Position: 47°37.35’N, -122°31.14’W

A couple of months after our first land-based weekend on Bainbridge Island, we made another trip, this time by car with our new rucking gear. In a busy overnight trip, we visited one of our longtime favorite pubs, tested our new gear with a ruck through Grand Forest park, enjoyed the views from the deck of our rented VRBO (pictured above), and shared an excellent pizza in town.

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Position: 64°19.57’N, -20°7.46’W

Iceland, “The Land of Fire and Ice”, is a geological wonder. The island nation lies atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates and, as the plates move apart, magma from the earth’s core reaches the surface through thirty volcanic systems across the island. The magma also heats vast underground water reserves, producing dramatic geysers and geothermal energy. That’s the “fire” part of Iceland’s moniker. The “ice” refers to the country’s hundreds of glaciers, some atop live volcanoes. When these glacial volcanoes erupt, the resulting iceberg-filled floods can be devastating. On their own, the glaciers are a majestic sight as they flow through rugged mountain ranges, sometimes calving into the sea. And where they don’t reach the land’s edge, the glacial meltwater produces many spectacular waterfalls.

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Position: 64°2.95’N, -16°10.86’W

Vatnajokull National Park in southeastern Iceland is the largest of the country’s three national parks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019. The park is named after Vatnajokull glacier, the largest in Europe outside the Arctic, and contains many volcanoes, several beneath the glacier. At 5,778 sq miles (14,967 sq km) the massive park encompasses 14% of Iceland’s land mass and is the second largest in Europe after Yugyd Va in Russia. The park is popular to visit year-round, and supports a wide variety of recreational activities, including biking, hiking, and ice climbing.

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Position: 70°26.76’N, -21°8.03’W

We had a fabulous cruise aboard the icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot along Greenland’s still-frozen east coast. The sea ice typically doesn’t clear until mid-to-late summer, and one of the attractions of the cruise was the opportunity to view polar bears on the Arctic sea ice. We felt so lucky to sight one on our cruise to the North Pole and really hit the jackpot on the Greenland trip when we sighted dozens in one place, feeding on a whale carcass beached on the ice. The scene was so extraordinary that the ship just stopped there for a day and a half. Among the gathered bears were many mothers and their cubs, including several rare sets of triplets.

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Position: 47°39.74’N, -122°24.72’W

Another weekend ruck at Discovery Park.

Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.59’W

Participants in the 2024 Seattle Pride Parade wearing colorful balloon costumes, viewed from our apartment balcony. More than 250 groups marched in the parade that drew over 300,000 attendees.

Position: 47°42.75’N, -122°22.72’W

Crossing the artwork Play Attention by local artist Garry Golightly during a ruck at Carkeek Park.

Position: 47°42.75’N, -122°22.70’W

A Morgan 3-Wheeler at Carkeek Park. British manufacturer Morgan Motor Company produced the three-wheeled roadster from 2012 to 2021.

Position: 47°38.94’N, -122°20.66’W

Working off those calories burned during our ruck at Carkeek Park with beer and pizza at Fremont Brewing’s Urban Beer Garden.

Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.58’W

Three window cleaners hanging high up on the north tower of our apartment complex.

Position: 48°3.78’N, -121°48.30’W

Hiking the Mt. Pilchuck Trial on a long weekend trip to Granite Falls, WA.

Position: 47°39.99’N, -122°22.25’W

Lunch and craft beer at Urban Family Brewing in Ballard after rucking at Discovery Park.

Position: 47°32.07’N, -122°7.72’W

Setting of for a ruck at Cougar Mountain in Bellevue, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Getting here is a bit more of a drive than our “home trail” of Discovery Park, but we enjoyed the change of scenery and the extensive trail system was excellent and lightly loaded.

Position: 47°33.12’N, -122°10.66’W

A delicious pizza and craft beer at Resonate Brewery in Bellevue after rucking on Cougar Mountain.

Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.58’W

This striking peregrine falcon landed on the balcony of our apartment.

Position: 47°37.01’N, -122°20.62’W

The summer picnic at our apartment complex, Insignia, drew over 200 people.

Position: 47°35.46’N, -122°20.01’W

Jennifer enjoying an ice cream sundae treat in a baseball hat-shaped bowl before a Seattle Mariners baseball game.

Position: 47°35.47’N, -122°19.99’W

Major league sporting events, such as the Seattle Marines game we’re attending, always bring out the big lenses.

Position: 47°35.47’N, -122°19.99’W

The Seattle Mariners pitch a strike during a game against the Houston Astros. We would have needed a lot more of these to prevent a 4-2 loss, but we had a great evening at the game.

Position: 47°37.81’N, -122°23.47’W

While we were having lunch at Maggie Bluffs in Elliott Bay Marina, the Majestic Princess departed Pier 99, playing the theme from the Love Boat television series. The decade-running popular television show was filmed aboard a variety of Princess ships, starting with the series pilot on the line’s original Sun Princess in 1977 and Gavin MacLeod, who played Captain Stubing, was the Princess Cruise Lines spokesperson for 35 years.

Position: 36°50.59’N, 127°6.89’E

James dressed in a bunny suit before entering the clean room at Samsung’s High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) fab in South Korea as part of a week-long business trip to Asia.

Position: 47°37.23’N, -122°21.02’W

Winter Brilliance, originally commissioned for the 2015 Barneys New York holiday window, on display at the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum at the base of the Seattle Space Needle. Despite its proximity to our apartment, we’d never visited the museum before. The complexity and innovativeness of the glasswork on display is impressive.

Position: 47°36.90’N, -122°21.31’W

Dinner with our friends Mark Mohler and Christine Guo of Nordhavn 62 Gray Matter, who were visiting Seattle for a couple of days. James should have been in the picture as well, but his return flight from a business trip to South Korea and Japan was delayed a day due to aircraft mechanical problems in Japan.

Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.57’W

The US Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron streaking by the rooftop of our apartment complex as part of the annual Seafair Weekend events.

Position: 47°36.75’N, -122°21.19’W

Enjoying a drink on the terrace at the Edgewater Hotel to watch the Norwegian Encore depart Pier 66.

Position: 47°37.06’N, -122°20.34’W

Celebrating James’ birthday with a traditional dinner at one of our favorite Seattle restaurants, The Butcher’s Table.

Position: 46°57.46’N, -121°52.79’W

Taking in the view to Mt. Rainier, in the background, from Tolmie Peak as part of a weekend hiking trip to Enumclaw.

Position: 42°33.32’N, -76°51.98’W

At Shalestone Vineyards in New York’s Finger Lakes district during a weekend visit with friends who have a vacation home nearby.

Position: 45°26.04’N, 12°20.09’E

A gondola ride in Venice at the start of our trip to northern Italy to attend the Italian Grand Prix.