It’s kind of hard to believe, but we’ve been living in the Pacific Northwest for about six months now. In many ways, the time has flown by, but in others, living here feels natural, like home and like we’ve been here a long, long time.
Even though I’m loving this new life, I do miss seeing my family, especially now that there’s been a new addition. My nephew was born after we moved here and I have yet to meet him in person. Thanks to Facebook, I’ve seen lots of pictures and I’m already smitten with him.
As hard as being far away from loved ones is sometimes, overall, the change of scenery has been amazing.
Rainy days, foggy skies, tall evergreens, jagged cliffs, snow-covered mountain peaks and flowers in February put a big smile on my face. It seems I’m quite inspired by the beautiful landscape and have several book ideas that are set in the Pacific Northwest.
The temperate weather has been wonderful for my health. I no longer suffer from the sinus headaches, congestion and allergy issues I dealt with on a daily basis when I lived in the Midwest. I’m sleeping much better (probably because I’m not congested!) and I have more energy to get outside and be active, which is great because loving the outdoors and being active is a huge part of life in the Pacific Northwest.
As the picture of the bicycles above shows, exercise is so encouraged here, that bike sharing kiosks can be found all over Seattle. Usually when I head into the city, I take the bus and walk, but a bike ride might be nice, especially around some of the larger city parks.
Since moving here I have discovered new hobbies, like hiking, which is something my husband and I try to do a couple times a week. As an added bonus, with becoming more active, I’ve lost weight.
Okay, enough waxing poetic. I could write on and on about Washington forever, but I know my readers have busy lives. I’ll post more updates about our new life in the northwest soon.
Amanda Bretz 