Day 1 of the PNW USA trip also included a visit to Caffe Laddro along Union Street:

A plain latte in my mason jar.

Nice.

It was alright - it’s no Culprit Cafe, but it ain’t horrible either. Clean enough, with a couple of crumbs, and friendly service. I’d come back in a pinch… [SIDE NOTE: As I’m writing this, I am suffering from caffeine withdrawal – chills, intestinal discomfort, headaches… I tried to go a day without coffee at work and I swear I almost DIED.]

This was enough to carry me through the 2 hour drive in bumper to bumper traffic from Seattle to Seaside, where we were staying. The highways got super dark, and it started to pour. H took over the driving after, I was clearly going to be a hazard. How do people drive so fast in such low visibility?!

We also drove over the Astoria Bridge in the dark and there was no time to make a pit stop, so no pictures. It really felt like a never ending bridge… One of the longest, most awesome bridges I’ve seen in my short time in this world.

I'm so impressed by your brave drivers and America sized things.

It was the weekend of H’s 28th birthday, which also sort of marks the 2nd year we’ve been together (we don’t have an date when we first started dating, but it was some time around his birthday). This called for some sort of celebration, and I planned a mini vacation for the 2 of us for Sunday/Monday. We left Vancouver on Sunday afternoon, battled traffic through the Upper Levels, somebody had also had an accident while cliff diving off the Chief, and finally made it to Whistler:

We slept at 10PM on Sunday, I was exhausted from running 5km in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge and H was tired from training at work (and the beer he had in the afternoon).

Monday - after a very satisfying meal at Riverside Cafe of eggs, meat, beans, and waffles:

We were stuffed. Perfect waffles – fluffy and crispy on the edges. Super greasy meats that would’ve been fantastic for a hangover. Friendly servers and a beautiful view of the campsite surrounding the cafe:

We then wandered up the path to Whistler’s Scandinave Spa to spend a relaxing day soaking in the hot tubs and Eucalyptus steam rooms:

I’ve heard a lot of my coworkers talk about the wonders of this place, where no cell phones are allowed and nobody makes a sound. Complete and utter silence to help calm the mind.

We also used their RMT services, with 2x $50 gift cards from Costco that we paid only $75 for. Deal.

It started getting cloudy right before we left, so we hurried out of there... H was kicking those yellow pylons that are cemented to the bridge and it bounced back and whacked him in the belly:

Do we spend too much time together? Probably, but even though I'm an introvert, I wouldn't mind too much at a place like Whistler with H.