Joseph Moves Out

A week away from starting his job at Degenkolb in San Francisco, Joseph packed up the Honda CRV to drive down and move into his apartment! (We'll all be down in another 10 days and MJ will drive the car back.) 

Cowiche Canyon Hike

Two days before Joseph moves to San Francisco, the five of us went out to Yakima to get a bit of sunshine and take a hike through a canyon. The scenery was very nice and, although we took a side trail that wound up being a little steeper than we had originally thought, overall it was a very nice day out!

Dinner Out In Seattle

In Joseph's final days living in Seattle, on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend the five of us went out to dinner at the same restaurant on the waterfront that we went to on our first night in Seattle, in June 2010. They've added a ferris wheel in the decade since we've last eaten here, but it was a nice evening on the water!

Outdoors on a Sunny Day

Sunday, May 22 was one of the best weather days of the year so far, and we got outside to take advantage of it. John took a nice bike ride along the I-90 trail from Mercer Island into the city, and then Mary Jo and John kayaked for a bit on the Slough and into the lake. 

Vashon Hike Revisited

In September 2010, one of the first hikes we had taken was on Vashon Island, a small island in the Puget Sound a half-hour ferry ride off West Seattle. It was a very nice hike along a beach, though what we remember most about it is that on the return portion of the hike, the tide had risen and we had a hard time getting past a few sections because there were cliffs and walls where there wasn't much beach to walk on.

Fast forward nearly twelve years, and Mary Jo, John, and Joseph returned to do the hike again. It was (at last!) a beautiful Saturday afternoon, with temperatures in the upper 60s and mostly clear skies. We couldn't see Rainier, but we had a beautiful view back across the water, and lots of wildlife - an eagle, a few herons, seals galore, and a few sightings of orcas. 

This was the section of the hike that at high tide 12 years

ago we were barely able to get past!

Ops Live in Nashville

In May, John went to Nashville for the week for a big Amazon meeting with about 2500 leaders from Operations. It was a large exposition with demos of all sorts of neat things - robotics, drones and the like. Oh, and they hired Jon Bon Jovi to play a private concert at the Ryman Auditorium.

Demo from my team!

Michigan Graduation

On May 7, 2022, the University of Michigan had their 2020 graduates return for a much belated graduation celebration. It was the first time Joseph was back in Ann Arbor since leaving in the early days of the pandemic and it was great to be back. Grandma Carol went as well, along with John, Mary Jo, and Henry. The speaker, fittingly, was Dr. Fauci.

Olympic Peninsula Hike

On the first of May, Joseph and Dad drove out to the Olympic Peninsula to do the Lower Lena Lake hike. It was a nice day, a bit cloudy but not socked in, and it was a nice steady walk up to the lake. Once we got to the lake, it was a beautiful, crystal clear alpine lake, where we were able to stop and have our lunch before hiking back down. All in all a wonderful hike.