We left the house as soon as I got home from work on Friday. We headed north on 101 and spent the first night in Port Angeles (where we had hotel reservations). Port Angeles holds a special place in my heart. I spent many a weekend up there as a kid, where my dad enjoyed salmon fishing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I have many great memories from that coastal town. It was fun to be up there again. And yes, mom, you'll be happy to hear that people are still making those little rock stacks on Ediz Hook and Swain's is still going strong, but unfortunately Aggie's Hotel is no longer.
Dale got up super early Saturday and rode his bicycle to the top of Hurricane Ridge. It's like 20 miles, all uphill. I told him to have a good time with that. While he was busy fantasizing that he was riding the Alps in the Tour de France, I took the kiddos out to breakfast.
We met up later on and drove up to where Dale had just ridden his bike. It is beautiful up there. If you have never been to Hurricane Ridge, it over looks the Olympic Mountains.
Bella quickly tires of having a camera pointed at her, and when this happens the pictures look like this:
The cool thing about Port Angeles is that you can be at the top of a mountain range, or on the beach looking across the water at Canada in a matter of a half hour.
We hit the road again...
We continued around on 101. Crescent Lake...Have you been there?? OMG so pretty. It's Washington's best kept secret. I call it Little Tahoe. It's blue and crystal clear and nestled right in the mountains. And wouldn't you know it? We didn't even stop so I could take some pictures, so I had to steal this from Google Images. I don't take credit for these beautiful images!
Soon we arrived in Forks. (*listen quietly* for squeals of teenage Twilight fans around the world)...Ok I am one of them...Oh! On a side note...I was talking to Erin on the phone a few days after our trip and she's all:
Erin: What'd ya do this weekend?
Me: We did a little road trip around the loop...Port Angeles, Forks, Lake Quinault...
Erin: *BLINK...BLINK BLINK*....You went to FORKS???!!
Yes, we drove through Forks and enjoyed all things Twilight. I have been through there before, but not since Bella and Edward existed. It was hopping! Tons of tourists, out of state plates, traffic even!
Here is a pic of the sign, which, sadly, is the only part of the real Forks that made the movie. I thought about having my picture taken by the sign, but then I decided to keep a little dignity. But as you can see...there is a little path up to the sign and then the put a little ramp up to it, too. Oh! And when I shot this, there were like 3 cars full of girls waiting to have their picture taken. Get this!! Two days after we were there, someone burned the sign down... :(
Bella took this shot while we were eating pizza.
We continued on...
Now let me share what our original plan was. The plan was to stay in PA Friday night, but we didn't make any reservations for Saturday night, because we wanted to be "spontaneous".
We started looking for a room around Lake Quinault. I had looked at the Lake Quinault Lodge online, but honestly the place scared me! It looked strait out of The Shining! But when I saw it in real life......Oh, it is so beautiful. I was sad I hadn't reserved a room ahead of time because yes, it was full. (I stole this picture too!)
We checked every hotel as we drove along...and for some reason, everywhere was full. Probably all those Twilight fans in the area.
No biggie. We knew if all else failed, we could stay in Ocean Shores. But wouldn't ya know it? When we got there...EVERY HOTEL WAS FULL. When I checked the casino, the gal told me I that all the hotels in town were full (which I already knew!) but that she knew for sure that I'd be able to find a room in Aberdeen.
*BLINK*
*BLINK BLINK*
Aberdeen? So that's what you get when you live in Shelton and take a road trip without proper reservations all in the name of spontaneity...your last option is Aberdeen. I mean, nothing against Kurt Cobain's hometown and all, but...
So we drove back home that night with a lesson learned the hard way. It's ok. Still fun!
Awesome Jess! I wonder if Swains still has the $5 tennis shoes? Might be worth the drive.Love ya! Mom
ReplyDeleteYour post made me smile 1) you guys got to enjoy my backyard! 2)going to Forks - if you are from here (Sequim/PA) it's funny that people find Forks a destination point, 3) trying to find a hotel - bummer about Lake Quinault because it's so fun and beautiful this time of year, and 4) you didn't WANT to stay in Aberdeen???? Duffy will be soooooooo sad. Doesn't everyone want to stay there?? I'm going next weekend actually (ok, but my in-laws live there, so that is my excuse!!) Glad you had fun!
ReplyDeleteOn your way up Hurricane Ridge...stop on E. 11th Street and have a cup of coffee yeah? It's been quite some time.
ReplyDeleteFun!
ReplyDeleteSomeone burnt the sign? NOOOOOOO! ;)
Ok... I am an avid reader of this blog... well "avid" meaing that I check in on you every month or so when I need a good laugh... and reading this post about Aberdeen made me a bit sad... I LIVED THERE.. remember that? It was the armpit of the USA, but there were a few good things like... well... I'm still thinking of what they are. But let's give Aberdeen some credit!
ReplyDeletePS Your family is too cute and it really does seem like you have way too much fun for people with kids... Congrats on Cambodia, perhaps, like Angelina Jolie, you can come back with a kid, and do wonderful birthday things like make ridiculous Cookie Monster cupcakes... entirely too much time on your hands!