Archive for the Washington Category
Posted on October 7, 2009 by angela
The next day it was rainy, and time once again for our new favorite rainy day activity. There is a hot spring on the tip of the Olympic peninsula. Sol Duc Hot Springs is more resorty and the complete opposite of Bagby Springs. This time Bode specifically requested that the next hot tub not be an old tree trunk. Man, it’s hard to please a 4 year old, but this request was easy to accommodate.
He also wants a robot that does whatever he asks him to…for example get us a soy hot chocolate or a speed racer toy. But that is another story.
The pools were nice. There were 4 in all, but one was too cold and one was too hot. We were impressed to see that the lifeguard on duty also had the responsibility of taking regular samples and running assays from each of the pools. Checking for sulfur (and ?) content, I suppose. It was a bit odd that he put on gloves and used tongs to take water samples from the pools we were soaking in.
As usual, we met some nice folks and as usual, one guy had a Westfalia in the 70′s and stories to tell. He also gave us some great suggestions on where to go on Vancouver Island. His daughter runs an all-girl surf school in Tofino. Canadian surf town, eh?
We cruised around the Olympic peninsula and it is truly beautiful. Lake Crescent is stunning. The rainforest here is supposedly one of the wettest places on Earth and we can verify that it’s wet. More photos than story today, as this was a pretty lazy day.
Posted on October 6, 2009 by angela
28 in a 20. Really. This has got to be the lamest speeding ticket EVER.
Maybe it was the blue plates. Strict enforcement is what he said. The rest of us call it a speed trap. $189. Somebody has to pay for those new police cruisers in Quilcene.
We joked about driving a VW bus across the U.S. We might break down, but at least we wouldn’t get a speeding ticket, we said. Once again, we were wrong.
Along the east coast of the Olympic peninsula, we found a perfectly good seaside town at Hoodsport. The forecast called for lightening storm, but so far the Seattle forecasts have been wrong every day. Wrong enough that Bode has asked why those guys can’t get it right. Anyway, we circled around the town, and found a cheap motel on the waterfront with great views.
Outside the locked office was a converted rotary phone. Lifting the receiver called the owners, who were not located on the property. Not to worry, the room is unlocked, and has the registration form in it. They’ll be down later to collect the money.
After the anxiousness of trying to put some miles behind us, this sleepy little town reminds me we’re on vacation. We can slow down a little, and considered staying 2 nights.
While Jason mostly drives, I’m the DJ, navigator, and chef. I’m now gazelle-like jumping over the firewood between the front seats, steering past the edge of the fridge and handing Bode a snack or toy. When we leave, this action is in reverse, starting at the sliding door, throwing the kid in the car seat, jumping over the stuff on the floor to unlock the driver’s door and let Jason in. His door doesn’t unlock from the outside (most of the time), but in the perfect yin and yang of Red Beard, my passenger door won’t lock from the inside, and I usually have trouble shutting it without 3 or so full force slams. More stuff on the to-do list.
There were 2 restaurants from which to choose dinner. We missed the turn for Mexican, so pub grub it was. We sat down and a woman came over and informed us she’d be our waitress, bartender and cook. She said that all the food was great, but then I noticed the kitchen was behind the bar. I heard both the electric can opener and microwave soon after we ordered. She was right, the food was delicious. But the best part? In a game of Name That Tune, Bode correctly identified Green Day’s “Do You Know the Enemy”. I’m one proud mama.
Bode and I headed to the pier the next morning when I saw a seal playing around near the beach. At low tide we saw giant red jellyfish (or jelly-like creatures) on the beach, huge starfish, sea anemones and crabs. Near the steps were huge piles of oyster and crab shells, where guests were encouraged to throw their shells after cooking. I think it was off season, as we seemed to be the only motel guests. The motel was fully equipped with diving gear, and I can see why this would be a great scuba spot. Not for me though. Before the trip I happily sold our cold water diving gear on Craigslist. I’ve decided that I will never dive in cold water again.
No storm ever came through and the the weather was clear. We decided to drive to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. It was thrilling for Jason and I, nearly a mile above sea level looking at glacier covered mountains. The van drove like a champ the whole way. Bode slept through it. That’s okay though, it would have spurred on another slew of volcano questions and I enjoyed the peace.
It’s definitely getting colder and Jason’s starting to reconsider his footwear options. We can literally see Canada and flip-flops only go so far.
Posted on October 5, 2009 by jason
From Rainier, we headed closer to the coast. We heard good things about Gig Harbor, so decided to take a stab at it. Sorry for more bad puns. Are there good puns?
It’s the typical small waterfront town. Marinas. Fishing boats. Whale art. Yacht clubs. Angela and I both took on the persona of Judge Smails for the afternoon, sans hat. Mmm? Mmmm? Mmmmm?
It was a decent stop for lunch and a trip to the playground, but it otherwise wasn’t really happening. We headed for Kopachuck State Park, which was only a few miles away, and made camp for the night. It was getting wet fast, so we spent the evening in the bus playing games and listening to the raindrops plink on the roof. Bode is starting to get pretty good at checkers – noticeably better each time we play. While his finger is lingering on his piece, considering whether or not to finish his move, you can actually see the gears turning in his head. I don’t know what age kids start using money to make things more interesting, but he’s fortunately not there yet.
Later that night, we did manage to find a few leaks in the bus – one right above Angela’s head while she was sleeping. Add waterproofing the rear luggage rack mounts to the list. Again, it got pretty cold outside but we stayed warm and mostly dry in the Westy.
It cleared up a a little bit in the morning, but we heard there was going to be a major storm passing through with lighting and the works. We took off around the southern tip and up the other side of the Hood Canal and Annas Bay to do some exploring on the Olympic Peninsula before things get really ugly.
An unexpected highlight of the day was stopping at a coffee shop on the way. They had a huge (like 3 ft x 3 ft) anatomy book in their book pile. 300 pages. Awesome illustrations. Bode and I browsed for almost an hour. He had a million questions and I actually had to start reading the thing to get the correct answers. I had a pretty good high school anatomy class (thanks, Ms. Blaire!) but that was an obviously long time ago.
Anyway, this completely random event was the highlight of my day. Without putting too much thought into it, I figure that this trip (and the bus particularly) is just one big Random Event Generator. Despite the traveling, many of the things that have happened so far could have happened right at home – but they just wouldn’t. Introduce a completely new environment with time to linger and your world and thought process changes quite a bit.
If you’re reading this you probably already appreciate the stimulus of traveling and being somewhere unfamiliar, even if it’s just a new coffee shop. The added bonus for me this time is sharing every day with my son and having the time to entertain his interests, pique his curiosity and teach him as much as I can. Even if I have to read up on the spleen.
Posted on October 2, 2009 by jason
Mt. Saint Helens and Mt. Rainier were on the to-do list, so those were next. This was also a chance to restore our confidence in the bus and new motor.
Saint Helens was a pretty impressive sight. You kinda have to imagine what the mountain used to look like to really appreciate the amount of power and destruction behind the landslide and subsequent eruption. I remember being glued to the TV watching the news footage as a kid. The movie at the visitor’s center helps recall some of those memories and answer any lingering questions. The ranger talk was intentionally goofy. Bode liked it, but it did not seem to hinder his unending questions about volcanoes. Volcanoes are pretty cool. We could have a future geologist on our hands, but he still claims fireman.
We had a blast at St. Helens (yuk, yuk) and Rainier was next. We almost turned around because of a major fire on White’s Pass. The smoke was thick and we weren’t really sure what we were driving into. We got a recommendation on where to go to watch the blaze, but decided that wasn’t really on the itinerary. Once we turned toward Rainier proper and climbed a bit in altitude, the smoke cleared up and we could focus on the 14,000 ft peak. Again, we skipped on any major billy goat climbing adventures and just took some pictures and enjoyed the scenery from Paradise,WA.
