Boring slideshow time!
We went on vacation! It was an expanded version of our spring break trip, but with MUCH nicer weather. It was a wonderful trip, thanks to the weather and our kind and generous hosts. (Thanks, hosts!)
We started off in Seattle, but I was pretty sick with Dutch's bug, so we didn't do much. Mostly we wandered around to different places where we could sit and soak up the lovely weather. We saw Rockstar Uncle, who was feeling flush with a recent royalty check and the kickoff of recording for their new album - Cook reached for the bill for our meal, and Uncle said "No, I got it!" and Cook said "But you're a starving artist!" and Uncle said "No, I'm a fucking rockstar!" which cracked me up - he always cracks me up, starving or star.
Dutch, inspired by the weather, insisted on stripping down and taking a dip in Lake Washington.
We went on to Port Townsend. We took the ferry, of course. Not much point in going anywhere in the Puget Sound unless you're taking a ferry, in my opinion.
There was a Baby! She and Dutch were interested in eachother, but Dutch was a little disappointed that the Baby doesn't really DO anything, and that she isn't allowed to tote the Baby around like a doll.
Our hosts took us to Dungeness Spit, which was also lovely. Everything was lovely! I love vacations! Dutch set up housekeeping in a pile of driftwood, which triggered my fond memories of exploring heaps of driftwood at South Beach on San Juan Island when I was a kid.
We reluctantly pried ourselves away from Port Townsend, carrying a vast bucket of blackberries, and I cajoled Cook into going all the way out to Neah Bay, in the Makah reservation, where we went to a museum and then walked out a really nice trail to Cape Flattery. My only regret is that we didn't eat any Ozette potatoes.
We splurged on a fancy cabin suite and spent the night by the Quillayute River. I didn't want to leave. Actually, that was kind of the theme throughout - it was fun to explore the Olympic Peninsula and get a sense of the whole area, but I look forward to going back and spending more time in each place. Someday.
The second-to-last day of the vacation was Tree Day - we went to the Hoh Rain Forest. Dutch was in turbo mode, and Cook and I wandered along the Hall of Mosses trail while Dutch sprinted around pretending to be Pippi Longstocking, wearing an outfit that clearly dated from 1963.
Look! A banana slug!
We motored on to the Quinault Rain Forest, which was kind of too much rainforest for one day. Dutch was sleepy and cranky, and I was annoyed at having to pay the evil Forest Service a $5 parking fee. However, my mood was improved by reading the fantastic purple prose in the informational signs. You probably can't see it in this picture, but there's a reference to "the saturated fibers of life and death" that gave me furtive giggling pleasure for the whole afternoon.
We also stopped to check out the world's largest spruce tree, at the recommendation of our downstairs neighbor. There appears to be some debate about this title, but we were suitably impressed. Though I felt kind of bad for this tree, which is located on a resort, at the edge of a golf course, all of which seemed far beneath its dignity. You can see Dutch way down at the bottom of the picture, for scale.
We stopped for dinner at a over-priced, under-vegetabled restaurant in Aberdeen - they were very friendly, and fed us lots of fried food. This is a picture of Cook teaching Dutch how to play tic-tac-toe. I did not record the freakout that ensued when Dutch discovered that getting two in a row does not in fact ensure victory, but peace was restored by the arrival of fish and chips. Dutch seems to feel that tartar sauce is the condiment of the gods. She might be right.
We spent the night by Grayland Beach, in a yurt. It was beautiful. Of course.
On the way home, we stopped in Skamokawa, bought sandwiches, and ate them on a beach on the Columbia River. While we were there, a big ship passed by - we waved to them, and they waved back! In fact, several people came out on deck and excitedly waved and blew a whistle at us - we think they may have been very eager to get to port and see some human beings other than themselves. This was very exciting for Dutch.
Then we came home (hooray!).
We started off in Seattle, but I was pretty sick with Dutch's bug, so we didn't do much. Mostly we wandered around to different places where we could sit and soak up the lovely weather. We saw Rockstar Uncle, who was feeling flush with a recent royalty check and the kickoff of recording for their new album - Cook reached for the bill for our meal, and Uncle said "No, I got it!" and Cook said "But you're a starving artist!" and Uncle said "No, I'm a fucking rockstar!" which cracked me up - he always cracks me up, starving or star.
Dutch, inspired by the weather, insisted on stripping down and taking a dip in Lake Washington.
We went on to Port Townsend. We took the ferry, of course. Not much point in going anywhere in the Puget Sound unless you're taking a ferry, in my opinion.
There was a Baby! She and Dutch were interested in eachother, but Dutch was a little disappointed that the Baby doesn't really DO anything, and that she isn't allowed to tote the Baby around like a doll.
Our hosts took us to Dungeness Spit, which was also lovely. Everything was lovely! I love vacations! Dutch set up housekeeping in a pile of driftwood, which triggered my fond memories of exploring heaps of driftwood at South Beach on San Juan Island when I was a kid.
We reluctantly pried ourselves away from Port Townsend, carrying a vast bucket of blackberries, and I cajoled Cook into going all the way out to Neah Bay, in the Makah reservation, where we went to a museum and then walked out a really nice trail to Cape Flattery. My only regret is that we didn't eat any Ozette potatoes.
We splurged on a fancy cabin suite and spent the night by the Quillayute River. I didn't want to leave. Actually, that was kind of the theme throughout - it was fun to explore the Olympic Peninsula and get a sense of the whole area, but I look forward to going back and spending more time in each place. Someday.
The second-to-last day of the vacation was Tree Day - we went to the Hoh Rain Forest. Dutch was in turbo mode, and Cook and I wandered along the Hall of Mosses trail while Dutch sprinted around pretending to be Pippi Longstocking, wearing an outfit that clearly dated from 1963.
Look! A banana slug!
We motored on to the Quinault Rain Forest, which was kind of too much rainforest for one day. Dutch was sleepy and cranky, and I was annoyed at having to pay the evil Forest Service a $5 parking fee. However, my mood was improved by reading the fantastic purple prose in the informational signs. You probably can't see it in this picture, but there's a reference to "the saturated fibers of life and death" that gave me furtive giggling pleasure for the whole afternoon.
We also stopped to check out the world's largest spruce tree, at the recommendation of our downstairs neighbor. There appears to be some debate about this title, but we were suitably impressed. Though I felt kind of bad for this tree, which is located on a resort, at the edge of a golf course, all of which seemed far beneath its dignity. You can see Dutch way down at the bottom of the picture, for scale.
We stopped for dinner at a over-priced, under-vegetabled restaurant in Aberdeen - they were very friendly, and fed us lots of fried food. This is a picture of Cook teaching Dutch how to play tic-tac-toe. I did not record the freakout that ensued when Dutch discovered that getting two in a row does not in fact ensure victory, but peace was restored by the arrival of fish and chips. Dutch seems to feel that tartar sauce is the condiment of the gods. She might be right.
We spent the night by Grayland Beach, in a yurt. It was beautiful. Of course.
On the way home, we stopped in Skamokawa, bought sandwiches, and ate them on a beach on the Columbia River. While we were there, a big ship passed by - we waved to them, and they waved back! In fact, several people came out on deck and excitedly waved and blew a whistle at us - we think they may have been very eager to get to port and see some human beings other than themselves. This was very exciting for Dutch.
Then we came home (hooray!).
Comments
2. Your vacation looks sublime.
3. I love the giggle-inducing state park sign descriptions too! I wonder who gets to write them...