We slept last night and will sleep again tonight in two treehouses in Issaquah, Washington.  These are not the treehouses you might have found in a 1960’s suburban backyard tree with a handwritten Girls Keep Out sign. These structures were built by Pete Nelson, self-described as “an American master treehouse builder, author and since 2013, host of the Animal Planet television show Treehouse Masters.’”  Harry and I are sharing a treehouse accessed by walking across a wobbly suspension bridge. It is called “Temple of the Blue Moon”.  Mariah and Sarah are sleeping in a much smaller one called “The Nest”.  There are just a half dozen units built into the trees in this heavily wooded property.  It’s not possible to see anyone or anything else when inside.

It is a unique experience to sleep dozens of feet up in the air among branches and birds, and Harry, in particular, appreciates the back-to-nature immersion. The bloom came crashing off the rose for me last night.  These units lack bathrooms and I accidentally locked myself out of our unit in the dead of the night while wearing (wait for it) my minion nightgown. Pounding on the door while a great number of insects were introducing themselves to me and my oh-so-fetching nightwear quelled my enthusiasm for the whole concept.

The indignity of miniongate behind me, we drove back to Seattle this morning to visit their very popular Museum of Pop Culture, called MoPop.  We were engrossed by their special exhibition on Marvel comic book heroes as well as three floors of tremendously creative and engaging displays on science fiction, fantasy, sound production, horror, popular music and much more.

This afternoon we boarded a ferry for a 35-minute ride to Bainbridge Island off the coast of Seattle. Once on the island, we headed to The Bloedel Reserve for an outside afternoon amidst 150 acres of gardens and fields and virtually no other visitors.  The excursion was equal parts relaxing and exhausting and we were ready for the ferry back to Seattle and the drive back to Issaquah by twilight.

Rest assured, I am not one to make the same error twice.  I am ready for tonight. I have written the code to our treehouse door on my hand in a blue ink that coordinates nicely with my minion nightgown.