pop culture – thosecoolkims

Someone is SIX!

So sad that we don’t keep up with this blog much anymore, but if there’s ever a reason to update, Ruby’s sixth birthday is a good one!

We kept tradition alive and combined trick-or-treating with birthday cupcakes this year. It’s funny, when I found out my due date was 10/30, I was always so worried that her birthday would be overshadowed by Halloween. Ironically, Halloween is Ruby’s favorite – and she loves that it falls so close to her birthday on 11/2. She went as the Childlike Empress from The Neverending Story this year – her favorite movie (at least until Harry Potter came along …) Her dad was THRILLED. He also made her headpiece, sourced the dress and whipped up the tulle cape. Pretty rad Dad, huh?

So yeah, Harry Potter. Cut to her actual birthday where she woke up and opened presents with us, all of which were Harry Potter themed, and then we did her annual birthday interview.

Instead of a birthday party, she chose to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios instead. We had a great time – Ed + I can’t even remember the last time we went to Universal, and it was really fun experiencing something new at a theme park. We tried our first Butterbeer, did some magic spells and even rode a roller coaster. It was only $10 more to get a 9-month pass, so we will definitely be going back a bunch more!

KimTrippin: Pacific NorthWest — Day 16 (Oregon Coast)

We had a blast driving down the coast today. After leaving Astoria, our first stop was Seaside. It was fun and old-school and everything you imagine a little seaside town to be. We did the Tilt-a-Whirl and the bumper cars, we played some arcade games and we even bought some salt-water taffy.

We also were interested to find that Seaside was where Lewis & Clark ended their adventure. Ruby has been asking lots of questions about Lewis & Clark on this trip!

After leaving Seaside, we made a quick stop in Cannon Beach to see the infamous Haystack Rock. It’s been in lots of movies, most notably The Goonies, so it was a chance to squeeze in one last Goonies Geek-out.

Next stop, Tillamook. As everyone knows, I am absolutely repulsed by cheese, but I was a good sport and went along with the stop at the Tillamook Factory. :)

It actually ended up being pretty neat inside. Ruby was fascinated by the factory and was thrilled to try ALL the free samples! I was quickly compensated for my cheese tolerance as there was also a creamery on site serving some of the best ice cream I’ve EVER had (and I’ve had a lot of ice cream …) Thank goodness Tillamook doesn’t sell their ice creams at our local grocery stores!

After stopping in Tillamook, we still had about 2.5 hrs. to go before hitting our final destination for the night — Florence, Oregon. The miles between Tillamook and Florence were the most gorgeous of the whole drive. Farms, ocean, forest – no pictures can capture it, no words can describe it. Ed + I were able to enjoy this part of the drive as Ruby snoozed. We listened to several albums back-to-back and just took in all the beauty.

Tonight is our last night in Oregon. It’s off to the Redwoods in the morning!

KimTrippin: Pacific NorthWest — Day 15 (Astoria)

Greetings from the Oregon coast! We left Vancouver this morning at 5:30am and we were having breakfast in Seattle before 9:00.

Our final destination today was Astoria, OR. For the next few days we’ll be traveling along the coast, and it’s gorgeous already. We are staying at the cutest little motel and the view is incredible! There’s a scenic courtyard and they even have a hot tub overlooking the ocean.

Astoria is also the town that the iconic ’80s movie, The Goonies, was filmed. We got to see the house that was in the film along with the “jail” and the Jeep featured in it, too.

We’re looking forward to another beautiful, leisurely day again tomorrow as we head further south.

KimTrippin: Pacific NorthWest — Day 9 (Seattle)

We had a big day in Seattle today – so much ground was covered! We needed our coffee fix to kick off the action, so we went to Capitol Hill to check out Victrola Coffee Roasters — the same shop we fell in love with on our last visit 10 years ago. The shop – and most importantly, the coffee – was still great!

We couldn’t wait to get to the EMP Museum. Not only is it the coolest music museum ever, it has a Sci-Fi branch attached to it that had a Star Wars Costumes exhibit currently on display. Needless to say, Daddy + Daughter had an all out geek-fest checking things out.

Equally as geeky for me, Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses was on display. So many pieces of iconic memorabilia were there, including Kurt Cobain’s guitar from the Smells Like Teen Spirit video, the cardigan he wore at the MTV Unplugged show, early demo tapes and so much more.

Finally, even more fun was the What’s Up, Doc? The Animation of Chuck Jones exhibition. Ruby got a kick out of the old cartoons, especially the classic What’s Opera, Doc? with Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny. I was excited to see this original sketch from what I remembered of the cartoon as a kid:

Since the EMP is right next door to the Space Needle, we took some time to take the obligatory shot.

We knew we couldn’t blow off Pike Place Market, and decided it was today or never. We didn’t make it in time for Ruby to see the fish throwing and what-not, but we caught the vibe and went to Steelhead Diner for dinner.

There were shrimp & crab tater tots on the menu and Cioppino that was like Seattle in a bowl. It was a solid 100 Things to do in Seattle… recommendation.

Last stop — Kerry Park. We had the selfie stick in hand and we were determined to get the family shot with the Seattle skyline and Mt. Rainier in back. It didn’t work out as well as we wanted, but we still got some cool shots.

This time tomorrow night, we will be in Anacortes, WA. After spending the night there, we’ll be getting up early to take the car ferry to San Juan Island. We might see some Orcas …

Happy New Year!

Our annual mixes are up – check the tunes page to check ’em out!