Vashon Island - Paradise not too far away

I love to travel. Thankfully, Arun too shares the same thought. Back in India, I never got a chance to travel so much. Large part of my childhood and adolescence was spent on studying, trying to get good grades, coaching classes, and more studying. So the only time, which would excite me, was when we took those yearly trips to my native place, Shimoga (India) and Thirthahalli (India). Especially Thirthahalli, because it was completely devoid of the city look, no popular stores, no malls then (no malls even now), those small shops which had excellent neer dosa and fresh, hot idli, beautiful wilderness, and my grandpa's beautiful palatial ancestral house with a big joint family. Every trip was a celebration of sorts; about 20+ family members would welcome us. Staying under one roof with such a big family was what I loved the most, which was completely opposite to the one I was used to in Mangalore.

So after moving to Seattle, Arun and I decided to take trips whenever we could. We initially had decided to take a trip every month, which down the line we realized was very silly and not practical. Now we stick to places, which are close and could be explored well in 2-3 days. This Memorial Day weekend was no different. Our dearest friends (Dhivya, Dinesh, Ranjith, Shankar) and us started hunting for a vacation home. We love vacation homes, the idea of staying under one roof cooking, bantering, watching movies is so much fun. After a lot of research we rounded upon Vashon or Vashon-Maury Island. This gem is not too far from Seattle, it is just a ferry ride away. It takes about 1.5 hour from Bellevue. Not very densely populated, not commercialized yet, and completely devoid of anything artificial.

I was surprised to find bit too many vegan, gluten free restaurants. There was this really cool place we went to namely Zombie's. The entire decor of the restaurant was based on the Zombie Theme. It had these great burgers, which my friends gorged upon. I satisfied myself with a low fat, wheat crust pizza and licorice & peppermint tea.

The vacation home and the location were very endearing. The view was great. Unfortunately it was kind of rainy on the second day, so we could not really soak in the beach beauty. Also I kind of realized that when you are at a vacation home you end up eating a lot. There are multiple options, huge amounts of snacks, and there is also the part where you are exploring the cuisine around. I am kind of guilty of eating up a bit too much this time. 

At the end of the trip, we decided to visit this place again some time soon. It was so refreshing and relaxing. The drive in the woods, coupled with the exciting time spent with the friends who are no less then a family would be remembered for a long, long time to come. However we did miss a few friends (Arathi, Ehsan, Helina, Richa, Mridul) who could not make it yet are such an integral part of the family. Here's to friendship, family, vacation home, nature and more trips.