Today draws to a close, with the beginning of October, the Summer of 2023, my first in Washington state. And oh, boy! What a summer it has been.

Where to begin… I moved in May and we sorta hit the ground running. Hiking and camping every weekend—before we added kayaking into the mix—pretty much all summer long. We’ve had guests from Germany, North Carolina, and Canada who we took out for adventures, and South went to Utah for a bit, too. We hiked on Tahoma and we did a “lake day!” And I bought a new Jeep! We’ve been pretty active, and I think it shows, all in good ways.

It was a good shakedown summer; getting a feel for each other and for living together, building up a routine together, doin’ adventures and stuff. I am quite satisfied!

The biggest surprise of the summer, post-arrival, was my boyfriend asking me out. I was honestly not expecting that and it’s truly heckin’ AMAZING! I’m so happy and I love him so much. What a good start to this new chapter!