i know it's gonna be a lovely day

Sigh, DC:

Since we're leaving the east coast soon I'm hurrying to soak up all the perks that spring in the east has to offer. Everyone keeps reminding me that California is really beautiful all the time, but that's the beauty of spring out here! It's not beautiful here all the time, and feeling the renewal of spring here is really an amazing feeling. Especially when it's randomly 80 degrees in March, as has happened a few times this month.

I drove down to DC last Friday with my friend Ashlie and our kids in the hopes that we could get some good blossom-peeping in. I haven't been to the Tidal Basin as a tourist before and usually walked there from our house or work, so I wasn't prepared for the traffic on a beautiful day that also happened to be Good Friday, but I think it was worth the quick trip. We also got to meet up with my dear friend Linnea (who took these beautiful pictures) and her sweet daughter Annika.

So skeptical.

I wish I could bottle up days like this.

my name is jonas

So I mentioned that we had an epic snow storm a couple of weeks ago, which reminded me that having a huge snow storm and subsequent snow days are things I'll miss a lot about east coast living. Granted, I've only experienced snow days as a government employee and a mom of a kid that isn't in school yet, so the novelty hasn't worn off on me yet. The novelty really starts wearing off a few days later when you're trying to get around town and you discover that not everyone has been as diligent as you have about shoveling your sidewalk. PEOPLE! Please just shovel your sidewalks. Do it for the strollers.

The snow storm (aka Winter Storm Jonas) started on a Friday night and didn't let up until late Saturday night—here was the view we woke up to (after Robbie shoveled our back steps):

The snowfall was timed perfectly because the wind had let up quite a bit in the morning before nap time, so we bundled up and headed to play in the snow at Rittenhouse Square (a few blocks from our house).

Really uncertain about snow pants at first, but warmed up to them later (she wanted to wear them pretty much every day the next week)

sleigh ride from Hannah Hamill on Vimeo.

We happened to walk outside when our neighbors were coming back inside with a rickety old sled, which Robbie pulled us on all the way to the park (Rhoda wouldn't sit on the sled by herself for more than a few seconds). Probably the best way to get around a city in a snow storm, especially with no cars on the road.

This is how you play in the snow, right?

Picking up some snow storm nourishment at a cafe

snow shoveling from Hannah Hamill on Vimeo.

Rhoda spent over an hour outside with Robbie while he shoveled our walk, which was awesome. She couldn't get enough of it! Also I can't get enough of toddler snow pants bum.

art museum sledding from Hannah Hamill on Vimeo.

The next day we trudged through the snow to the Philadelphia Art Museum steps, where it's a tradition to sled after a big storm. The best sledding/snowboarding/biking? happened during the actual storm—I heard there were 400-500 people there! Not even close to as many people showed up when we were there, but the weather was pretty much perfect and we got in some sled time thanks to a nice man who lent us a sled to test out. Not the most comfortable sled ride in my experience, but it was fun! I was super jealous of our DC friends who got to experience sledding down Capitol Hill (which was never allowed during the years we lived there), but at least we got to check the steps off our Philly to-do list.

And now, the snow is melted except for some dirty chunks hiding out in the shade on a few corners that probably won't go away till April. Gotta love winter.

a camping we will go

The last weekend in September we went camping! Pope Francis came to Philly that weekend and we were warned that millions of people would be flooding into the city and all the bridges would be closed so it would be wise to leave town. In reality there were maybe 150,000 people at the papal mass on Ben Franklin Parkway, so maybe we would have been okay at home, but it was still nice to get away for a couple of days.

We were happy to find out that even though our tent is a smallish backpacking tent, it's still a little roomier than the tent we were camping in this summer so we were feeling pretty regal. We did stay at a campground with some friends who decided to opt for an RV so maybe not so regal as their setup, but I feel like I'd rather stay in a hotel than stay in an RV so you might as well go big or go home, right? Anyway. We camped at Dingmans Ferry campground in the Delaware Water Gap recreation area and got the last of the camping spots along the Delaware River. It was amazing! Apparently that spot of the Delaware is the cleanest river along the east coast so you can swim in it, but it was a little cold for that, though Robbie swam across from PA to NJ on Saturday afternoon just so he could say that he did. Aside from freezing river swimming we did a little hike and played around on the big field by our campsite. I feel like we did more than that since we were there for two full days but I guess we mostly spent the time enjoying being outside in perfect fall weather.

The view downriver from our site

Almost fall! So pretty!

Throwing rocks and wading in

Running around on the giant field across from our tent site

The field had horseshoes too! Reminded me of camping with my family as a kid. Robbie's posing with his ringer here. I never got closer than two feet away with my throws.

The end of a little hike to Dingmans Falls

More river, this time with bridge (what would Marie Kondo say about all of my meaningless scenery shots?)

The weather was beginning to turn a little colder this weekend so I'm glad we came prepared... with this one extra blanket.

Full moon rising over the river. Robbie and I walked down to our private "beach" with our camp chairs after we put Rhoda to bed and pretended like we were on a romantic date. Actually what we did was talk about what it would be like to be a Native American or early settler and paddle down the river in a canoe with no light but the moon's.

Foggy morning view from our campsite

Doing meals right this time with a Dutch oven and cast iron skillet. This summer we ate MREs and bagels for breakfast and that just wasn't hitting the spot.

Morning visitors on our tent

Morning cuties

I'm going to be sad when we leave the east coast and its beautiful outdoors. Thanks for a great weekend, Pennsylvania!

almost paradise

I'm a bit behind on posting about a trip we took over our anniversary weekend (June 28th) because of some technical difficulties but I'm finally getting around to it! Thanks to some more great recommendations from local friends we had the best time hiking and camping in Mt. Rainier National Park.

First up: the Summerland trail, which is a portion of the much bigger (like 93 miles) Wonderland trail. Our friend Jordan made the recommendation and she is the ultimate camper/backpacker, so I was a little worried it might be out of my league? But it really wasn't too bad. I'm not in the best shape of my life but I have been running a bit more since we got to Seattle and I've been conditioned by the crazy hills here (we don't have a car here) so I basically rocked it. I think we ended up hiking around nine miles but there is a bit of an elevation climb and switchbacks at the end so it winded me at times and it took us like six hours round-trip... embarrassing, I know, but we were carting a toddler! So I'm gonna blame Rhoda and not my bad physical state.

The trail and the views at the end are really so incredible. One upside to the drought and unseasonably hot weather of June was that we got to see the wildflowers in peak bloom earlier than usual up near Emmons Glacier, where the hike ends. It was really so gorgeous and our camera really can't capture how pretty it was. There were times where we thought the hike was coming to a close and we'd ask hikers on the return how far we had to go and they'd all say "you've got a ways to go... but the views are SO worth it!" I feel like I could use that analogy in a Sunday school lesson someday.

Rhoda was obsessed with Robbie's Camelbak, which started causing problems when she started whipping him in the face with it.






Glad you get a nice view of Robbie's trekking poles here






I think this might be Emmons Glacier? I'm not really sure the difference between the glaciers and what is considered the actual mountain...




Seriously, so glorious


Got a lot of these bum shots of Robbie. Which is accurate, since that was my view for most of the hike.


Imagine a soundtrack of babbling brooks as you view these


A little parting shot of Rainier on our drive out

We camped again this weekend as well, this time at Ohanapecosh, at the Ottleys' recommendation. So much fun. It's a big, family-friendly (read: completely exposed so you can hear your neighbors spanking their naughty kids) site next to a river that runs off from one of the glaciers. It still isn't getting really dark till 9:30 or so and when we got to camp around 7 pm there were still a lot of families hanging out at the river and jumping off the rock outcroppings into the frigid water. Since we were in the middle of one of the many heatwaves we've had this summer (I think it was still 90 degrees when we got in) it was definitely a welcome activity.

After camping at Ohanapecosh we took the scenic (ie, long) route out of the park to hit up Grove of the Patriarchs and Paradise. We were a little burned out on hiking by this point but Grove of the Patriarchs is an old-growth forest and it's an easy 30 minute hike to see these amazing ancient trees that are secluded on this island in the middle of the Ohanapecosh river. Nature boggles my mind, you guys.

The first of many suspension bridges we've walked on in the PNW. What is with the obsession with suspension bridges here?




Some weird tree details. The one above reminds me of a freaky horse. I'm pretty sure it's the last thing you see before you die.




More pics of Robbie standing sideways and showing off his trekking poles


Some twin pines (cedars? firs? I don't remember)


Rhoda was such a good sport about being toted around all weekend. I don't know how my friends' kids sleep for hours in their backpacks because Rhoda only gets about 15 minutes before she wakes up angry and disoriented but she got over it pretty quickly.


One of the pretty vistas in Stevens Canyon. We were tempted to pull over about a dozen times because the views were just so amazing around every turn.


Paradise! No, seriously, this area is called Paradise.

We ended the trip with lunch and a little walk around Paradise Inn before heading back home. A nice way to end a lovely weekend! Thanks, Washington, for being amazing despite your scary Cascadia subduction zone.