Tabletop Mountain Hike

Happy hump day everyone!

I arrived in Seattle at 1 AM Tuesday morning and got home around 3:30 AM. Ouch. But I still woke up before 9 AM and was excited to head up to the top of the Mount Baker Highway and get in a short hike with my dad!

The drive is about 1.5 hours to the top, Artist's Point, but it's extremely worthwhile, as I hope my pictures show. We decided to hike up Tabletop Mountain. It's a short, 3 mile round trip hike, but it goes up 560 feet to the summit of the mountain, so it's a nice little bang for your hiking buck. Plus, since you start at more than a mile above sea level, it's good cardio conditioning! 

We ended our hike with a late lunch at Milano's, tasty Italian food located in the foothills of Mount Baker. If you ever make it out this way, I highly recommend a Milano's feast to end your day of hiking or skiing! 

Of course, after barely any sleep, hiking at a high altitude, and a late and large lunch, I crashed hard at 8:00 and was in bed by 9 PM. Granny alert!

Anyway, I'm going to keep the rest of this post heavy on the pictures and light on the words. Because when you hike in the Cascades, pictures are really all that's necessary. Well, besides water and snacks, of course. And layering since it can get chilly up there. 

Okay, so you need more than pictures. I'll just stop typing and let you enjoy the beauty of the North Cascades!

Tabletop Mountain from Artist's Point

Mt Shuksan approximately 9,000 ft (on the right)

Along mountainous trails in the Northwest, you'll often find cairns (fascinating history) 

Our mission: reach the top.

You can just see Baker Lake peeking out in between the mountains in the background

Mount Baker - a 10,000 ft volcano!

We did it! Summit photo opp required.

Do you hike? If so, what's your favorite place to hike?

BRB, taking the bar exam (also: mountains)

Hi guys!

Just dropping by quickly to share these pictures from Monday's "let me clear my mind and not cry at everything I need to know" run. My parents walked our dogs, and I ran them a bit, on our favorite path in the county at Semiahmoo, overlooking Drayton Harbour and the mountains. I'm back in NYC now and missing the mountains like crazy. Also studying like crazy.

And in case you were wondering, the big white thing between the mountains was a giant, glorious full moon. It was a pretty night.

I'll see you on the other side of the bar exam, August 1!!!


xoxoxo,
Jen

Old School Blogging - Five Things Friday & Easy Canvas Prints Giveaway

Happy Friday!

I'm having a major crisis, you guys. I really don't want to go back to NYC! This is extremely odd. Normally I miss the city like crazy when I'm gone, but right now, sitting on my parents' couch and staring at mountains ... it's tough to miss the city when I know it's in the middle of a sweltering heat wave. It's can't muster up any sadness that there aren't a million fun restaurants or awesome entertainment options when I can't take advantage of any of them right now.

Being surrounded by natural beauty is just so calming, especially when I'm not doing anything but studying. Watching the sun set on Mount Baker last night, I was filled with so much happiness. I just freaking love mountains, you guys! They make me feel very centered, like doing yoga under a blue sky or having a great coffee date with a friend. It's that feeling of calm gravity that fills you up when you feel that things are just right. Mountains give me that feeling. So it makes me sad that I so rarely see them.

Of course, I absolutely love New York City. It's an incredible place, and once I'm not chained to a table reading outlines and quizzing myself with flash cards (or being quizzed by my lovely and patient parents), and the hellish experience known as studying for the bar exam is over, I'm sure I'll go back to loving NYC. I'll also write shorter sentences.

For now, though... mountains, man. They're awesome.


Five Things Friday
I saw this Five Things Survey on Christine's blog and loved it. It seemed like a fun way to close out the week and a nice 10 minute break from studying. Also Five + Friday! I love alliteration, what can I say.

Five Things I Have Passion For

1. Running
2. Mountains (I'm weird, I know, so thanks for putting up with me)
3. Exploring, particularly via road trips
4. Family and Friends
5. Pets (in particular, my dog, Mason)

Five Things I Would Like To Do Before I Die

1. Attend Comic-Con in San Diego
2. Climb a mountain
3. Move back to the West Coast
4. Create a beautiful home 
5. Take a totally unplanned vacation to a foreign country

Five Things I Say A Lot

1. "___ is the worst" (typically referencing studying for the bar; this should change in less than two weeks)
2. "evidently" or "apparently" (it's a pet peeve of Sourabh's when I say this)
3. "no worries"
4. "What should we eat for lunch/dinner?" (the eternal question)
5. "I don't have time for ___"

Five Books or Magazines I've Read Recently

1. August's Runner's World (obviously)
2. RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel (for book club!)
3. Where'd You Go, Bernadette? (fun, light read and set in Seattle)
4. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (SO. GOOD.)
5. This Is Where I Leave You (great book and being made into movie with phenomenal cast)

Five Favorite Movies

1. Empire Strikes Back
2. Zoolander
3. When Harry Met Sally
4. Iron Man
5. BBC Sherlock series (ok, it's a TV show, but they're 90 minutes each!)

Five Places I Would Love To Travel To

1. Australia / New Zealand
2. Chile (Patagonia particularly)
3. Israel and Lebanon
4. Everest Base Camp / Nepal
5. Peru (Macchu Picchu)

Five People I Invite To Do This

Everyone should do it :) Play along in the comments!!

Easy Canvas Prints Giveaway

I have another fun giveaway for you guys! I've been trying to decorate more for a while -- remember back in March when I made our apartment feel a bit homier? As you might have noticed then, my favorite way to decorate is with pictures! So when Megan at Run Like a Grl emailed a few bloggers about the opportunity to host a giveaway of a canvas print and get one to try, I thought it sounded perfect. I've been curious about photo-to-canvases, but hadn't wanted to spend money on one in case I hated it.

When deciding which photo to turn into a canvas, I initially thought of converting this skyline picture I took from the Top of the Rock back in January. But Sourabh said that since we live in NYC and see the skyline all the time, and since I love mountains so much (consistent theme lately, I know), I should use one of the mountain pictures I love. So here's what I went with...

My original photo:

The canvas:

Pretty good, right? I was definitely happy with it. I thought the canvas came out very professionally, despite being derived from an Instagram snapshot. It'll be lovely to hang this up somewhere in my apartment since it's one of my favorite photos that I've taken!

The ordering process was also quite easy - I just selected the canvas, made a few "artistic" choices (like how I wanted the edges to look), then ordered it!

Ok, on to the giveaway. One reader can win an 8"x10" canvas print of their choice! Just enter below, using the Rafflecopter! Rafflecopter 

FYI: Easy Canvas Prints provided me with a free 8"x10" canvas photo. However, as always with reviews and giveaways, all thoughts and opinions are my own.