Good-bye Washington

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Day 50
We left the Seattle area behind on Sunday the 25th after having an excellent adventure with Mark.
This visit was great timing for us since Mark will be leaving this area himself on Nov. 6, for his new job in Philadelphia. He got a call offering him a terrific job while we were driving along the shores of Crescent Lake. This has to be one of the most scenic areas on the Olympic peninsula - it is a huge lake surrounded by mountains. As he was ending his call a perfect rainbow appeared that spanned from one mountain peak to another - no kidding - it was like a good omen. We had to pull over and celebrate!

The Olympic peninsula is a temperate rain forest- it gets 11 feet of rain a year and 30 inches of dew. This makes it possible for enormous trees to grow in the area especially cedar. While in this area we stayed in LaPush one night and two nights in Forks. We had no idea that these where the cities that the Twilight movies are set. Actually we had no idea that there were Twilight movies or books! Every other shop is selling Twilight stuff or offering Twilight themed rooms
.
The guys went salmon fishing from Forks. The fishing was great, but the catching wasn't. Only one salmon caught, but they had a great float trip with otters and rapids and jumping salmon. The next day I cooked sturgeon and salmon so we could compare, both were excellent, but we agreed that sturgeon was the better of the two.

On our last day in Washington we went to Seattle with Mark as a tour guide. What a beautifully clean and pedestrian friendly city. We stopped at Pike's Place and watched as the clerks flung fish to each other and tried to figure out what some of the stuff was that was being sold. Next we saw Seattle from Puget Sound while on a harbor tour. Then on to the Aquarium were we spent a lot of time in the hands on tidal lagoon section , or as Mark likes to say the tidal petting zoo. We had dinner at the Athenian Seafood restaurant on the second level so we could look out over the harbor while we talked about all our adventures and the start of a new adventure for Mark in Philly.

We're heading down the coast of Oregon now on highway 101, between bouts of rain we have seen areas where the mountains meet the ocean - so far too wet to take pictures.

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Photos

largest cedar tree
This thing was enormous!

cedar stump
In the temperate rain forest - Olympic peninsula

shoreline
Cool formation along the shoreline in LaPush

tasty!!
It's all about fishing, not catching!

Mt. Rainier
This picture was taken by one of Mark's friends. We saw this from the x-way for miles and miles. Notice the snowcapped peaks below the thin cloud layer. You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge.

Comments

[Krys]

Love the map!
Very very cool trip so far! I love reading your blogs! Awesome news for Mark - where's the pic of that rainbow?! Cool pics of trees! Greeting card? THAT is hilarious! Keep on trucking! Love ya~ Krys

[Lynn]

Nice Pictures
Nice pictures...your trip should get a littler sunnier and warmer as you head south. Bonnie and I drove 101 and it is a wonderful trip, scene after scene from the Movies...this is where they shoot a lot of film. Enjoy!

[Rich]

Love the updates
Ron and Tammy, This is just so way cooool. Your updates are fun to read. Right now I'm having a strong vicarious experience through the two of you. Hoping upon hope that at this time next year we will be doing similar kinds of things. God I'm glad you guys are doing this! Take care Rich

[anonymous]

Did you see Edward Cullen? The vampire main character...in Twilight series? No? Oh well...travel safe.

[mamabear]

Ed who?
We must have seen lots of posters of him. I'm just learning about the characters from Kris, who is a big fan. The city it self is rather a drab little place.

[Mimi Katakowski]

Fish Market
Hi Tammy and Ron. We miss you. Looks like you are having a great time. Is that the same fish market where the workers throw the fish and sing and dance and have fun?

[mamabear]

yup
That's the market Mimi - what a crazy place!

[anonymous]

My first comments. I want the first copy of this book. What a journey. Ron on a Christmas card? I'm not sure a real man would allow this. Great news for your son Ron. I'm subbing right now at Scranton. YAHOO! Timothy Dobry

[Car]

Great Trip
I have been copying these for Mom and she is really enjoying them. I sent the pictures of all of you to Walgreens and took them to MoM. Boy you are seeing such wonderful sights. Keeping them coming.