to enjoy the brisk air and beautiful light for a good while. The weather being as it is up here, meaning a strong tending towards grey, drizzly days for an extensive portion of the year, we were not alone in our appreciation of a somewhat rare nice day. I'm not complaining about the company, though, as we were able to see a few super cute pooches and proto-humans galavanting about, which always makes our hearts warm. There were couples having a romantic picnic, families lounging on blankets or gathering around a particularly comfortable piece of driftwood, and the casual neighbors out walking their pups. While part of the park was closed on the day of our visit due to a wedding, we couldn't even be grumpy about that because there were still so many other things to enjoy! From the open, expansive grassy fields where people and their pups were happily playing, to the beachfront views offering unhindered sunset scenes and ferry-viewing, to the paved walkways leading to the nearby piers. Antho and I both thoroughly enjoyed our visit, and I look forward to the next trip so we can check out the lighthouse close-up! Unless, of course, there's another wedding, in which case we'll wander elsewhere!

These days, we're both gainfully employed and don't find as much free time available to go out and explore. Even so, it's awesome having so many options available to us here! Not only does Seattle proper have an outstanding number of parks, but each neighborhood, each suburb, has its own public spaces worth exploring. I'm so excited for the upcoming spring and summer months! There's always going to be an adjustment period where money and time feel tight when you move to a new place, but we both have secured jobs with room to grow and advance along with benefits and decent pay. In time, we should be able to breathe a little easier and make more time for exploration again.