Pining for the Shire? Here are a few places to visit to quell your hobbity cravings in Washington State without visiting Middle Earth (or at least New Zealand).

We visited the Nelson Treehouse Company’s B&B Treehouse point, along with a couple of other in-the-tree locations (the Forest House, Free Spirit Spheres, and -- at least in spirit -- the treehouse at Doe Bay) in the Pacific Northwest. Here’s a lowdown on getting high (up in the trees at least) along with a listing of other treehouses in the PNW you can rent.

This beautiful mosaic labyrinth sits on a wooded park overlooking the water on Bainbridge Island, WA.

Are you a believer? It's OK if you're not. Ghost tours are fun, especially in October when the days are growing shorter and the leaves are falling. And good ones are also a bit of an (entertaining) history lesson. Here are three Haunted Tours in and (relatively) near Seattle to take this Autumn: Seattle, Port Gamble, and Port Townsend

This post was written before the COVID-19 outbreak, but I decided to let it run for Pi day as scheduled. In Seattle, we're eating our Pie on Pi Day at home in Seattle -- but when things pick back up these are some great places to go. Put them on your calendar for PIE day, which is January 23. Whether it's Pi Day (in March) or Pie Day (in January) you're likely to see a lot of posts about pie. But any day is a good day for Pie. So we're weighing in on our favorite go-to pie spots in Seattle and western Washington State.

If you want to explore times of yore (sorry about the rhyme), head to Port Townsend for their annual Victorian Festival. We did in 2018 and encountered many a thing, including frightening(ly beautiful) ball gowns, tintype photography, and ghost stories.

Guillemot Cove Nature Preserve is one of my favorite Kitsap County day hikes, and great for kids (at least kids who will tolerate the uphill trek back from the beach). While you're there, visit the Stump House which (legend has it) was a hideout for an outlaw in the 1800s and would have been my clubhouse as a kid if it had been in my neighborhood.

I usually hate the words "simply must," in a blog post. But if you go to York you simply must visit York Minster Cathedral. Here are some things to do and see at this wonderful medieval gem that is my personal favorite of the cathedrals I've had an opportunity to visit.

In Orondo, Washington, near the Columbia River Gorge, there exists a charming hobbit house built into the hillside. We finally got to stay there for a few nights! Here's a review with a brief video, and some things to know before you go there.

I won't be seeing the Rolling Stones in Seattle this spring, but I DID finally get to visit the original STANDING stones last spring. Here are some highlights on my journey and some tips for visiting Stonehenge.