MrandMrsSmithgotoWashington

Tubal Cain Trail – and old airplane wreckage

The Olympic Peninsula is known for its majestic mountains, the Hoh rain forest, and the Sol Duc hot springs. But the Olympic Peninsula also boasts a variety of epic hikes.

On a recent weekend, I went with friends to hike the Tubal Cain trail. We had two missions on this hike – to make it to Buckhorn Lake and to see airplane wreckage from a 1952 crash. We achieved one of these missions…

The…

Terracotta Warriors at the Pacific Science Center

Chad and I recently visited the Pacific Science Center to view their special exhibit “Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor”. This exhibit was brought to America solely for viewing here in Seattle and then in Philadelphia at the Franklin Museum before it will return to China. When China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang was buried, he wanted to be surrounded by treasures and guards to protect him…

It’s that time of year when the Norse gods and goddeses gather in Poulsbo, Washington to celebrate Viking Fest. When Chad and I heard there was a festival called Viking Fest, we knew we had to check it out. Along with our friend William, we traveled over to the Kitsap Peninsula (via the ferry to Bainbridge Island) On our way to Viking Fest! driving north and then west to the town of Poulsbo.…

Savoring Seafood and Wine in Seabrook, WA

This past weekend, this Midwestern girl touched the Pacific Ocean for the first time from US soil. Ok, I may have touched the Pacific Ocean while in Mexico a few years ago, but nonetheless, finally driving out to the coast and touching the ocean here in Washington was thrilling for me. We drove out to Seabrook, Washington, a small new urbanism development which not coincidentally looks like it…

In what has been a season of record rainfall in Seattle (I’m starting to believe that line in Sleepless in Seattle when a character says “It rains 9 months out of the year in Seattle”), when a nice day occurs on a weekend, everyone gets outside. We get outside even in bad weather, so when this nice day occurred, we were quick to hit the trails. We decided to head to Chuckanut Drive just south of…

Hiking at Poo Poo Point

This past Sunday was the first sunny day in months, literally months. So, like the rest of Seattle, we headed outdoors to enjoy some Vitamin D. Years ago we had hiked up to the top of Poo Poo Point – Chirico Trail in Issaquah. When we did this hike before, it was a somewhat rainy day, so the views from the top were not as spectacular as they could have been. Another thing we missed out on the…

Top 10 Wintertime Activities in the PacWest

Recently, Mr Smith and I hiked the winter-wonderland trail to Franklin Falls. We wore our microspikes (extremely recommended!) and enjoyed all the beautiful snowy scenery on the trail which culminates at a beautiful icy waterfall. The Franklin Falls Hike is one of our favorite wintertime activities in the Pacific Northwest. Below are 9 other favorite things to do to fully enjoy winter in the…

Giving Thanks for the Pacific Northwest

As we are heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, we wanted to reflect on those things and places we’ve been lucky enough to see and the people we shared them with. First, we are incredibly thankful that we made the decision to move to the Pacific Northwest five (yes 5!) years ago. As we mention in nearly every post, there is so much natural beauty and wonder to explore in every direction. We are…

Mr. and Mrs. Smith featured in Buick B Magazine

We love it when others discover all that is wonderful about Seattle, which Buick recently did in this Seattle travel article featured in their Fall 2016 issue of Buick B Magazine. The article highlights a few of our favorites (including WASUP Yoga, E. Smith Mercantile and Manolin) and also features Mr. and Mrs. Smith on page 4. (To read the article in larger font, click once on the image, and…

Hiking to Tanamawas Falls near Hood River, Oregon

I like to joke that you could swing a cat in Oregon and hit a waterfall. I would never swing a cat, but the expression holds true – at least in the Columbia River Gorge area near Hood River. During a recent visit to Hood River, Oregon, we hiked to one of our favorite waterfalls: Tanamawas Falls. The hike is a relatively easy 3.6 mile hike starting in a dense canopy of fir trees. Very quickly, you…

Ninja Escape – A Fun and Challenging Mission

Recently, several of our friends joined us at Ninja Escape Seattle, a relatively new escape room challenge which has live escape rooms in the Fremont and Belltown neighborhoods of Seattle. What is an “escape room challenge?” Simply put, you and a team of people (your friends or sometimes you can be paired with strangers) are put in a locked room filled with fun props that contain clues. You have…

Early on in our days in the PacWest, we discovered the charming town of Issaquah and it’s equally charming theater, Village Theater. In years past, we’ve enjoyed Village Theater’s productions of Chicago, Funny Girl, Cabaret, and many others. This year we decided to get season tickets and last night we enjoyed our first show of the season: Pump Boys & Dinettes. (c) Mark Kitaoka, courtesy Village…

A Delightful Dinner at Brimmer & Heeltap

Follow my blog with Bloglovin Brimmer & Heeltap has been elevating neighborhood dining in Seattle to a new plane since spring of 2014. (I’m not sure what took us so long to get here, but this is truly a case of better late than never!). Nestled on a corner in east Ballard (technically the “West Woodland” neighborhood), Brimmer & Heeltap took a former IGA grocery store building and created a small…

The Search for the Best Scavenger Hunt Ends Here: The SF Hunt Seattle!

Chad and I have learned about a super cool new event coming to Seattle September 10 – the scavenger hunt to end all scavenger hunts: The SF Hunt Seattle. (image courtesy of The SF Hunt) The SF Hunt promises to be an all-day adventure, taking you all around Seattle, allowing you to discover the city’s hidden gems. The SF Hunt advertises itself as “1 city, 12 hours, 100 riddles.” What?! Here’s how…

Plant Nite is the latest social gathering event to sweep Seattle. Similar to the popular paint and sip events (where groups gather to follow art instructions and paint a canvas while drinking wine resulting in some fabulous artwork), Plant Nite has groups gather to drink wine and follow instructions on how to build the perfect terrarium. I recently attended a Plant Nite with some friends at…

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

Last night I went with some friends to see A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder at the 5th Avenue Theater in downtown Seattle. (courtesy of 5th Avenue Theater) This farce, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2014, is the story of a young somewhat impoverished man Monty Navarro (played by Kevin Massey) who discovers he is a distant relative to the Earl of Highhurst. Realizing his best…