PacNW - Day 8

Day 8! Our final day!

So we learned the day before that parking in Seattle sucks. It's expensive and it's not all that easy to come by - it typically is about $4 for the first 30 minutes to hour. So we did some research and found out that if we got there before 9:30 am you got the early bird special! So not wanting to pay $20 for parking for the day we went early so we only had to pay $10 - I recommend doing this if you plan to spend the whole day down there.

So we got there early and at the time of day we arrived the vendors were still setting up for the day. Which was fun to see the vendors with set spots getting their fish, flowers, fruits and other products set out of the day. It was also interesting to see vendors who just show up jockey for spaces to sell their goods....it brought me back to my old craft show days!!

Once everything was setup we enjoyed some apple fritters and watched the guys of Pikes Place Fish Market make a laugh. Those guys are hilarious, certainly worth stopping at the market to just see them. Brian of course drooled over the crab the whole entire time!

I could not resist taking a picture of this book....

After the morning browsing the market we headed off to the Seattle Aquarium. I'd say it isn't necessarily the BEST aquarium, but I believe that is just due to the fact that they had a lot of Pacific Fish to show off - which really aren't that colorful/exciting. They did however have a Giant Octopus, Seals, and a very nice Caribbean Fish section. Needless we kept coming back to the aquarium to just sit and watch the fish since we were downtown most the day it was nice to have a quiet place (despite what seemed like hundreds of kids) to sit down and just watch fish.

Throughout the day we spent time walking around Seattle, we visited Pioneer Square a bit - which wasn't too exciting, but they did have many nice shops. We walked the pier and saw ferries go in and out along with many cruise ships.

We wrapped the evening up with the best meal of the whole trip. So even before we left we had planned our meal location in Seattle - the Crab Pot. If you love Seafood and you love crab, the Crab Pot is the spot for you! They have on the menu 4 different feast. We chose to go for the biggest - "The Alaskan". The Alaskan included King Crab, Dungeness Crab, Snow Crab, Shrimp in the Shell, Steamed Clams, Pacific Mussels, and Audouille sausage, corn on the cob, and red potatoes in their jackets. The food was amazing and we finished every last piece. Needless to say I believe eating at the crab pot was probably one of the favorite parts of the trip for Brian.

Once we finished dinner we headed back to the hotel to pack for the early morning flight the next day. Once we returned home we immediately missed the cool and low humidity weather of the Pacific Northwest but were still happy to be home to see the kitties and the pup!

PacNW - Day 7

Day 7 - On the Mountain!

We woke up Friday and became our climb up to Hurricane Ridge. Breathtaking. It gives a wide view of the Mt. Olympus and the surrounding Mountains. There were wild flowers, bunnies, deer, SNOW 5' high and practically no people. Beautiful way to start out the day.

Once done with Hurricane Ridge we began our journey to Seattle. Along the way we drove over the bridge which was the replacement for the Galloping Gurdy otherwise know as the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Once we got closer to Seattle we found a real legitimate hotel to spend the next couple of nights in SeaTac, WA. After we got checked in, showered, and watched a bit of TV we headed off for the Locks otherwise known as the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. We watched a few boats go in and out of the locks - which was pretty cool to see how the whole operation works. Additionally they have what they call a salmon ladder there which has a viewing area where you can watch the salmon going up the ladder to spawn. Very fun to just sit and watch the fish swim and struggle to get through the ladder. We spent a couple hours here just sitting, enjoying the water and the view.

PacNW - Day 6

Day 6 - Move on to the mountain...

We headed out from the HOH Rainforest to visit La Push where we would see First Beach and Rialto Beach. Unfortunately we didn't even get out of the car at First Beach due to a huge stray dog just roaming around. But we were able to get out and explore Rialto Beach. It's quite crazy the huge trees you find all along the shore. It was fun to crawl around on them for a bit.

After we were done with the beach we haded out to the most north-western type of the continental United States - Cape Flattery. It takes about 1 hour one way to get here, but WORTH it! You drive and drive along the coast until you get to Makah Indian Reservation. You find a place to park and you do a 15-30 minute hike out to the cape. It was fun to stand at the edge of the country and look out upon the ocean...Ocean on one side and the Strait De Juan de Fuca, beautiful!

Once after we fully enjoyed the experience we headed off for Port Angeles and the Heart O' the Hills camp ground. Along the way we saw lake Crescent and the Sol Duc waterfall. We didn't stop to take much time at lake Crescent but we certainly took the time to view the waterfall, very nice!

Then we got to Heart O' the Hills, set up camp and headed off for Port Angeles for dinner. According to our tour book there was this great place - it however turned out to be Perkins quality food at Olive Garden....it became what we called ANOTHER TRAP! Oh well, live and learn.

PacNW - Day 5

Day 5, more big trees?

Day 5 we made the push from Lincoln City to the Hoh Rainforest.

Along the way we stopped for breakfast in Seaside and enjoyed some bagels on the beach.

After that we did a quick stop in Astoria - an for all you Goonies fans we took the time to find the address of the house in the Goonies and walked up the street to take a picture of the place. We felt a bit like creepos, but oh well. The visitor center told us we could :).

We were able to get a campground in the actual rainforest, which was really cool. It was another fun experience to one day have seen the Redwoods and to then get into Washington to see some more enormous trees. Once we had camp set up we headed off for the few trails that were day trails. Impressive. So I've always thought moss was interesting, but in the rainforest it is down right cool. There is a trail of mosses there which is awesome. It is also interesting to learn of how in the rainforest when a tree falls and dies, it because almost a breeding grown for new trees. So in many instances you'll see a line of trees which grew from the remains of a tree that had fallen. Very interesting to see. Once we finished all the hikes we turned in for the evening.

PacNW - Day 4

Day 4 - BIG TREES!

So we learned from the State Park that there were tide pool walks given by rangers every once in a while. We however were so tired the day before that we didn't bother to see what time they were at. The one for this particular day was at 7:30 am. We woke up around 6:30, but by the time we got everything packed up and showered it was about 7:45 before we got to the tide pool. There was no ranger there, so I don't believe they ever showed up. So we went exploring through the tide pool on our own. The water was cold but we found a few cool things along the way.

IT'S A TRAP! Day 4 we fell into our first tourist trap. We paid $5 to drive through a Redwood tree. Literally you drive up a hill into a turn around and then drive through the tree to just drive back down the road you drove up. Since it was early morning and the owners were not there to lay down the rules we paid our $5 and headed up the hill and then proceeded to get our $5 worth of driving through a tree - I'm pretty sure we went through about 3 times.

After that we went to a scenic overlook of the ocean where the ranger the day before said that his 'fellow ranger' had seen whales. So we drove about 30 minutes one way on a curvy hilly road to an scenic overlook. As you can see from the picture at the hour we went it was not so scenic :(.

Then it was off to hike and drive through more of what Brian likes to refer to as 'old growth' redwoods. Which, I will admit, are a bit cooler than some of the new growth. We drove down an old wagon road which was still gravel and the whole experience was like stepping into a different world. The trees are just so big. We also did a bit of hiking which was cool to explore and play around the big trees.

We spent the majority of our day just exploring and taking pictures. After it was all done we started our way up the Oregon coast on our way back up to Washington. We made another 300 miles up to Lincoln City Oregon were we were unfortunate enough to stay at a KOA. Not to bash the KOA or anything, but after a quiet evening in a camp ground surrounded by redwoods an open field surrounded by screaming kids was not what we called a fun idea. We were however not able to find any other hotel/motel/camp ground to sleep - everything else was no vacancy :(.

PacNW - Day 3

Day 3 we headed out from Bend to Crater Lake.

Of all the things on the trip that I was least excited for Crater Lake was it. I however am glad I did not scratch it off the list. For a place that literally is 'just' a big lake - it is AMAZING. We arrived early afternoon to Crater Lake to what was one of the most calm and peaceful days I can remember. There were only a few clouds in the sky and the lake was like glass. The pictures we took there speak for themselves.

As the day progress and we made our way around the lake (its huge) we ran into a bit or rainy weather and it was breathtaking to watch the storm come in and it even was fun running through the rain a bit on the trails. Needless to say even though it is just a day trip Crater Lake was well worth the drive.

After we made most of the loop around Crater Lake we set Redwood Forest as our next destination. Surprisingly we made it to California before the end of the evening and were able to find a camp ground at Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. We literally slept under huge Redwoods! It's funny to see your little tent set up next to a tree which is wider than your tent. Once at the state park we crashed pretty quickly, it was another long day of driving around 300 miles.

PacNW - Day 2

Aaaahh, day 2, the first of many driving days. Day 2 started out in the ferry parking lot in Anacortes. Surprisingly the not so great Cobalt made a fair sleeping pad. We were both surprised.

So we woke up, and started heading towards I5 which would then take us into Oregon. The drive was actually quite relaxing considering we had heard so much bad talk of the traffic in and around Seattle, evidently on the weekends the people of Seattle don't get out much.

Around 300 miles later we were in Oregon where they pump your gas for you - no questions, they just do :). I miss that. Once in Oregon we saw the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. It however runs mostly along a road, which inconveniently has very few places to stop. Once water fall we planned to stop at was so congested that the line up for the parking lot was backing up the interstate. So we passed, thus sorry no pictures :(.

We stopped a a FISH HATCHERY!! There was a huge Sturgeon fish named Herman! They also had huge hydrangea!

We did however make it to Mt. Hood. Which has a lovely lodge at the top and SNOW! We even saw people snowmobiling, skiing, and snowboard; not to mention the kids having a snow ball fight in their shorts! It was awesome! Evidently according to the tour book some of the shining was taped there, I however do not think the locals like the story since I overheard one of the staff complain about people staying that - so if you go there, don't mention it.

After we played around on the mountain and got a bit light headed from the altitude we headed on south toward Bend, which was sold in the tour book as being a place where everyone wants to live - not true. But it was nice enough for us to rest for the evening. This time we decided to try a motel, which I forget how shaddy motels really are....until of course we are paying the Indian who got off his tredmill to check us in and the overwhelming smell of old people in the room. Either way it worked and we didn't die - so I guess it's all part of the experience, right?

PacNW - Day 1

Since we covered over 2,000 miles and saw quite a few sites along the way I've decided to break out trip up in to different blog posts for each day.

So here is about what happened day one...

Woke up around 3 am, Sandy picked us up 4 am, airport by 4:30.

Get checked in, exit row (nice). We sit next to a dude, named Tony, who has just spent the last week in Fargo at a National Wrestling tournament coaching some high school boys. His voice shows he has been yelling each day. He's surprised by our whimsically planned trip, where we just plan to see how far we can go and how much we can see. So he draws us a map with high lights we must see in Washington and Oregon. Tony literally spent about 2 hours drawing the map, reading through out tour book and talking to us about where we needed to go. Here is the map he drew us:

Once the plane landed we gathered our luggage and headed off to get the rental car. We had reserved what was to be an 'intermediate' car. Evidently an intermediate car is a crappy Chevy Cobalt with over 42k in miles, no power windows, no power locks, no cruise.

But we took the car, checked it out and put our GPS up with Anacortes, WA as our destination. We got out on the open road to discover the the car once on the freeways shakes so bad the dome light and the steering wheel shook. FUN! Ok, I'll stop complaining about the car....

We arrived Anacortes around 11 am, plenty of time for the 11:55 ferry to the San Juan Islands - Friday Harbor.

Once at Friday harbor we grabbed some food at Friday's crab house and enjoyed our first taste of Dungeness crab in the PacNW. Once we finally had some food in us we finally crashed and were so tired we found a nice spot next to the water were we could catch a few zzzzz....

After we had our little nap in the park, we were off on our Whale Watching tour.

One the cruise we saw a few Orcas:

We also saw quite a few seals:

And we also saw what I like to refer to as the phantom Cruise ship:

Overall it was a great first day, it did however run a little long. Our ferry back wasn't until 10 pm and it didn't arrive back on the mainland until 12:30. Needless to say we sleep the 2.5 hours on the ferry and then when we got back to our car we slept there too :).