2008 Great Adventure

Saturday morning, well, at noon, Ryan and I jumped in the car and started driving. Our destination was unknown, our bags were packed and our map was ready. Here is where we went:



We started driving south and decided to go to Mt. Rainier. "Paradise" (the road) was closed so we didn't get to go very far, but we did get to play in the snow :o)



We had lunch at a funny little place in the woods and then decided to head west.

We pointed ourselves towards the ocean and drove through the farmlands of southwestern Washington that a coworker of mine grew up in. We saw all the farms that had been damaged by the flooding and hurricane winds. We drove on windy roads and had an idea we were somewhere near water, but since it was dark, we looked forward to the surprise of what the land actually looked like when we drove back in the sunshine the next day.

So we landed in Long Beach and looked for a place to stay. But every hotel was booked solid. A receptionist handed us a phone book with a look that said, "fat chance, but good luck." Instead, we went to the iPhone :o) We called around and found one place thats only room available was their one-bedroom+ luxury suite. With cold and tired thoughts of sleeping in the truck, we took it! It was the size of our apartment, on the beach, and had its own fireplace. We enjoyed that quite a bit. Thank heavens for the AAA discount!

So the next morning we got up and packed our bags and headed into town for some breakfast. Let's just say that was an adventure in itself and leave it at that! It's funny how much better restaurant service and quality is in the city, and how sometimes, the further out you go, the less teeth people have (just kidding, well, sort of). After breakfast we drove down to the beach, and then drove ON the beach, which was way cool. Then we headed north.

We decided to go all the way up and visit Sharon and Sean in Hansville! We drove back through the windy roads alongside the water in brilliant sunshine, marvelling in thankfulness of what a wonderful car Grace is. And horray for cruise control! What a fun drive that was.

So 5 hours later, we landed in Hansville with chicken and dish soap that Sharon needed from the grocery store. Sean was still on a hike along Hood Canal so we stopped in for just a couple minutes then headed on our way. 2 hours later, in the ferry line, we (and I mean I) grumped about still being in the ferry line, but we made it fun with an in-car photo shoot:





Then we jumped on the ferry, were off at Edmonds and headed on home.

We grabbed some Thai food, rented a movie and went over to Angelo and Sarah's place to watch it. We saw "No Reservations" and it was quite lovely. Consider it recommended.

So all in all, some 500+ miles later, we had a wonderful un-planned adventure. We must plan to un-plan another one soon.