a day hike in the rain, yesterday

Our original plan was to hike the Chirico Trail, and watch the paragliders who launch from sites around the 1500' elevation. Driving east through the mist and rain, we decided to do a shorter lake hike on the other side of Tiger Mtn. Really nice, and well maintained trails.

slug tree
lake raindrops

The drizzle encouraged us to head back to Seattle earlier than planned and visit the Japanese Garden in the Arboretum, which recently opened for the season. Super for taking photos. When we weren't being mesmerized by the Japanese-ness of everything, Andrea and I were both clicking away with our cameras. Visiting the garden always reminds me of my time in Ube, and I still have fantasies of taking my family there and showing them around. Ube, the bullet train, Kyoto...?

Japanese Garden
buds blooming

Before I dropped off Andrea, we stopped at Trader Joes and stocked up on all kinds of whole food and healthy goodies.
A good morning excursion...