I For Illuminate

Pictures of Seattle's illuminated skyline.

It is necessary for darkness and light to co-exist in order to understand the meaning of "Illuminate".

Intelligence is a fire that illuminates your mind and gives a halo effect.

Linking to ABC Wednesday - Round fifteen. Checkout the link to look for some amazing takes on the alphabet prompt from around the world.

Yakima County - Weekend Drive

I remember those days when we were just the two of us, on a day off or weekends we would just take out our GPS and blindly point and start driving hoping to discover something amazing on our drive. Many a times we have been surprised, awed and have absolutely enjoyed those quirky drives and sometimes have not been in any luck. But the quality time that we got/get to spend was/is priceless. What can I say, we are  wanderers at heart :)

Washington has abundant of scenic route. View of snow capped mountains, coniferous trees, valleys, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, the coasts, beaches, cliffs, forests and more. But the experience, enjoyment and enthusiasm differs with each time (planned or unplanned).

Here are some shots driving through Yakima County.

Yakima river flowing by the highway/railway track.

Fishing on Yakima river

Relaxing

Boating

Apple Farms.

Apple farm on a primitive road.

Water reservoir.

On our way back home we just took a stop on the side of this road for some refreshments (from home stock). Is it not worth a place just enjoy some evening snacks?

We pulled over on the curb side, took out our picnic chair..

and enjoyed some home-made desi chai which mamacita had diligently packed in her thermas :)

We spent about 30-40 min with no traffic or any disturbance, enjoying the view, talking about life, future and some giggles and smiles. Now that's what I call quality time!

Thank you Naches (the town in Yakima County) for a lovely evening.

Windmills and Farms - Ellensburg

A few weeks ago for a change I was craving for the plains. I wanted to see the lush green meadows, farms, farm animals, miles and miles of just plain flat land. Flat lands are almost non existent in the state of Washington. The closest that resemble such landscape would be driving towards eastern side of Washington.

With no particular destination in mind, we decided to take stops based on what we see and like. We hardly do drives like these since after our son, but slowly we are re-introducing it now with our 7 yr old.

After driving for about 2 hrs through the mountains we decided to break for lunch at Ellensburg. I caught glimpse of some windmills on the way and decided to chase those after lunch. We took the internal roads via this small town called Ellensburg looking for those windmills.

My idea was to get an aerial shot with fairly close range, but that wasn't happening :(. We went up (pic below) here just to find out it's a private property and trespassing was a crime. I bet the view from this properties backyard would have been exactly what I was aiming for.

Nevertheless, we finally found a spot that had this wide angle.

We drove down the hill and saw these beautiful green to golden fields.

Cape Disappointment and Long Beach

If you are driving through the olympic peninsula area (in Washington State), do pay a visit to Cape Disappointment State Park. Cape Disappointment has some stunning views from the bluffs over the Pacific Ocean.

It was in the year 2008, we woke up one weekend and searched on google and decided to drive towards Long Beach and Cape Disappointment.  We had just moved into Washington state then and were very eager to explore around. After all we are "Evergreen state".

Unfortunately, on our visit, both lighthouses and the Lewis and Clark interpretive center were closed. Well, that was the only "disappointment" - pun intended. :)

There are a few trails ranging from easy to moderate. Some trails were paved, others looked more primitive, but all passable. Nonetheless, we just took the trail that takes you up to the lighthouse just to enjoy some panoramic views. Notable thing here is that the Columbia River meet the Pacific Ocean.

The beaches seemed to be outstanding, and if you have good weather, you can station yourself there all day with a good book. Well, that pretty much was the scene the day we went. So we specifically did not spend much time at the beach since it was jam packed. I can't remember why it was crowded that day except for the fact that it was an extremely good day (bright and sunny perfect for beach bums).

If you take a closer look of this pic you will see the crowded beach at the bottom of the hill.

We caught a glimpse of sea lions and some birds but did not spot any other wildlife although many people claim to have seen deer, orcas and other animals.

So, if we neither walked much on trails nor we were at the beach then where did we spend our memorable time? Well, midway to the Lighthouse, there was this hidden beach that we were able to see from up top but there was no trail/path/ladder to go down. We decided to crawl/slide/slip down the lose sand and enjoy the view/beach.

The place was private and not a soul (except for us). We had a great time sitting on the driftwood and caught a glimpse of the passing ships/boat. The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.

Afterwhich we started our way back home and stopped briefly at Long Beach, played some frisbee and enjoyed the sunset. It was a bit chilly by then.

In and Around Pikes Place Seattle

Pike Place Seattle

Whether you come here to get your brawny coffee from the "First Starbucks" ever established

Or, you walk the Public Market Center (Farmers market) to hand pick the freshest of sea critters or just watch the flying fish in action

Or to get a sneak peak of the mighty Mount Rainier


Or watch the Seattles London Eye (Ferris Wheel) spinning in circles

Or drown in the water view looking at the sails sailing away

Or just bring a friend to relax and enjoy the grass

 Or just watch kids having fun.

Whatever you come to seek this place won't disappoint you from having fun.

Blooming Tales - A Flower Field Trip

The moment we sight those buds on trees, we know that nature is going to put up a show with its spectacularity. The smell of blooming buds warms the heart after the chill of winters.

Our flowering season begins with those subtle yet majestic pink cherry blossoms. People flock to areas filled with blossom tirelessly clicking pictures with the blossoms in the background or keeping them in focus.

Did you know-The cherry tree is the most widely planted ornamental tree in the United States.

Here in our Pacific Northwest, the acclaimed University Of Washington attracts locals and tourists to behold the sight of cherry blossoms (Starts around End of March.). Some day I would wish to go see the Tidal Basin during peak bloom.

The bloom stories continues with the Tulip mania. I read in some gardening related website that Tulips are the easiest to grow in any garden. While we can enjoy the bright colors of Tulips in our garden (backyard/frontyard), how about the ones with yards and yards of Tulips in assorted colors?

Did you know-Tulip is the national flower of Turkey and Iran.

It's an annual event in our Pacific Northwest  to visit Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (Starts around beginning of April). It seems like most locals almost religious pay a visit to this farm. Reminds me of my trip to Keukenhof.

Does that brings us to the end of blooming Tales, No! Don't forget about the Lavenders. Gardeners like to call it the unfussy plant. The sweet smell of Lavenders lifts up our spirits. Needless to say the aroma attracts butterflies and bumble bees too. While some would like to call it a herb (which emits masculinity), I would like to keep it as a flower (which shows the feminine side).

Did you know - Lavender comes from the same family as  mint.

The notable Lavender Festival at Sequim in our Pacific Northwest is fondly claimed as the "Lavender Capital" of North America (Starts around mid July). The Lavender fields around this area also gives you the liberty to pick your very own Lavenders and buy the bouquet.

I feel like I am doing injustice to other flowers that I haven't mentioned. From Dandelions to Daffodils, flowers have the natural ability to cheer us up and radically improve our mood to be happy. Whenever I and my son go out on a walk by ourselves he always picks a Dandelion from the ground and gives it to me. Lucky me!

Adding pics of from my flower galore.

This post is introduced now as a part of ABC Wednesday Challenge