Drum Roll Please....

Where exactly where did I take Clay you are asking?? Well ...(insert drum roll here)...I took him to Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls!!


Only 40 miles East of Seattle, it is a quaint and beautiful hotel perched over an amazing 270 ft waterfall. I hadn't been there before so it was new for us both, but it came very highly recommended by the locals and now I see why! In this picture the waterfall is obviously on the right, the lodge is on the top left with our dinner window in the middle of the top floor and our room is around the corner on the right/river side of the lodge.




Now just to back up a little first, Joe and Clay finally met on Friday night and we all walked to an amazing Thai restaurant that has become my favorite Thai food ever and one of my favorite local restaurants for sure! We all had a such great time and therefore my Friday ended a little better than it started; and it was a much better kick off to my weekend than expected. We chatted until dawn (or at least the two of them did, I fell asleep much earlier) and we have all created great friendships despite the short time we've known eachother, no doubt!


On Saturday afternoon Clay and I headed east for the lodge. It was a typical Seattle misty/overcast day, so the drive over wasn't very scenic, but that just gave us time to explore the hotel :) Our room was adorable and was equipped with a wood-burning fireplace, a patio overlooking the river, and the most comfortable bed I've ever sat on (pillow service came free with the room where we had an actual "Pillow Menu" - lavender, buckwheat, pregnancy, body, hypoallergenic - you name it they had it! My headaches that come from strong smells kept me from trying anything out but I really should have tried out the memory foam pillow...next time!). We had an amazing dinner at the resort on Saturday night and we checked out the falls from above to complete our day.

Sunday was absolutely gorgeous - not a drop of rain for miles and the sun was beaming down heavy just as if I were back home in the South. More views of the falls from above first and then we decided we needed to make the trek down the cliff... A "mere 1/2 mile trail" is what was advertised....and so we followed...

"This isn't so bad", I thought, "nice and meandering". Ok, I'll admit, getting close to the bottom it got more bumpy with a few narrow passageways and tree roots to climb, but no biggie, right? Once down along the river a wooden walkway meandered along the river until it finally ended in a small observation deck. "Hey wait a minute! This isn't close to the falls! What about all of those people that we could see playing on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff?" Ahhhh...right on queue, right next to one of the dozens of signs warning against going off the walkway due to extreme water changes jump the visitors...

- Over the wooden ledge,
- - down the steep hill with help from century old tree roots and branches.
- It's as if nature had created a path down to the view,
- - (well nature along with thousands of visitors I'm sure).

Needless to say the leaps and bounds were sooo worth it. It was a beautiful spring day: an amazing waterfall cascading off of a cliff as the mist blows off of the falls like a light summer rain. We relaxed on large rocks enjoying the view and listening to the river trickling by at our sides. In a word it was amazing.

And then came....... the return hike up (!!!)

No worries needed - despite my closeness with death - I did finally successfully make it back to the top in one piece. Note to self, NEVER go on that trek again without water and NEVER go on that trek without a few months of training and a really good pair of running shoes!!!! ;) About 25 minutes later after a treacherous hike straight up the cliff, a purchase of a few bottles of water and a diet coke, and one valet parker later - we ventured around town. Turns out we both loved Snoqualmie!!!

I'll post details about downtown next....