We took Rachel: the Volleyball Edition out for a final spin in Washington about a week ago, on what had to be the PRETTIEST DAY in Seattle in a year. A sunny Sunday, not a cloud in the sky. What my dad likes to call, "excellent sunburn weather." We dressed up in pretty sundresses, grabbed Rachel and some coffee and Emily took me on a brief whirlwind tour of downtown Bothell. I got to see the creeeeepy cutouts of the butcher and the pharmacist (who clearly was using some of his products, with that way-too-happy smile). If you ever have a chance to get out to the 'burbs, I recommend taking them in.
Having trolled downtown Bothell for all it was worth, we then decided it was time to hit the beach at Golden Gardens. Only, by then, it was the afternoon. And anyone in their right minds knows, you don't start heading to the beach in the afternoon on a beautiful day. Because everyone's already there, and parking's a disaster, and you really don't want to listen to that many kids screaming anyway... Plus we couldn't find parking. So Golden Gardens was out and we sought the shady relief of the Arboretum instead.
After parking by the Japanese gardens and thinking we would take Rachel for a spin through them, we realized we were certainly not in the mood to pay for admission. So we took her through the ENTIRE PARK until we got to the part by Lake Washington, right next to the lulling sounds of the 520 bridge. There were lots of kayakers and canoeists (I have not idea if that's grammatically correct) from UW, and lots of shade mixed with sun. On the way back, we got to sneak through the background of some wedding photographs. We didn't photobomb, thought the temptation was immense. I took this photo along the way:
Another trip back to Bothell for burgers and a trip to Denny Park on Lake Washington to dip our feet in the water and chew on food. It was a pretty great day, all in all, and I got a nasty sunburn to boot, which I always consider a win.
Emily took off on Sunday (I think, though I'm sure she will post to confirm the whole thing) and yesterday I got this photo from her:
Roswell? Who knows! More to come...
