Life Lately + Thinking Out Loud {June 25}

Happy Thursday, everyone! Does Thursday excite you as much as it excites me? It means it’s almost the weekend!

I know I’ve repeated this plenty of times, but I adore living in the Seattle area.

I started off the weekend with a 10 mile long run, which took me by some wineries and lavender farms. The running paths here are absolutely perfect, minus the occasional stinky pile of horse manure (there’s some barns along the trails and equestrians can use the trail) and my (probably too-paranoid) fear of being plowed down by a cyclist busy texting (why do people text and cycle?). Still, I’ll take all that if I can have this view. 

After re-fueling with some whole grain pancakes, Ryan, Charlie, and I drove just a bit outside of Bothell to the western edge of the Cascades for some hiking. Our destination was Bridal Veil Falls, which was about a 2 mile, 1000 ft gain hike from the trailhead. 

The trail went through dense forest with a gentle incline until the 1/2 mile before the falls where you climbed up a steep incline and navigated around rocks to reach the falls. Bridal Falls was well worth the steep climb, because we were rewarded with an intimate view of the falls (you could wade in the pool right under the falls) and a breathtaking view of the Cascades. 

I promise you Charlie enjoyed the hike. In this photo, he looks upset, but it was really because he wanted to go play with the other dogs up at the falls rather than take pictures. Also, my hair is getting crazy long. 

We hung up at the top of the falls for a while before hiking down to an access point along the Snohomish River. The water had such incredible clarity that you could see straight to the bottom. Rarely do I want to swim, especially in fresh water, but I would have been tempted to wade in had we not an hour-long drive home.

If you’re ever in Western Washington, I highly recommend Bridal Veils Falls! There’s an additional 2 mile trail from the falls to Lake Serene. Bridal Veils had a good mix of easy and rugged hiking, and we saw plenty of kids and pets out there with their parents, so it’s dog and child friendly.

After a long day of running and hiking, Ryan and I went to see Jurassic World again. Yes, I know we just saw it last weekend, but the theater we went to last week had dine-in and drinks service and so naturally we went again to enjoy that. We used to go to a dine-in theater all the time for drinks and a movie when Ryan lived in Detroit, and we’re pretty excited there’s one near us again. I enjoyed a delicious veggie burger and a gin and soda water with lime. I’m usually a beer and wine girl and I rarely imbibe in hard liquors, but I do love a good gin. There’s something so refreshing about gin in summer, isn’t there?

Can we also talk about how many amazing movies are coming out this year? We’ve already seen Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World, and then there’s Spectre, Star Wars, and Terminator: Genisys (which I totally want to see for Matt Smith starring in it, I miss him as the Doctor). 

Sunday we ended up crashing and watching Netflix and lounging outside all day. Originally, we planned on biking along Lake Washington, but sometimes you just need a lazy day.

Because I’m running shoe obsessed, part of me wants to give the Brooks Pure Cadences or Pure Connects a try. The colors of these new Pure Cadence 4s are just too cute. For my birthday this year I pretty much just want to go to the Brooks Outlet and buy an outfit and shoes for Portland. And eat a big slice of cake, but that’s a given. 

Since summer is in full swing, I’m putting in an order of Nuun Watermelon Active Hydration. Summer has arrived here in Seattle. It’s light from about 5 am to 10 pm and yesterday morning it was 70 degrees when I finished my run at 9am. Lots of water and plenty electrolytes are an absolute must for me right now. 

I also have forgotten how to function in the heat. How did I used to run through 80-90 degree mornings all summer long? How do all of you out east do it? 

I’ve seen lots of chickens on the loose throughout the Eastside. A few chickens have been wandering around our apartment complex, much to the confusion of Charlie. I also saw some chickens later this week along one of my trails earlier this week. They were all huddled together in a circle, as if they were plotting something. 

The real question is, where did they come from? How did a brood of chickens end up on a bike path near Lake Washington?

I’m linking up with Running with Spoons for Thinking Out Loud Thursday. 

[Tweet “Hiking at Bridal Veil Falls and other Thursday Things from @thisrunrecipes #fitfluential #TOL”]

Questions of the Day:
What is one of the most beautiful hikes you’ve done?
What random animals do you see around your neighborhood or running paths?
What’s your favorite summer drink?