Cheapness In Seattle (A 2019 PNW Trip Report - 2020 update added on 6/25

Captain_Oblivious

DIS Dad #257, Galactic Salad Dodger
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Cheapness In Seattle

Greetings and salutations. This is a Captain_Oblivious Trip Report. If you’ve read one of these before, then you know the drill. If you’re new to these, you may want to save yourself the pain and agony and just hit your browser’s BACK button now. If you insist on wading into this mess, here’s what you can expect:

I will tell you about a vacation my family recently took—in this case, it was two weeks spent in the Pacific Northwest in the summer of 2019. We are a family of six, and we usually attempt to cover a lot of ground in order to see as many points of interest as possible, so I will spend a great deal of time describing the logistics of schlepping all of these people across the country as well as the many measures we take in order to cut costs and keep from having to take out a second mortgage just to be able to travel (hence the title of this TR).

I will attempt to frame these logistics in such a way that I appear to be a near-genius-level vacation planner, worthy of universal praise and admiration.

I will fail.

You will all make fun of me as we stumble from one destination to the next.

My family will read each chapter and yell at me for forgetting details in each chapter.

I will attempt to reverse-engineer those details into the story somehow in a desperate attempt to save the trip report.

You will all lose interest and start having side conversations in the comments that will be more interesting than the TR itself.

I will attempt to drum up interest by ripping off movie quotes and even fabricating stories about exploding helicopters in the narrative.

It will fail, and eventually most of you will move on to other, more interesting trip reports.

I will finish the report with three readers left, all of whom are mostly hanging around to make fun of me.

And you know what? That’s ok. Having fun is the whole point. We’re in a community here on the boards, and in a community, you hang out, you tell stories, and you give each other crap. It’s what we do. Along the way, I'll describe the places we visited and will try and leave links to their websites, in case you get inspired and want to plan a trip of your own someday. Or if you want to know the kinds of places that actually let people like us in.

Here are the people you’ll be making fun of:

IMG_2157.JPG

Left to right, that’s me (Mark, age 44), David (15), Sarah (17), Scott (13), Julie (23 +/-), and Drew (5).

We live in the great state of Delaware, the very first (and best) state in the entire United States of America. We’re #1! We’re #1!

Ahem. A few facts you may or may not know about my home state:

State Capital: Dover (pop. 38,000)

Largest City: Wilmington (pop. 70,851)

State Bird: The Fightin’ Blue Hen Chicken. (no, I’m not making that up)

State Flower: The Peach Blossom

State Bug: The Ladybug (not making that one up, either)

Major Economic Contributiors: DuPont Chemicals, Poultry Farms, Tax Shelter for Large Corporations.

Famous Delawareans: Uh…Joe Biden? Are we talking natives, or just people who spent time here?

Actual Google Search item found when doing research for this TR: Is Delaware real?

State Motto: The First State. Or, The Diamond State. Or, Home of Tax-Free Shopping.

Unofficial State Motto: Delaware. So Close To Where You’d Rather Be.

My family has been on a quest to visit all 50 states in the U.S. before Sarah goes off to college (note: she just started her senior year of high school this fall). By visiting Washington and Oregon this past summer, we’d be up to 49 with only Alaska left on the list. Some states have been visited more thoroughly than others, of course. Our rule is that our feet must touch the ground in the state for the visit to count (which rules out airport layovers). But we didn’t say how long. So, for example, we spent 3 weeks visiting Hawaii back in 2013. We also spent roughly 7 minutes in Oklahoma, and I’m still apologizing to Oklahomans for our visit.

Our trip to the Pacific Northwest began on July 24, 2019. We flew from Baltimore, MD to Seattle and would end up spending 13 days on the road, exploring the Northwest corner of the U.S. We even invaded Canada for a bit. But that’s a story for another chapter.

That should be all of the information you need to join in. So, please join in! It’s much more fun when there’s a conversation going. Plus, Julie thinks it’s weird when I talk to myself.

Coming Up Next: An immediate explanation for the title of this Trip Report.
 
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I'm here and WOW, looks like I'm first!

And who says miracles don't still happen?
 
Love the title! I will have to come back to read but at least I made the first page!
 
Here are the people you’ll be making fun of:

GrAkzn4bA-uiJQ0FshiYPIKhjHjWqUy7LHnGdam9GfJraBBaM68TiHGR61wmkp7QeTLqgdOkpM1BLbP65YYwZ_bIYhcMjV6uTE-7I4CdVxMXHpOBmbrTV47dZTVY4-D4uPq6qyVvhaUGWeXP46FRjiWAIofRh69WMqOWDPSZUqIcxhTLYV91vhqXTGiJpctRhby-LKNzMBFdiwg3tz_b-2QMhYbc9wQg2Ml2yEbRzV24rRG_J89JdlvBzuksOTJNUA9gVxfsJP9zwE5bYJhkWRrIDec8G8wySKCYUaAdWRR1IoLwBt9wNB8zVcPVv3Ozr7ZMhaBuPINqjqyZTzIjFyjcSAmbnfeMrBLG2H2O0IKBdLcTgYw4HbOaUsO1bwEzDZs52SBVb_tp8_--Qq5Jckz3hMF5x2LLLjOtObbjHYImQR4dj7zAaqk5t3H9UTmxiUPgVVv21EGG3a6oHZTVJdRvFopia6I1AeNiOaU_e2d-t_cezrKCEG_XNN_t4PedJi8wsZ7xIkxQQnmdO7ff7G5NDN4jmhyfGM20AglBdsAUs6xRoK44s7VG0agGrPI_EIh2qS19rwyXwnkrcDJb3B-MZ1djfiiXjj9VCHLFt6wMVWRYRG-92jp0B1tQfk8hPDJE4ueqFSw6ns8R8ucg9UIG2I9ZsaxqUjbNP0f5ozPEB_qaL-05MVAz=w1222-h916-no


Left to right, that’s me (Mark, age 44), David (15), Sarah (17), Scott (13), Julie (23 +/-), and Drew (5).

... or not...

Hi Mark, you were gone?
 
I will attempt to frame these logistics in such a way that I appear to be a near-genius-level vacation planner, worthy of universal praise and admiration.
We know better.

I will fail.
This we know too.

You will all make fun of me as we stumble from one destination to the next.
Well, duh. Of course we will. It's the real reason we're here.

My family will read each chapter and yell at me for forgetting details in each chapter.
As well they should.

I will attempt to reverse-engineer those details into the story somehow in a desperate attempt to save the trip report.
I try to reverse engineer computer code too. Epic fail, so we have something in common.

You will all lose interest and start having side conversations in the comments that will be more interesting than the TR itself.
Huh? Did you say something? Hey @pkondz, @Steppesister , what was your favorite part of MNSSHP?

I will attempt to drum up interest by ripping off movie quotes and even fabricating stories about exploding helicopters in the narrative.
I will admit...enjoy me some of the movie quotes and what's not to like about exploding helicopters. Kinda like bacon, makes everything better.....ummm...well maybe not for the passengers or the pilot.

It will fail, and eventually most of you will move on to other, more interesting trip reports.
You know? Dang, I thought we hid it well.

I will finish the report with three readers left, all of whom are mostly hanging around to make fun of me.
That's the best part of hanging around. I know you're captain oblivious, but that statement was captain obvious.
 


I"m here, I'm here.... well, sorta.

Have some plans for the evening, and may not really "get here" until this weekend. But I am subbed in now. :)
 
Signing up! And while I appear to be one of those who lose interest, that’s not true! I just might not be best at replying!
 
I'm here and WOW, looks like I'm first!

And who says miracles don't still happen?

Do you believe in miracles? YES!

And :welcome:

Love the title! I will have to come back to read but at least I made the first page!

:welcome: Don't worry, there's not much here yet. You already know who we are.

... or not...

:welcome: Randall! So it appears there's some sort of issue with embedded photos from Google Photos and Apple devices. I'm not sure how to fix it. I uploaded the photo in the intro above in a different way and that seems to have shown up better.

Hi Mark, you were gone?

...says the guy spending every other week in WDW.

I got your bat signal and I am here.

:welcome: and thanks for following me over! Can you see the photo in the intro now?
 
We know better.

This we know too.

I'm just describing what happens for the uninitiated.

Well, duh. Of course we will. It's the real reason we're here.

Aha! I knew it!

As well they should.

But they are never around to help with the actual writing. No, sir. Just a bunch of Monday-morning quarterbacks.

I try to reverse engineer computer code too. Epic fail, so we have something in common.

At least our failures are spectacular.

Huh? Did you say something? Hey @pkondz, @Steppesister , what was your favorite part of MNSSHP?

I don't know, I wasn't listening either.

I will admit...enjoy me some of the movie quotes and what's not to like about exploding helicopters. Kinda like bacon, makes everything better.....ummm...well maybe not for the passengers or the pilot.

I always thought pyrotechnics made everything better, too.

You know? Dang, I thought we hid it well.

The silence at the end speaks volumes.

That's the best part of hanging around. I know you're captain oblivious, but that statement was captain obvious.

Shots fired.

I"m here, I'm here.... well, sorta.

Have some plans for the evening, and may not really "get here" until this weekend. But I am subbed in now. :)

:welcome: Liesa! Good to have you here.

I know where that is!!!!!!!!

:rolleyes1
 
Signing up! And while I appear to be one of those who lose interest, that’s not true! I just might not be best at replying!

:welcome: Magdalene! Always glad to hear from you. But admit it, you're at least a little bored, right? :rotfl2:

Inspiring title. Always great to be here for another oblivious trip report.

:welcome: Jeff! I'll try to live down to your standards.

I tried to use my back button but it wouldn't work.

:welcome: Darcy! That's one of my cheap computer tricks to force people to stick around.

I'm here but need to go back and read the intro.

:welcome: Lisa! You don't need to read it--you already know who we are.

I identify with this statement. (Set of statements?)

:welcome: Irene! Thanks for trying to make me fee a little less insecure!

Can't wait to read about your vacation!!! popcorn::

:welcome: and thanks for joining in!
 

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