Warby Parker Waterway Collection

You guys might not be familiar with Warby Parker, which is why I'm happy to introduce you.  I first learned about Warby Parker glasses through social media, and then my friends started buying their glasses.  Warby Parker offers affordable eyeglasses and sunglasses, and they are socially conscious with their Do Good program.  Their glasses are stylish and hip, but don't associate them with only being geek chic.  They have numerous styles in different colors, and I'm confident you could find something that suits you.   I visited the Warby Parker store in Dallas last week and picked out my first pair of glasses.  I fell in love with the Sims (in Violet Magnolia color, in case you were wondering).  The only problem I had was limiting myself to one pair, and that's a good problem to have, right?

 I have my eyes on the Piper sunglasses from the Waterway Collection that's being released today.  This collection will give you even more options from their already excellent selection.

Here's the official word from Warby Parker:

We took five favorites for a quick dip, and 

they’re more refreshing than ever. 
A few favorite silhouettes—Welty, Bensen, Piper, 

Griffin, and Percey—get a kick in the pants 

(temples?) with shoreline shades like Sand 

Castle and Marine Pebble.

Introducing the Waterway Collection—

inspired by warm coastal travels and 

landlocked staycations by the pool. Because 

summer is for relaxing.

The Waterway Collection is available August 5 

online at www.warbyparker.com/waterway 

and in stores and showrooms.

Well said, Warby Parker.

The Waterway Collection made clever changes--think standard Warby Parker style with a summer vibe.

My favorite pair of sunglasses--Piper.

Piper sunglasses in Sand Castle

When Warby Parker sent over the images for me to share with you, this one immediately stood out as a favorite.
The Griffin sunglasses are as fun as this photo.

Griffin sunglasses in Whiskey Tortoise

Bensen in Blue Slate Fade
I'm a big fan of the fade at the bottom.  The change of color is a nice touch.

Percy in Crystal--how very modern chic.

Percy sunglasses

If the blue waters of the Caribbean and traditional tortoise had a baby, it would be the good-looking Welty glasses in Marine Pebble. 

No compensation was received for this review.

Road Trip 2014 {Crater Lake National Park}

Road Trip 2014 {Crater Lake National Park}

June 16th we visited Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.  Crater Lake is the only National Park in Oregon.  It's in the middle of nowhere, and you have to make it a destination because it's not something you happen upon.  I had visited the park back in 2001 when I was moving back to Texas from Washington.  It seemed a lot different than what I remember it.  The main thing that shocked me is how much snow was on the ground.  We checked the road conditions several times before selecting our route to make sure they were open and clear of snow.  We saw a few roads in the park that were closed due to snow.

When we made our first stop to view the lake, it was so cold from the scenic lookout on the rim.
32 degrees!
I'm so glad we all had warm coats.  It even snowed while we were there!

This is the first photo because it's my favorite. It was taken near the Rim Visitors Center.

The signs for this park are interesting.  They are designed to look historic.

All of these photos are taken from overlooks on the West Rim Drive.

I think these are from Watchmen Overlook.

Look at the snow and ice on the trees behind Will.

My boys!

The water is so incredibly blue.

Wizard Island

It's very steep.

You can see the cliffs here that surround Crater Lake.

Freezing family

Making a run for it.  It was so cold!

This was on the road making our way to the Rim Village and the Rim Village Visitor Center on West Rim Drive.

I hope this captures how much snow was still on the ground.

Getting our passport stamps!

We stopped by the park headquarters before leaving.

The boys wanted to do one hike before we left.  We didn't do any hikes around the rim of the lake.  I have an overwhelming fear of heights.  Mark and the boys have no fear so they feel comfortable in areas that make me a nervous wreck (someone please sedate me!).   I couldn't handle hiking on anything close to the lake.  Instead we took this very short hike in the woods as we left the headquarters.  It was called Castle Crest Wildflower Garden.  We didn't see a wildflower garden, but we did see snow and big trees.  The boys felt like they had an adventure and were happy.  

Ben trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

This was the third National Park we visited on our road trip, and it was our first time to see wildlife.  We saw about 4 deer eating in the woods near the side of the road.  

I had to include the beautiful photos of journey to Crater Lake.  We stayed in Roseburg, OR and took OR-138, which followed the Umpqua River.  Mark had read about this in a book.  It was supposed to be one of the most scenic places in America.  I understand now why it was mentioned.  It was spectacular.  The road curved along side the it so we had incredible views of the running river.  The river was rushing over rocks, but I only managed to get photos where it was not rugged or rapids.  Again, as for so many places we visited on this trip, I couldn't capture the natural beauty of the river in my photos, but I tried.

Road Trip 2014 {Rangers vs. Mariners}

Road Trip 2014 {Rangers vs. Mariners}

This was a special Father's Day for Mark because we attended a baseball game at Safeco Field.  That in itself would have been memorable, but two things made it extra special.  We saw our Texas Rangers on the road, and it was the beginning of their West Coast Road Trip.  When Mark realized that the Rangers were playing the Mariners while we were in town then we knew we had to go to a game.  It was even more unbelievable when he realized that it would be possible for us to plan our vacation where we could catch a game for each series of the West Coast road trip--Oakland and Anaheim would follow Seattle.    It really was a once in a lifetime thing, and I don't know if we'll ever have that opportunity again.  We knew we had to go for it and make it happen.

Mark and I attended a Mariners game in 2004, but this was Will and Ben's first time to Safeco.

Making memories on Father's Day
Such a cool way to spend the day.  Mark deserves it more than anyone I know.  He's an amazing father.  He loves our boys so much and they adore him.  We are lucky to have him.

Let's Go Rangers!

We carried these foam fingers all the way from Texas and they survived the road trip.

View of Safeco Field before the game started.

Family photo that was taken by a nice Mariners fan.

Mark and the boys

Play ball

I would be leaving out a big part of the day if I didn't include how cold it was at the ballgame.  It was in the mid-60s and breezy.  You can see in the background of the photo above that people were wearing jeans and jackets.  We had dressed like we were going to a baseball game in Texas in June.  I'm used to sweating and being miserably hot.  I had no idea I should have worn jeans.  Thank goodness I packed hoodies for the boys, which helped a little even though they were wearing shorts.  I couldn't get over how crazy cold it was.  We should have bundled up for the game!  Other than that, we had a good time.

Just a few photos from the road after we left the Rangers game.  That was our last day in Seattle and we were heading to Oregon.  We made it all the way to Roseburg and the next morning drove to Crater Lake National Park.