vacation highlights!

i can't believe i've been out of town for a week+ and that i'll be resuming work tomorrow (albeit at a conference so i'll have a bit of a transition back to being full-time in the office). pending a complete photo album documenting all of my adventures in Washington and Oregon, here are a few of the highlights:

1. halloween in Seattle(!): my friend dave's industrial designer buddies at general assembly threw a kickin' party and everyone had sweet costumes, including jake's and mine, if i may say so. much dancing (and roller blading for some) was done by all, my head hit the pillow around 4 a.m. (i *think*) and i still made it to the train station by 7:30 for my train to portland the next day (thanks dave!)
2. my nephew's fifth birthday party in Beaverton, OR: i can't believe he was born that long ago, that he corrects my french, and that he can play wii tennis almost as well as i can. his pirate themed party (see previous post re: the cake i made) was a hit! the younger of my two nephews is now a year and a half old, toddling around, and wrestling with his brother as if he could actually rough him up a little despite their significant difference in size.
3. trip to Bend, OR to meet ella boyd: i got a chance to see melissa and aaron's new abode and their new bundle of joy. we wandered around downtown bend, checked out the obsidian flow, shared great home- cooked meals (yay for pineapple upside down cake!), and lovely conversations. i also discovered that some small town bus stations are found inside the local bowling alley! who knew?
4. road trip to La Push, WA w/jake: the olympic peninsula is like nothing i've ever seen before and the logs that have washed up to shore (some of which get carried back out at high tide) are enormous both in length and diameter. we stayed in a "resort" on a native american reservation that was cozy and serene. the sound of the crashing ocean waves and the majesty of the fallen trees reminded me how small and powerless i am in the grand scheme of things.