The forecast was calling for rain in Seattle this weekend, which meant the mountains were calling our names. We headed up to the Summit at Snoqulamie West for another round of snowboarding on the mountain. Upon arriving, we were once again greeted with the mild temperature of only 30 degrees along with the stunning scenery that surrounds the ski and snowboard resort. We were grateful that this weekend marked the opening of two other sections of the resort, Central and Alpental, meaning that West was far less busy than it had been the previous weekends. Waits for lifts were minimal…
Snowboarding at the Summit at Snoqualmie West
According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, “Over the past five-year period, Snoqualmie Pass received an average annual snowfall of 457 inches per year”. As of December 2nd the pass has received 44 inches of snow this winter season. With more snow comes more threats of road closures and hazardous road conditions. But, it also meant the start of the snowboarding season at The Summit at Snoqulamie West this weekend! Less than an hour away from our home in Seattle this ski/snowboard resort offers a wide array of snowboarding opportunities. With 18 different routes in a variety of difficulties it proved…
Sun Mountain Resort, WA Day 2
We arose after more then 12 hours of glorious sleep to a beautiful sunny morning atop a mountain! We went to the dinning room for breakfast, the service was so speedy that we had time to kill before our 9:30am spa appointment. We headed to the game room and, choosing between pool, foosball, and ping pong, we opted for a few rounds of ping pong. After I royally slaughtered Bobby in both rounds we headed to the second floor, directly above the lobby area to the spa. We were early still but they immediately greeted us and, after filling out…
Sun Mountain Resort, WA Day 1
As Labor Day weekend approached Bobby and I put our heads together to come up with a fabulous weekend getaway. As often happens, we both wanted opposite things out of the weekend. I wanted to stay in a hotel and spend the weekend relaxing by the side of a pool and getting pampered in a spa. Bobby wanted to go backpacking. Don’t get me wrong, I love backpacking and hiking and all of the outdoor recreation we have thrown ourselves into since arriving in Washington, but, I occasionally need a break from that. As is our habit we compromised. Bobby…
Relocating to Seattle for Amazon
Update 2017: This post gets a lot of love from Google from people considering taking a job at Amazon in Seattle. This post is almost 5 years old now so I figured I owe all of you an update on how things are going. Hopefully I can also answer a lot of the questions people typically have when they’re making the decision. First off, I’m about to hit my 5 year anniversary at Amazon. Before Amazon I had never worked anywhere for more than 2 years before getting bored and wanting to move on. That speaks highly to the diversity of projects and great…
Marko European Adventure 2012
Plane tickets have been bought! Planning has begun for our latest adventure! In August of 2012 we will be crossing the big blue once again and head back into Europe. Our 18 day trip will start as we land at the Munich International Airport. From there we plan on visiting Salzburg, Berchtessgaden, Fussen, the Dolomites, Venice, Innsbruck, and back to Munich. This trip is vastly different from anything we’ve done in the past. Rather then spending long periods of time in one location, we will be hopping all about Europe with four being the maximum number of nights we plan…
Jamaica, Looking Back
Bobby and I always say that going on a vacation you should try as many new foods and experiences as possible. We were fortunate enough to be in a beautiful resort in Jamaica where we able to do both of these things. Firsts: First Tennis Lesson First Massage First Time Climbing a Waterfall First Yoga Class First Rum Punch First Time Hearing a Steel Drum Band First Time at a Beach Party on the Ocean First Time in a Suite with Two Balconies First Time Being Called Racist by a Merchant Favorites: Cherry Juice Banana, Mango, Strawberry and Raspberry Sorbet…
Jamaica Day 7
Our last day in Jamaican paradise blossomed sunny, hot and very humid! We spent the morning on the beach and Bobby took a dip in the ocean, allowing himself to float pretty far out. I enjoyed reading the latest William Kent Kruegger mystery novel while soaking up the hot sun rays! At 10:30 we had a scheduled photo session with the resorts professional photographer. A complimentary photo session is part of the all inclusive package you get at Couples but purchasing the photos is extra. Because of the $300 credit we had we figured we could buy some of the…
Jamaica Day 6
Today we were scheduled to take a scuba course that began at 8:30 so we rose early got some breakfast and headed to the scuba shack where we were given the disappointing news that the class was canceled because of the high winds. Bobby was pretty bummed out by this news and we were faced with the age old question of “What now?” Lay out by the pool sounded like a great idea to me! But Bobby wanted to be active so he suggested that we participate in a few of the fitness activities that are offered daily. So, we…
Jamaica Days 4-5
The past two days here have been extraordinarily lazy for us! Saturday morning we woke up to rain and more strong winds. The beach and both pools were completely deserted. It was as if there was nobody at the resort. We hunkered down in our room and watched some TV. The sun decided to make an appearance after lunch so we went for a dip in the main pool and hung out in the sun for awhile. In the afternoon we boarded a very full bus to go on the Catamaran Cruise. The Catamaran Cruise is included in your stay…