I spent the week prior to Memorial Day weekend obsessively checking weather forecasts. Would it be sunny at the cabin in Central Washington? Would it be hot? What would I do if it rained there TOO? I couldn't take much more rain, especially over a weekend.
There was no need to worry. I think that Sunlands, WA enjoys some sort of special blessing from above. Sure, it may rain every now and then, but never for long and that sun? Oh, that sun feels so, so good.
We didn't have the 95-degree temps of Memorial Day 2009, but we did have 75 degrees and sun. Considering that I am now growing mold here in Portland, that was good enough for me. There was a lot of time spent outside, from hanging out on the grass to throwing rocks in the river to cycling to rock climbing. It was the hiatus from soggy Portland the Barker family needed.
Ritchie gamely kept Hazel occupied by stealing her toys while Barkernews and I escaped for a little bit of cycling the country roads.
Oh, I am so excited to be riding my bike in the sun.
Have I mentioned that we love it out there? We do. It's so freaking beautiful. I mean, check this out:
Yep, pretty awesome.
We also got some rock climbing in with Ailey and Ritchie. While Ailey and Ritchie played around on the rock, Barkernews and I managed to knock off 6 climbs in 3 hours, which must be some kind of record for us. I led some 5.10a and 5.10b climbs, which is the hardest I have done in...two years? It was total radness.
Seen from this angle, the future is so bright, the Barkers have to wear shades.
While we were off climbing, my family was busy letting Hazel wear her pajamas in the middle of the day and goof around in the wagon.
One of the great things about hanging out with so many family members is the ability to ask ten people at once, "So, can someone watch Hazel so Barkernews and I can go on a date?" and someone will invariably answer "YES!"
Off we went for our date to the very fancy restaurant at Cave B Winery. The view from there is even more amazing than the view from Mom and Dad's cabin. Nothing short of spectacular. The food is pretty good too, even if it does come in very small portions.
Price per bite? I don't even want to think about it.
After killing a bottle of wine with Barkernews at the restaurant I promptly put myself to bed because I had a triathlon in the morning. My bike racing season started in March, but triathlon season is just starting to heat up. I say that tongue in cheek of course- the lake water was a brisk 58 degrees. I had a much better swim than the week prior, I pushed it hard on the bike and I maintained a fairly steady pace on the run. I came in at 1:10 and 3rd in my age group. Considering the 1st and 2nd ladies were the winners of the whole race, I wasn't too upset. Oh yeah, and the winner of my age group put in a 22 minute 5K run. Definitely can't beat that one.
Post-race, about to head home for more family fun activities.
Post-race activities included a whole lot of chilling out and then a long drive home. Before leaving, we managed to get a Barker family picture, an extremely rare occurrence.
Someone here doesn't have very much hair...
We almost cried as we drove back in to the wall of clouds on the west side of the mountains. Does the rain REALLY have to continue?
Apparently it does because showers are forecast for the rest of the week. We are already circling the wagons and planning the next getaway- starting this Saturday, right after my triathlon in Troutdale. Plans are indefinite except for the following: The Barker family will be desperately seeking sun.
