A few weeks ago, Dan passed his PhD defense! I’ll try not to get too sappy, but It’s worth taking a moment to say how proud I am of this guy. He does research with the Institute for Protein Design, where they’re working on COVID and Universal Flu vaccines, and the day after he passed his defense, one of the vaccines he helped design went into people for the first time. The next day was also our anniversary and our dog’s birthday! Lots of cause for celebration. So Dan, Ollie, and I took off several days of work and headed to Olympic National Park. We spent a few nights at Lake Quinault Lodge and filled our days exploring the coast. We’ve been on plenty of backpacking trips near Shi shi beach, but Ruby Beach and Kalaloch beach were completely new to us! We somehow lucked out with nice weather in January, and our dog got more miles than his Fitbit could count. Just kidding, we don’t make our Ollie wear a fitness tracker. But in all seriousness, this piece of Washington is something special. If you thinking of having an intimate wedding or elopement on the Washington coasts, I’ve got lots of ideas for secret beaches!