2011 RECAP

This has been one eventful year! Our big news at the end of 2010, was our move to the west coast to state of Washington. 2011 began with many goodbyes (at least for now). We played cornhole in Raleigh and sumo-wrestled in Charleston at our parties with good friends who are terribly missed. 

It was hard to leave beautiful Charleston, SC, great friends and a full-time paying job in this economy, but it has all seemed to work out for the best. Jackie stuck around the east coast until the end of March to celebrate her godson Liam’s 3rd birthday and to meet her new nephew, Ryan Shugart.

The end of March we began our 9 day, 3,000+ mile drive across the United States from Charleston, SC to Bellingham, WA. We enjoyed barbeque in Memphis, Cadillac Ranch art in a cow pasture near Amarillo, Texas, trains passing thru plateaus and badlands in New Mexico, but the Grand Canyon was the highlight of our southern trip.

We drove part of Historic Route 66 through Oatman, Arizona. We enjoyed driving up part of Highway 1 along to the California coast to see Morro Rock, sunbathing seals on the beach and as close to Big Sur as we could before the road was closed due to landslides. Joe’s highlight was driving through Monterey, 17 Mile Drive, the infamous Pebble Beach Golf Course, and Carmel. We spent a full day exploring San Francisco concluding with a romantic dinner in Sonoma. We blogged about our journey across country and have tried to keep up writing and photographing our latest adventures in Washington.

We lived in the furnished first floor of a house in Bellingham, WA, 30 miles south of the Canadian border and 90 miles north of Seattle until the end of May. It was great for Joe being so close to his office and the endless outdoor activities to keep us preoccupied.

We finally settled down in our long-term rental house in Mill Creek, 25 miles north of Seattle. Jackie began working for GGLO, an architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design firm that focuses on multi-family housing and retail. She loves it so far and considers herself extremely blessed for finding such a great job so quickly.

This year has truly felt like we’ve been on vacation! We enjoyed the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival,

hiking Deception Pass, and April Brews Day in April. In May we went to a Mariners baseball game, hiked Teddy Bear Cove on Chuckanut Drive,

and took a daytrip to Vancouver.

We celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary camping on San Juan Island in the Puget Sound.

In early July Joe’s pregnant sister, brother-in-law and their 2 sons came to visit. We took them to the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver.

In mid-July Joe’s old co-worker Tu came for a visit and we went to the Portland International Beer Festival and Voo-Doo Donuts. Near the end of July we went camping for the weekend on the Olympic Peninsula, exploring the Dungeness Spit, Lake Crescent & Hurricane Ridge.

In August we spent a few days with Jackie’s family in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was really nice to see Jackie’s Grandma doing well and holding her great-grandson.

After that Joe’s cousin Nikki came to visit for a few days. We went hiking in the North Cascades Mountains and attempted to see Mt. Rainier.

In mid-September the Wrights and Moyers came to visit from San Diego and Tennessee. They went to the Olympic National Park and explored Seattle with us, with Pike Place Market, the Underground Tour, a Mariners game, and Alki Beach being big hits.

Later in September Joe, Jackie and Chance hiked to the fire lookout tower on Mt. Pilchuck, the largest mountain in the Cascades near our house.

We have been fortunate enough to have some extra income (DINKS), which has allowed us to purchase new toys and take fun vacations. In May we bought hybrid comfort bikes and try to ride often. Jackie strives to become a true Seattleite and bike to work by next summer. As summer ended we bought a single 15’ kayak and longer tandem kayak. Joe has paddled near San Juan Island with seals and saw Orca whales.

In October Joe was given an opportunity to work for a few weeks in Eindhoven, Netherlands at the DAF Truck facility on a similar 2013 emission truck program he’s been working on in Mount Vernon, WA. On the weekends he was able to visit in the Netherlands De Haag, Delft and Haarlem and the Rhine Valley in Germany. Jackie visited for a long weekend for Joe’s 30th birthday. We visited Brussels and Bruges in Belgium.

Joe also toured Bastogne, Belgium. It was a truly invaluable experience that we’ll never forget.

We hosted our first Thanksgiving with Jackie’s parents and brother Andy visiting from NC. The weather in Seattle has officially turned to mostly rainy days, but we were still able to explore a bit and cut down our own Christmas tree. It will be tough to be away from friends and family for our first Christmas, but look forward to starting our own traditions and memories. We wish you all the best this holiday season. We welcome any visitors, but advise that summer is the best time to come. There’s never a dull moment in the Liang household as you have read. God Bless!