2013 Road Trip - Vantage Bridge

"The Vantage Bridge is a bridge in the U.S. state of Washington. It carries Interstate 90 across the Columbia River, near Vantage and George, Washington. This section of the river is named Wanapum Lake; it is the reservoir formed by Wanapum Dam. The bridge separates the Ginkgo Petrified Forest and Wanapum Recreational Area State Park on the western bank of the Columbia. 

The current bridge is the second Vantage Bridge. The first was built in 1927 as part of the Sunset Highway (later US 10), a precursor to I-90. In 1962 the second bridge was built because the reservoir pool backing up behind the new Wanapum Dam would soon overwhelm the old bridge. The first bridge was dismantled. In 1968 its steel cantilever truss was reused for the Lyons Ferry Bridge, where SR 261 crosses the Snake River." 

                                                                                                     - Wikipedia

September 18 2014. We were here on our way to Great Lakes, IL and came across this magnificent view. Subhanallah.  

Hurricane Ridge, WA

I still have tons of pictures from our Malaysia trip that need to be updated. But for the time being, here are some pictures from our recent visit to the mountain. 

Aug 31, 2013

I woke up to a beautiful morning today. The weather was perfect and it would be such as a waste to just stay inside and do the packing. We're moving in 18 days and there are so many things that haven't been packed up yet. I told Daniel that I wanted to go to Hurricane Ridge just because it was on my mind for quite some time since I saw some pictures of it on my friend's Facebook. We did go there in 2011 during winter and it was so pretty. But it was too cold for us back then. We didn't properly dressed for the weather and thus didn't explore the place at all. Unfortunately, Daniel already had some other plans so he didn't want to go. So it was just me, Sarah and my dad. 

It took us approximately 2.5 hours to get there. But with nice views along the way it didn't feel that long to me. I think my dad enjoyed it too. As for Sarah, she slept for the most part on the way there so that was such a relief. Being stuck in the car seat for a long time is not something she looks forward to. 

My dad has a thing for old stuff so when I asked him if he wanted to stop and look at this flea market, he right way agreed to it. The sign said the flea market is held every Saturday from 8 am - 4 pm from May to September. We got there around 2.30 pm so there weren't many vendors left. But still it was a fun thing to do. 

Breathtaking view of the Olympic Mountains from the parking lot. We got here probably between 3.30pm - 4.30 pm. There was quite a crowd but we didn't have any problem finding a parking space. 

Tok Wan and Sarah, on the way to the visitor center.

Enjoying her cracker amidst the great view

The visitor center from afar

We had a quick snack at the Snack Bar inside the visitor center. The fish and chips was pretty descent albeit on the expensive side.

Love the different shades of blue.

She got a teddy marmot from Tok Wan from the souvenir shop. 

My Abah aka Tok Wan

Photo: http://www.liftopia.com/ski-resort-info/resort/999988375/WA/Hurricane_Ridge.htm

I decided to just do a short hike and thought that the Big Meadow Loop was the perfect one. We headed to the Overlook and then continued to Cirque Rim trail, passing the start of Sunrise Point trail and back to the parking lot. These trails are paved and easy, perfect for children. I really wanted to go to Sunrise Point but it is a dirt trail and it would be quite challenging with the stroller. 

The view on our way to the Overlook.

We met some of the meadow's residents. 

She loves her marmot.

View of of the Overlook. From here you can see part of Port Angeles, the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Vancouver Island, B.C

We can see ski lift from the Cirque Rim trail.

The Cirque Rim trail

Abah is reading some information about the trail

The Big Meadow

Going back

Saw a couple more  these guys

Picnic with kids & friends

July 3rd, 2013

My friends and I had been planning to have this picnic for a long time but there was always something going on that we kept postponing it until today. I was glad we made it because it was such a beautiful day out there. 

We decided to go to Scenic Beach State Park in Seabeck. It took us 30 minutes to get there.

 These were some of the views that we saw along the way.

I guess I was busy eating that I didn't even remember to take any pictures of our picnic table so I went to search for old pictures of this place. This one was taken way back in Aug 2010. I still remember it was our first time here and we were fasting in Ramadan. 

 I was eating (again) when I saw this sail boat passing by and quickly grabbed my camera and took a few shots of it.   

It was low tide while we were there. The boys had a great time in the water.

Amazing view of the Olympic mountains.

Sarah loves the water. 

I had to take Sarah out of the water after awhile because she started to shiver a little bit. Her brothers follow suit not long after that. The two ladies in the picture are the only Malay friends that I have in this area. 

Meanwhile Ezzat kept swimming for a long time. The water was just nice but once you get out of it, you could feel pretty cold due to the breeze.

Sarah is easy to warm up to new people. She had a short stranger anxiety moment when she was younger but now she can be pretty friendly.

Finally Ezzat decided that he had enough swimming for the day and Sarah gave him a hug.

My sweet little girl. Thanks Grammy for the swimming suit. Finally she's able to wear it.

Fourth of July and Fireworks

I think this was our first time watching fireworks on first of July. We were planning to watch the one in Poulsbo just because it was only a few minutes away from our house but we found out that the show was already held the night before. We googled our options and luckily there were a few around the area. We decided to go to the one in Kingston.  

The venue was already packed with people when we got there. Luckily there was a small grassy spot that was empty. You can see the boys's heads in the picture. The show started at 10.30pm, way past Sarah's bedtime. She fell asleep in the car on the way and woke up right after we parked the car. She did really well throughout the entire show despite the noise, plus we weren't that close to the fireworks. I should have searched for basic setting to photograph them. Most of the pictures I took were all blurry with no definite shape of the main attraction. The show itself, however, was breathtaking. 

Jalan - jalan

Monday - May 6, 2013

We've been having some nice weather here since last week. It almost feels like summer actually, especially today. It was pretty warm in the low 80s. I just had  this impromptu plan to just go out and enjoy the sun so I  asked my friend Farina if she wanted to come along. I knew I wanted to go to the beach for sure. 

I love this headshot! She looked different though.

The last time she went to a beach was when we were in North Carolina, visiting Daniel's sister and her family. That was also her first. She wasn't too keen back then. This time around I think she had fun. She didn't even mind the cold water. 

I gave Sarah a piece of palm sugar steamed cake that Farina made (a type of Malay sweet snack) and she ate it really slowly, taking a super small bite at a time. That was what she was holding in her right hand in the picture and in many pictures after this one.

Oh that look!

She finally decided that it was more comfortable to just sit in the cold water. I did bring a change of clothes just  in case she gets wet.

Waiting for Auntie Farina to peel some Cutie oranges while holding a new piece of cake. She did finish the first one with Auntie Farina's help.

She got impatient.

Finally.

"Mmmm...I'm not sure if I can finish this"

She was never a big fan of swings until today. She kept looking at this girl next to her who was slightly older, giggling and screaming and I guess it hit her that the swinging thing wasn't that bad after all. When it was time to go, she didn't want to get out of the swing seat and threw a bit of tantrum.