Wonderful Washington State

[perdidobay]

I won't bore ya'll with a long trip report but I just gotta say that we had a great time on Vacation. The people in Washington State are so freindly.....Seattle is a lovely city, they were having a cool spell while we were there, but after 90's at home it felt good
We stayed for 2 days at a Holiday Inn Express just a few blocks from Seattle Center so we got around great via the monorail and walking. Did the usual tourist stuff, Museum of Flight, the Space Needle, Experience Music Project, the Pike Place Market (I could have spent all day there) and took a harbour cruise around Elliott Bay.We drove the Northern Cascade loop ( low clouds so very little view) and spent the night at Wenatchee, then spent the next day driving around the south loop, visiting Leavenworth and driving over Stevens Pass where we saw a black bear on the side of the road feasting on a road kill deer. Stopped at Snowqualmie Falls then drove back east via I-90, stopping to drive thru Roslyn since DH is a Northern Exposure fan. We spent the night in Yakima then the next day drove to MT Rainier NP and stayed at Paradise Inn lodge- snow still on the ground around the lodge in July!( 6000 ft elevation) we hiked a few trails and enjoyed the wonderful fireplace in the lobby that evening.
We saw more orchards and fruit stands in Washington than I ever thought possible. We ate the best fresh cherries I've ever had (and drank cherry/apple cider, yum). The next day we stopped off at Mt ST Helens and toured both sides of the mountain, I've seen lots of shows on TLC and the travel channel about the eruptions, but seeing it in person is sobering. Drove on that evening to Olympia and spent the whole next day driving around Olympia NP where we drove to Hoh rain forest ( really neat) and drove along the Pacific coast and back to Olympia. We really loved the whole state and while we couldn't decide what part we liked best, we already know we will be back.
When we returned the rental car to Sea-tac airport 7 days later, we had added just over 2,000 miles to the odometer

 

[DixieDreamer]

I'm a little biased... but I have to agree.

I love my state. We are doing a day trip to Paradise at Mt. Rainier next weekend.

I am so glad we were good hosts and that you enjoyed your time with us.

 

[perdidobay]

Thanks DixieDreamer...
Have fun next weekend! I really have to admit I liked the eastern half alot, I like the drier climate and "western feel" the eastern side has! I could happily live in Leavenworth (but I would never yodel )
I can't wait to go back, I still have to see the ponies on the hill you posted the photos of!

 

[binny]

The Ponies at Vantage? Love that!


I love Washington too were heading to Seattle for Labour Day and cant wait! I miss living over there


ps EAST is Spokane Leavenworth is nice though too ( I lived in "Spokoloo" for 8 years lol)

 

[perdidobay]

LOL Binny!
Yes I guess Spokane is east
Have fun on your trip Labor Day!

 

[binny]

I will thanks!

Im glad you enjoyed your trip my mom was just visiting Leavenworth a few weeks ago she saw "the Sound of Music" up in the hills there. Said it was absolutely stunning!!!

Were making our anual pilgrimage to Ikea Im very happy about that. a new house to decorate and nary an Ikea to be found what is a person to do????


Dont you just love Pikes Place? One of my all time favourite places in the world! WHen I was 15 and living in SPokane we used to drive to Seattle for lunch ( of course MY kids wont be able to that ) and wander through all of the littel stores way back in the old buildings across the street. SO many things to look at and do in Seattle!

 

[perdidobay]

Wow, you drove to Seattle for lunch? How long a drive was it? And yes I love Pike Place So much to see! And as DD said, so much to smell
I'll never forget those beautiful flowers...........

 

[nativetxn]

I have never visited Washington state, but all of the photographs I've ever seen are so beautiful. I plan to visit there someday

Glad you enjoyed your trip

 

[binny]

it was 5 hours lol we left early in the morning and came back the road trip was the fun part... what can I say we had a great family my dad did that all the time!
He would wake up and say "hmmmmmm Farrells sounds good for lunch" lol so off we would go. Then when we all got our liscenses we kept up the tradition!

 

[Mary Ellen]

Glad you had a great vacation in my home state!

We drove the Northern Cascade loop ( low clouds so very little view) and spent the night at Wenatchee, then spent the next day driving around the south loop, visiting Leavenworth and driving over Stevens Pass

If you (or anyone else) do this part again, it is really better to go in the opposite direction - the views are MUCH better if you do the northern leg from east to west, rather than west to east as you did.

When we first moved to Colorado, I was VERY disappointed in the Rockies. Several years later we did the North Cascades Loop on vacation, I kept telling DH "THIS is what Colorado SHOULD look like!".

 

[perdidobay]

Now now Mary Ellen,
don't knock Colorado too much, I love it too
Yes, I'd heard that driving in the opposite direction around the loop offered much better views. When we go back we will drive it the other way around and hope it won't be cloudy so we can see those beautiful peaks
Sounds like you miss your home state I don't blame you!

Binny, That sounds so neat that your family did that and I'm glad you have kept that tradition. I think that's half the fun of a long trip too, the getting there! Spur of the moment trips are fun too, we've done a few

Nativetxn,
thanks, I hope you get to go to WA some day, it's wonderful!

 

[disykat]

I have to laugh - I thought the same thing about Colorado. It reminded me of Leavenworth. Yeah Washington!

 

[Mary Ellen]

I love living in Colorado - better weather than Washington. The mountains are pretty, I just prefer the 'craggy-ness' of the N. Cascades (and the Olympics too).

Part of what makes the Washington Mtns. so impressive is that they basically start at sea-level. Here in Colorado they start at abt. 7,000 feet. When my Aunt was here for a visit, I pointed out some nearby mountains. She said 'Mary Ellen, you know better than that, those are hills.' I responded 'Ok, but those hills are 12,000 ft.'

To someone who hasn't seen much in the way of mountains, Colorado IS impressive. When DH's uncle from Florida visited, he went through 7 rolls of film between Denver (flat, on the plains) and the Eisenhower tunnel at the Continental Divide, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours later.

I do prefer Vail to Leavenworth, but we don't have anything to compare to Paradise Inn. You can drive to the top of 14,110 ft. Pikes Peak (just outside of Colorado Springs ) in the summer as ther really isn't any snow on it then, but I like Mt. Rainier better.

Both are beautiful mountain states, but pretty different.