July 2015 –
Let's go to Washington state! We can visit Oma, Mittens, and Tante Kirstin. And we can go on a family driving trip around Olympic National Park…see Pike's Market in downtown Seattle….and maybe see Mount Rainier. Sounds like an excellent plan, right?
First things first – our rental car this week: a hybrid Hyundai. Fantastic choice!
Do you spy something out the window? You might have to squint your eyes to see it… can you guess what it is???
It's Mount Rainier! Yahoo! We landed on a perfect day in Seattle where we can actually see Mount Rainier!
A wonderful reunion with….
MITTENS!!!
Mittens has certainly become a BIG kitty. We can rest assured that Oma is taking good care of him!
Check out this gorgeous dinner:
Playing with Mittens at Oma's house:
I love my mom's kitchen. I love the mix of greens and blues mixed with white.
We spent the day in downtown Seattle.
Having fun while waiting for Mark to select a hat from a proper hat shop in downtown Seattle:
Time to go for a drive around Olympic National Park…starting with a stop for lunch in Port Townsend:
And ice cream at this nifty fifties soda shop:
Stopping in at Hurricane Ridge:
Getting up close and personal with the locals:
How about a walk to get out and stretch out our legs?
Ava is getting excellent use of the camera she bought in Tacoma:
Do you see the hazy air? That's due to some very large forest fires happening to the north.
The haze, thankfully, has not stopped the wildflowers from growing and blooming:
One rabbit, hiding:
One local getting a little too friendly:
Our stop for the night: Log Cabin Lodge close to Lake Crescent:
A national park hotel that offers REAL beer??? Yes! Thank you!!!
Oh my…relaxing with this view of Lake Crescent:
Our A-frame home-away-from-home!
The girls playing with bean bags:
Take-away dinner in our cabin:
Annika reading in front of our cabin (well, ours is just one of the A-frame):
The girls…snuggled up in the towels we bought the day before:
Breakfast at the hotel:
Now off to Sol Duc Hot Springs. Must take a few hours to enjoy these thermal baths:
Well, that was very worth the stop!
Now stopping at Ruby Beach (just in time to enjoy the low tide):
I do love the color of these sea anemones:
The girls had fun running around….Annika ran into the water and got thoroughly wet. Cloudy or not, this was a fun stop!
And here's our stop for the night: Quinault Lodge.
Oh. My. Goodness. I just ADORE these BLUE hydrangeas. Just love them!!!
Rain level marker- Quinault Lodge is in a rain forest:
Inside the old lodge:
Fancy dinner at the lodge:
The girls had hours of fun playing outside the lodge:
and the lodge happens to sit next to a lake:
Going for a walk in the rain forest:
Pizza at a local shop:
See those towels hanging over the railing? That's our room in one of the newer free-standing additions to the lodge:
Beautiful stencils on the lodge's ceiling:
Warm and cozy….I could actually just move in and live here!
Breakfast…eggs benedict. Evil but yummy!
A very old canoe:
A brief visit to the Largest Spruce Tree (before heading back to Tacoma):
World's Largest Spruce Tree!
Ah, yeah…it's a biggie!
Back at Oma's house. Beautiful, delicious, jewel-colored berries for breakfast:
And more time with Mittens (and Oma):
On Oma's garden-y deck:
I love, love, love Oma's deck planters, flowers and plants. Stunning!
I spy Mittens!
Oma and Mittens:
Evil comes in different forms: today it takes the form of Krispie Kreme donuts! (I'm kidding of course! It's just so hard to resist those darn deep-fried pieces of dough.):
One last drive…to Rainier!
First stop at a coffee shop along the way…and check out this unique swing made of ski lift parts:
The coffee shop:
We gambled and took a chance going for a walk outside the Sunrise Visitor Center in Rainier National Park. That gamble paid off – the rain held off just long enough for us to go on a refreshing walk:
Wildflowers galore! Wildflower heaven! Breathe deeply. And enjoy!
Finding rocks in a stream:
A lovely mountain meadow:
FLOWERS!
A little lake/pond along the trail. The water in this pond is unexpectedly warm:
And now a brief walk on the Grove of the Patriarchs trail (on our way to see some giant, old trees):
And play along a river:
Yep. Those are some darn big trees!
This bridge was a one-person-at-a-time sort of bridge…which was amusing but also meant that we had to wait in line until we could cross:
Finally! A glimpse of the glorious mountain through the clouds!
It's Mount Rainier!
Walking on the trails outside Paradise Inn:
Flowers, flowers and more flowers:
And a stunning and CLEAR view of Rainier! We most certainly didn't think we'd get to see this mountain today…as the weather forecast for rain for the entire day. Boy, we really lucked out!
Ava has checked out and left the building (I mean, she's taking a nap on the drive back to Tacoma):
Wow! That was our Washington state trip in a nutshell. And now that I'm looking and sorting through the photos I'm upset that I didn't get proper photos of my sister (Tante Kirstin) and her husband (Uncle Patrick) and why didn't I get a better photo of Oma with the girls???? Oma, Kirstin and Patrick – next time I see you I want to make sure I get good photos of us together, okay?
We really enjoyed our trip to Washington…it's a wonderful reminder of all the things we love. A reminder of previous trips to the area (when Annika was a baby). Sharing all those things with both of the girls who are now old enough to enjoy them as well. Annika definitely seems like a girl of the Northwest Coast.
We miss Oma and Mittens every day. We miss Tante Kirstin too! We love you guys!!!