Greetings from the pacific northwest! We made our way out of Canada and into the Olympic Penninsula. It was cloudy and rainy so we decided what better place to go than to the rainforest! We found a campsite close to the beach and walked down to see some seals and maybe dolphins playing in the water. I thought they were dolphins, James thought I was hallucinating. We then headed over to the Hoh Rainforest to do a little exploring. The temperate rainforest is a unique ecosystem that only occurs in a few places in the world. The Hoh rainforest was an amazing place with huge Douglas Fir, Spruce and Cedar trees, covered with moss and giant mushrooms. We really enjoyed hiking around, but headed straight for clam chowder to warm us up after being out in the cold rain all morning. Sorry to those of you in Arkansas who are still suffering under 80 degree temperatures. We found a great lodge right on the beach, Klaloch (i think) and filled our bellies. So far we have decided they have the best clam chowder, this is high praise trust me we are sampling several.
We headed back up to Port Angeles (where we had come across on the ferry) to do laundry and hope the fog had cleared enough so we could see the Olympic mountain range. We found a nice RV park right on the water and headed up to Hurricane Ridge. James' Uncle Tom had told us it was an amazing place to get a view of the Olympics, I am sure this is true 20 to 30 days a year. We had missed the sunny window so we rode up the mountian engulfed in fog taking Tom's word for the fact that there were mountains around us. We did see some pictures at the visitor center at the top so we knew that Tom wasn't crazy. Figuring we had put it off long enough we headed back to town to find a laundry mat. We found a clean enough looking place with, surprise surprise, an espresso shack nearby. For those of you who have never been to the northwest you do not understand how dependent they are on their caffeine. In Port Angeles, a town of about 20,000 people they have 3 Starbucks and 50 other espresso shacks. Jeff, you would be in heaven. We loaded up with the best white chocolate latte I have ever had and then I made some phone calls and James spent the time being harassed by the local paranoid schizophrenic. If you haven't been to a laundromat lately you are really missing out.
The next day we headed to Seattle to spend a few days with James' family. We stayed with his Uncle Tom & his wife Sissy and also spent some time with his Grandma and Aunt Yvonne. Tom & Sissy were very gracious hosts and had an awesome dinner waiting for us when we arrived Tuesday night. The next day was gorgeous and we took the ferry to San Juan Island and rode our bikes almost all around the island, about 30 miles. It was a great day and a beautiful place to ride bikes. We stopped several places along the way, Roche Harbor for lunch ( good clam chowder), and two state parks right on the beach, one with a lighthouse.
Kim instructed me to finish this blog. She is eating breakfast after running several miles on the beach. She was looking in the mirror last night and made the comment "I'm getting fat!" Me, being the practical sort, responded with "indeed." I am holding steady on my weight, but Kim is trying the 'when in Rome' philosophy and when Rome has a 300 lb. fat bastard in it, you are going to gain weight. Anyway, I am finishing this blog.
Either the ran is good for your complexion or they are huffing formaldahyde in Seattle. My grandma is 90 and looks 70. She is going to be upset that I said anything more than 30 if she reads this. My uncle looks like he could be my brother and my aunts both have smooth, pretty faces.
My uncle Tom took us to the Boeing factory after having lunch with my Grandma.
Boeing fun facts: 1. 86 acres under one roof. 2. kick out 19 twin aisle planes a month. 3. The new 787 Dreamliner is made of composite material instead of steel and gets 20% better fuel mileage.
We took a day with Yvonne to check out Seattle. We toured the underground, which shows just how screwed up Seattle's founding fathers were. We went to the aquarium, Pike St. Market and Iver's on the wharf for lunch. The next day we toured the University of Washington campus with Tom and Sissy and checked out the flagship REI store. We ended the day at a Greek festival where we ate several greek foods and felt like we were on the set of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.
We had a wonderful visit and headed out Sunday morning for a visit with Kim's cousin Drew, his wife Irene, and their two little girls. They toured us around Fort Lewis where Drew works as an Army Major in the chemical abatement area. They fed us snacks, wine and dinner, which was very nice of them and sent us on our way to Mt. St. Helens.
We will talk to you soon, thanks for reading and don't be afraid to critique my writing or how boring all of this #$%! is. I have to reel in my foul language, I have been informed that not just my brother is reading this blog!
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