"Hey! I'm done with my plate too barmaid!"

Yup. You said that out loud. It was actually "Hey! I'm done with my plate too mermaid" but it definitely sounded like "barmaid."

Dear Mai,

We took off last Sunday for a quick day trip up to Bellingham. 


Your conversation and your comprehension continue to astound me these days. I know I'm biased and its probably normal for 2.5 year olds but you're my only experience other than dogs so allow me to be impressed. We woke up and said "Hey Mai, do you want to go on a road trip today?" 

"Yea!" was your response. "Let's get some new apps for my ipad so I can play them when I use my ipad. Maybe let's get shortcake app." 

So.. you don't play OUR ipad on a normal basis but you realize that when on road trips you get to have ipad time. And because you hung out with Lorelei the night before and she downloaded some apps for you on her ipad, you apparently understand this whole app / download concept now. You're a crazy kid.

So on the road we go. We need our sunglasses, sunscreen and probably our last summer dress for this season. (I can't believe we got away with not having to wear the rain boots this time) Grab a quick "healthy" breakfast of mini doughnuts and we're on our way!

The last time Mommy and I visited Bellingham was before you were born. We tried to retrace some of our steps and hit this Bellingham Bay resort. (If you're over 21 and reading this, the lighthouse bar and grill has one of the best wine pours I've ever seen. Just an FYI) It was just a great day to hang by the water out in the sun.

It was fun tooling around the town and different neighborhoods. We decided to grab a quick lunch at Fat Pie Pizza. As we were finishing up, our waitress came over and asked us if we were done with our plates. She grabbed mine and mommy's and started to walk away. "Hey! I'm done with my plate too mermaid!"

silence

I don't think she heard you but wow... since then we've been having discussions about manners and politeness. Don't get me wrong though. We laughed our behinds off. 

I don't know why you call people mermaids. I bought you your first lego set awhile back and the two female figures in that set you refer to as mermaids too. As I'm writing this I'm realizing where you got this from... You don't watch too much TV and you have definitely never seen the Little Mermaid or anything like that BUT... you have this awful barbie mermaid book. I think I read it to you once and told you it was an awful book. SO somehow those figures and that waitress remind you of those barbie mermaids. wow. so crazy man.

Anywho... after more tooling around we drove home down the scenic Chuckanut drive. Mommy and I have this weird thing we do where we yell "PRETTY!" on drives like this. You've somehow found it appropriate to respond to us with "MONKEY!" with the same gusto. To someone outside our circle of trust we probably look like lunatics.

Our last stop before heading home was the Oyster Bar on Chuckanut drive. It looks like this total dive but its some fine dining and its one of the first spots I realized I liked oysters. I tried to get you to try a bite but you wanted nothing to do with it. You responded with "No. But maybe later. When I get older."

It was a long day and we had barely enough time to get home, take our bath and head off to bed time. Of course you wanted to get some playing time in. 

"Hey Daddy, do you want to play blocks with me?"
Mommy: "No Maya. Its late and time for bedtime."
Maya: "I was talking to DADDY, mommy!"

Good lord help us. 

Love,

Daddy

Destination Lost Lake: Maya's first road trip

Dear Maya,

You Mother and Father love road trips. In fact, part of the reason we are in Seattle is to experience all the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Today was a big day for you. It was your first road trip. We need to know if you are going to travel well. If you do not travel well we might have to leave you on a door step somewhere. Luckily it didn't come to that. So far at nearly 4 months into your life, you travel great! 

Now we've been on some crazy long treks for "day" trips. We decided to start easy. Where could we go that we haven't been to that is within a 90 minute drive? We casually looked at the map this morning and boom, we found it; Lost Lake. It's only over an hour drive just passed snoqualmie pass heading east on I90. Sweet. Easy peasy.

We roughly studied the map and there were roads called "N-59" and such. Ok we didn't have it 100% mapped out but how hard can it be? (we didn't account for the mountain dirt roads once we got off I90)

But whatever. We took off around noon and soon enough we were entering the Cascades.

You couldn't have been more excited. </sarcasm>

At the point in your life when you are reading this you probably realize that we aren't the most organized bunch of parental units active in these parts. That's ok. Our unorganization leads to new discoveries sometimes. One wrong turn off of I90 and we were at Keechelus Lake and not Lost Lake.

We got to enjoy some sun, scenary and confirm that yup, we did indeed take a wrong turn. This is also the first road trip for our new ride.

Ok. After that side trip and a stop for a gas station lunch we were back on track. No wonder we took the other turn. The "right" turn turned into a dirt road almost immediately.

The town fire station.

We saw one sign that said "Lost Lake 4 miles" with an arrow in the direction we were going. After about 3.9 miles we hit a 5 way dirt intersection. No signs. Barely any signs of life. When in doubt go left? I think I heard that in a movie somewhere or something. All life's riddles are answered in the movies kid.

After another half mile or so we saw the lake! One problem; we were driving a way from it. And by away I mean above. Mommy had concerns once we reached a high enough elevation to see snow.

You got to play with your first snowball today though! You thought it was cold but were otherwise unimpressed.

Mommy. This snowball is for you!

We did get some decent views of Lost Lake from this path though! It was pretty sunny for a little baby!

Mommy was too scared to continue up our dirt path.

So back down to the 5 road intersection to nowhere and time to choose a different path. The next path just led us passed the lake again but on the other side. And like our first choice, that path started to climb too. So it was a quick turn around but on the way back we discovered a pretty waterfall!

You put your feet into the mountain creek. It was pretty cold and you cried like a... well... you cried like a 4 month old with her feet in ice cold mountain creek water.

So back down the path. As it turns out if you park at the 5 way intersection to nowhere you can actually walk to lake at ground level. Huh. Now we know I guess.

On the way home we were treated to more scenic opportunities.

You did not seem impressed at our attempt to get a family self portrait.

That's ok. You were a pretty tired kiddo from the trip.

But you were so good on the entire trip. You even let us enjoy a quick and early dinner (and brew) at the Rogue brewery on the way home! You were a pretty big hit there.

They say that at four months babies should show interest in people food. I wonder if this counts.

So we only stayed at our original destination for about 5 minutes but had an absolute blast on our family day trip. So far so good kiddo. Looks like we can keep you. You were such a good little traveler.

Next trip we'll see how you handle an overnight.