North to Northwest

Back in 2006 we figured we could take one more family vacation before the kids eventually went off to college.  So glad we did because the four of us have not traveled together since that summer.  Ceci & Tony chose Seattle, where Mary and I honeymooned 20 years prior.  I wanted to take them to National Parks one last time and the Emerald City is one of the best launching areas in the country to do that.

We flew into Sea-Tac and immediately headed South, then West, to the Olympic Peninsula, so we could spend one night in Ocean Shores with a view of the Pacific.  This was the first week in June and we seemed to be the only guests at our hotel and in its restaurant.  The next morning took US-101 north to the Hoh Rain Forest.  If you don't mind getting wet and aren't afraid of the color green, and enjoy seeing sights like this

then add Hoh to your bucket list.  Put it this way: where else can you enjoy a rain forest without dealing with all those pesky wilderness problems you saw in the "Tarzan" and "Jungle Book" movies?  But you are going to get wet.  It's amazing we don't look more miserable in this shot:

The entire time you are on the Olympic Peninsula you are never far away from the Pacific Ocean.  Where else can you begin one day by exploring what washed up on the beach and then end your trip at eye-level to glaciers? Sit down, you Kiwis from New Zealand!

However, we didn't travel that quickly.  We spent 3 days in the Peninsula, spending one night in Forks.  "Forks?", Ceci exclaimed, as she added that her friend would be so jealous.  Turns out that horrible series, "Twilight", was set in the town of Forks.  In case you're into that.  Or into fishing.  The cabin we rented in Forks had a large sign as you walked in: "No gutting fish inside the cabin"

We will not bore you with pictures of Seattle proper.  You probably know that you should go to Pike's Market and get a dungeness crab sandwich.  Really, you should.  Then go up in the Space Needle.  Maybe take in a Mariners game.  Oh, I just read a blogger's guide.  Apparently there are some "must posts", like pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge or Times Square.  Fine.  Here.  It's not a good pic:

But we're here for the National Parks.  We did not visit the North Cascades because we didn't have enough time.  A bigger regret was skipping Snoqualmie Falls, right off I-90, which Mary and I had seen before.  I didn't know that future Ceci would one day binge-watch all of "Twin Peaks", despite my advice to stop after the 4th episode (the one with the dancing dwarf dream sequence).

Since the weather was fantastic at the end of our week in the Northwest the entertainment decision was easy: we're spending the rest of our time in Mt. Rainier National Park.  Seeing this volcano from your airplane window, or maybe from the Space Needle, does not do it justice.  If you have the time to drive to the park then you must go and enjoy the many hikes in this park.  It's endless fabulous views.

Just make sure to drive slowly and carefully through the park.  This little beauty was not on the road on our way to see Mt. Rainier.  But it tumbled down and was waiting for us on the drive back to see if we purchased the extra insurance on the rental car: