Final Views of Washington

Good morning!

I'm doing a quick post about Wednesday while R gets the girls ready for the day. We parked for the night last night at a truck stop and the WiFi I'm using is the one for the McDonald's across the street...thanks McDs!

We left Seattle as planned and drove to the Washington coast. The following photos were taken at Westhaven State Park in Westport, WA. It was so beautiful there on the beach, the sand was fine and soft, the dunes were wild and magnificent.

Afterwards we drove around Willapa Bay which is enormous and [supply your own superlatives..haha].

Shortly after we came to the Columbia River, we crossed it on the Astoria-Megler Bridge into Oregon. That bridge is at the mouth of the Columbia where it empties into the Pacific Ocean.

We spent that night in a Warrenton, OR KOA that was the biggest we've ever stayed in and where they served breakfast! We'll have to put some distance between us and yesterday before I can post about it. Right now, we are not fans of I-84 in Oregon; that was the toughest driving day we've had with high winds and steep grades all the way. We had planned to park at the Wal-Mart in Pendleton, OR last night but the winds were so strong that we decided to try to outdrive them. That is how we ended up here in a truck parking lot last night. Gotta go, the winds are calm, it's sunny and we're headed to Idaho today.

Lovin' Life ~~ The Beauty and the Challenges

  Bev 

Adieu Seattle!

When planning this trip to Seattle/Vancouver we intended to plow through a list of main tourist sights and experiences in the area thinking we would never come this far northwest again...kind of like we really don't plan to visit Key West again even though we loved every minute of our stay there in May. You know, a 'been there, done that' attitude.

Not so with Seattle. Sure, we arrived here a few days later than planned but while here we have relaxed and explored with such ease, acting more like we live here and have all the time in the world than like folks on vacation. We visited with friends, shopped for stuff for our new RV, handled chores, and found suppliers for projects. We reveled in the mountains, valleys, forests, waterways, bridges, dry cool temps, sunny days, and friendly people wherever we went. There was no sense of urgency because WE WILL BE BACK!

If only for the barbecue...we will be back. After doing laundry this morning, probably the last time before we return home, we had lunch at the most amazing smoked barbecue place! And, we hold ourselves out there as smoked meat aficionados!  The place is called BBQ Pete's, it's in Kent, WA, they only have the one restaurant, but they serve the best barbecue that we have ever tasted.  Yes; better than anyplace we've been, and we've been everywhere man, we've been everywhere! 

Rich has plotted a course for home that may not include all the sights we had originally planned which is okay...next time for sure. This afternoon we did some more shopping then, before we knew it (maybe because we were napping, like old retirees!), the day was nearly gone. Faced with the sad thought of no more BBQ Petes, and still full from lunch, we drove over there and bought some beef brisket and pulled pork for the road.

For our last evening here, Rich drove us up to a park that overlooked the city and Puget Sound from the northwest. A full moon was rising over neighborhoods built on a hill across from this park. The view was indescribable but I will share a few photos ... not that they do it justice ... not at all.

This first set shows the view when we arrived of downtown Seattle, Mount Rainier over Puget Sound, and a full moon over the hillside neighborhood.

This next set shows the same three views just before we left the park.

And for one last sight of the Space Needle at night...

Lovin' Life ~~ and Seattle!

  Bev 

Another Spectacular Washington Day!

We left for the Olympic Peninsula in Washington with the girls early this morning and didn't get home until late evening so we are very tired. Rich drove more than 225 miles today, to the top of the world and back down to civilization, so he was smart enough to crash after our late dinner.

Doesn't this appear to be the top of the world? This is at the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center in Olympic National Park.

Before arriving there we had driven across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to the Kitsap Peninsula. Have you ever seen the movies of the day the original bridge collapsed in 1940? Freaky scary! Here we are safely crossing the westbound (green) bridge this morning. Aren't they beautiful?

Then we crossed the Hood Canal Bridge onto the Olympic Peninsula. The Hood Canal Bridge is the third longest floating bridge in the world; it rests upon pontoons, not support columns, and has a center draw span to accommodate large ships.

Here we are on the City Pier in Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula. We took the girls on the pier, watched the fish in the clear green water, and had lunch outside on this gorgeous day. It seems that Washington is the place to be when the rest of the country is sweltering in the heat of summer.

The first thing we did when we got to Port Angeles though was check availability of the ferry to Victoria. Yes, Dylan, Grandpa had our passports with us; we didn't forget today! If we had made it on as a standby, we would only have had 3 to 4 hours there before we had to get back in line for the return trip on the ferry. We are just not going to get there this trip; this is apparently the only view we will have of the city of Victoria until our next trip here...

Look very closely and you'll see Victoria in the upper left corner of this photo!

Here is another photo taken at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.

This one was taken on the way back down from Hurricane Ridge. If you look closely, you will see a slender strip of light brown land extending into the water at the center of this photo. If you traveled straight ahead from there, you would reach the home of G, D, & K. Hi guys! Thanks G for recommending that we drive over to Olympic Peninsula...gorgeous!

Driving the length of the Hood Canal along the eastern side of Olympic Peninsula we stopped at Seal Rock Campground where we were treated to another view of Mount Rainier in the distance across the Canal.

That route brought us into Olympia, the capitol of Washington. The capitol building and grounds are openly accessible and beautiful. There is a lovely park and pond across from this building where we walked the girls and took a break from the road.

 And no matter where you drive throughout this entire area it seems, you will see Mount Rainier presiding over all. It is the highest mountain in the Cascade Range, is an active stratovolcano, and contains the largest glaciers in the lower 48 states. Seeing it never fails to surprise me. Since area roads wind up, down, and around hills and canyons and large bodies of water, Mount Rainier appears to be in every direction at once. Or you will see it behind a tree and then poof, it disappears. I love looking at it and imagining the powerful forces that could emanate from it...hopefully though, it never will.

 The last stop before arriving home this evening was at a Wal-Mart in Olympia...a beautiful, clean, well-stocked Wal-Mart Supercenter with all the grocery items we needed...finally. And only 40 miles from where we are staying...how convenient.

Livin' Life ~~  Lovin' Mount Rainier

  Bev 

A Catching Up Day!

Today was a catching up day. Right after coffee this morning, we called Shelby. Yesterday was her birthday party with school friends. It was held at the "dance place" and they all learned to dance to Rock and Hip Hop which were the dances she chose for her party. She was still excited this morning because it was a lot of fun...and it must have been because we talked about the party and then some other things and she never did mention gifts until I asked what she had gotten. That's my idea of a great party when a 7 year old talks about everything related to the party and not the gifts!

Next we had breakfast out before making returns and doing some shopping. There are always things to buy when settling into new digs...even RVs. Rich installed a new shower head that has a hose and a new bathroom faucet. Isn't this a beautiful faucet? Does it look familiar?

Yep, it is the same faucet that he had just installed in the old RV. I wanted to ask them to move it like they did the kitchen faucet but Rich thought we had asked for enough by that time. Home Depot here carried the same one and he put it in today. That's quite a challenge in these small spaces so he had to take the sink out to remove the old and put in the new faucet. It is so worth it though.

Here he's reinstalling the fire extinguisher holder because it wasn't secure on the wall; he did like a hundred other chores too yesterday morning and today. Right now he is scraping blue dye from a bathroom cabinet door. That was the only damage to the interior when we bought it; someone had laid a bottle of toilet chemical in a drawer, it spilled, stained the inside of the drawer, and dripped down that door. This is the last of his fix-it list... the current list anyway!

 

While he did that, I made a big batch of our favorite cottage cheese & egg pancakes for the freezer.

  

Even though it's pretty small, our new kitchen is very functional...for the amount of cooking on the road that I do anyway. While we were both busy with our chores, Bella stayed right by my feet as I worked, so at least the kitchen is big enough for both of us!

As is typical for her, Dora just relaxed in the driver's chair and disinterestedly watched us all from afar.

We even had time to take the girls to the dog park here at KOA this afternoon. Our timing was great because another couple was there with their Wheaten, Winston! They were fun to meet and talk with, as are all RVers it seems, and the three dogs all got a good run. One great thing about a relaxing chores day is that I'll actually get some sleep tonight instead of spending the night blogging!

Lovin' Life ~~ And Its Chores!

  Bev 

Seattle Space Needle & First Visitors

This afternoon we Meandered into downtown Seattle where we met G & K to check out the Space Needle which is WAY COOL and such a lovely structure!

The downtown was bustling and very crowded but we called to tell them our location and we all parked in the same lot. Hooray for cell phones and GPS. Soon we were up on the Observation Deck. Here are K and I, then one of G, K, & Rich. 

As you would expect, the views are incredible; Seattle is a beautiful city.

Puget Sound

Lake Union









 

When G excitedly said, "Oh look, it's the Pink Elephant" I immediately aimed my camera and then asked her what it is. It's a car wash, which cracked me up because yesterday she was lamenting the shortage of car washes in the area. Even so, that was not something that I expected would generate such gleeful excitement!







And we finally have a backward photo to share. Rich and I have done these for years but I don't remember sharing any on this blog yet. K had to lie on the grass to get this shot...isn't it great?










The four of us had dinner at a great little pizza/calzone place and then they accepted our invitation to come out to our place.

On the way we were treated to these incredible views of Mt. Rainier.















Both shots were taken from the car on I-5 heading south out of Seattle...spectacular!

You can imagine how over-the-moon excited the girls were when G & K arrived. I'm sure they thought by now that they were never going to see anyone but us for the rest of their days. Kisses. People! Belly Rubs. Kisses. Friends! Snuggles. Kisses. People!







We are so happy that such good friends were the first to see our new RV. And fun?...these two are a blast to spend time with no matter what we're doing!!!

Livin' Life ~~ Seeing Sights with Friends!

  Bev 

Reconnecting!

Today was one of the best of our trip!

G was Sandee's best friend in high school and maid of honor at her wedding. She and I have kept in contact through the years and she invited us to their home while we're in the area. This is their Newfoundland, Bella. Quite a contrast with our Bella, huh?

G, her daughter, K, Rich and I went to Costco for dinner stuff.

G's husband, D, and Rich shared a few laughs while he grilled steaks.

One of life's many joys is reconnecting with those from our Yesterdays. She is so artistically talented, very smart, a great mom, devoted to her entire family, and has such a generous outgoing personality. Her daughter and husband possess all of those traits too. Even though she and Sandee were friends, Rich and I felt right at home as great friends of theirs too this evening. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, had so much fun catching up and are really looking forward to seeing G & K again tomorrow.

And to top off this perfect day...we were treated to this sight of the Space Needle on our way home tonight!

Lovin' Life ~~ and Precious Friendships!

  Bev