Road trip - Day 6
Whidbey Island, WA
When we were camping in Kings Canyon earlier in the summer I bought us a National Parks passport and this year's stamp set. The stamp for the Pacific Northwest region was of this great lighthouse in Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to go there.
Ebey's Landing is right near here on Whidbey Island so we took a day trip there on Wednesday. There are two ways to get to the island. We opted for the land route, which is the bridge at Deception Pass at the north tip of the island.
We parked just on the other side of the bridge and enjoyed the view of the water. I wish I could photograph smell. It smelled like Christmas trees. 
Our next stop was the beach at Ebey's Landing. 
A local guide at the Deception Pass bridge told us there were beautiful agate stones at the beach so the girls spent some time looking for some. 
Mae was content to sit and just enjoy whatever rocks were nearby.
After the beach it was time for lunch. We stopped in a quaint little town called Coupeville.
The town has a beautiful view of Penn Cove and Mt. Baker in the distance.
We headed to Fort Casey State Park in search of the lighthouse. I was also hoping to find out where the passport stamp location was for Ebey's Landing since we had not yet found a ranger station or visitor center. I had no idea what Fort Casey was. The girls thought it was great. Autumn declared it to be part of the kids world wonders for great play structures.
They still have two of the 10-inch 1895 guns at the fort. They were pretty amazing to see.
We also found the Admiralty Head Lighthouse I saw in my passport book.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Road trip - Day 5
Lake Whatcom
Finally we had a day of no driving! It was great to have a car-free day. I think the girls were happy to sleep in late and have play time all day. Tom's parent's house is on Lake Whatcom. 
We took a walk down to the shore and let the girls play. The water was a lot warmer than we expected. Since the ocean near us is so cold, the girls were fine with the water temperature.
Mae played on the grass near the water.
I made the mistake of putting my camera down near Tom for a bit so I could play with Mae and ended up getting my picture taken.
After that we gave my camera a well earned break for the rest of the day.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Road trip - Day 4
Eugene, OR to Bellingham, WA
Day 4 was our longest day in the car. Leaving Eugene, our next big stop was Portland to visit Tom's sister. She had classes in the morning so we decided to follow a worn roadside sign to a "historical museum" in Brownsville, OR. The museum was closed but we did get a picture of the cute bridge over the Calapooia River.
In Portland we went to Washington Park. It was a great break from the car and the kids had a great time rolling down the grassy slopes.
After Washington Park we took a little sight seeing tour of the Alphabet District of downtown Portland.
The telephone poles on 23rd Street have been so covered by flyers, they bulge out several inches in width and they are totally white with sun-bleached paper. 
After our drive through town it was time for Tom's sister to head back to class and for us to head north. I got a picture of Mt. Hood while sitting in traffic on the 405 bridge. 
After dinner just south of Tacoma the two little ones fell asleep so we did not stop again. Seattle was looking beautiful as we passed through and I wish I could have taken a picture or two of the lit city and full moon.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Road trip - Day 3
Ashland, OR to Eugene, OR
From the endpoints, it looks like we did not go very far on our third day on the road. We spent the day at Crater Lake National Park. Our morning had a false start when, an hour away from Ashland up highway 62, I realized I had left my camera battery charger charging a battery in our hotel room. I told Tom we *had* to go back because there is no way I could do the rest of the trip without that! So, two hours delayed, we arrived in Crater Lake at lunchtime. We could not have asked for more beautiful weather and the lake looked absolutely stunning.
The water really is that blue. There are a couple of reasons but the biggest factors are the lake's depth, nearly 2,000 ft (making it the deepest lake in the country) and the that no rivers empty in to the lake so the water is amazingly clean and free of sediment and such.
I have not been to Crater Lake in nearly 20 years. I have memories of being amazed by the views as a teenager. Sadly, the impressiveness of the place was lost on the girls. 
Crater Lake NP is also known for wildflowers. It was not the right time of year to see them all in bloom but we did find a few flowers.
We took a hike to Watchman Peak, which is used during fire season to watch for forest fires. Tom and I were huffing and puffing and commenting that we sealevel adjusted people can't breathe very well at 8,000 ft. Laura made it all the way up without being carried. I was amazed. The views from the top were incredible.
We took highway 232 to 138 and then back to I-5. We decided to stop for the night in Eugene.
Road trip - Day 2
Sacramento to Ashland, OR
Our first full day on the road was Saturday. We got out of Sacramento a bit late but we're on vacation so there is no real schedule to keep. The drive up I-5 between Sacramento and Redding is much more interesting than the drive between Kettlemen City and Sacramento. The landscape is covered with farms and fields. I could have spent all day just taking pictures of rural decay. Stopping constantly is hard on the kids so I had to stick to taking pictures of what you can see from the rest areas.
We stopped for lunch (Japanese, yum) in Redding. When we were in Sacramento, Stan told us about the Sundial Bridge in Redding. I never would have looked for such an amazing piece of modern architecture in Redding. I know, never assume. It spans the Sacramento River at Turtle Bay (which is another really interesting place I wish we'd had time to explore).
2:45pm
It was really hot outside for us coastal folks. It was about 100 degrees according to our car, probably much hotter in the sun. Once we got across, we enjoyed the shade of the span and cooled our feet in the river.
Just north of Redding is Shasta Lake and Dam. We stopped at the dam visitor's center to let kids have a cool place to play for a bit before we drove on.
The next stop was Ashland, OR. On the way, we paused at a view point to take a quick picture of Mount Shasta.
I am sad I did not take any pictures of Ashland. Tom is always giving me a hard time about living life through the filter of a lens so I left the camera in the hotel while we went out for the evening. I thought Ashland was great. If I could wrap my head around the colder winters, I think I could live there.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Road Trip - Day 1
Los Osos to Sacramento
We left on Friday for our two week road trip to Washington. Even though it was only a half-day on the road, it was the hardest since there is really nothing to see on the drive and no place interesting (or cool, it was in the upper 90s the whole way) to stop. From LO (well Morro Bay actually), we take hwy 46 & 41 to I-5 and then just drive north.
On the side of 46, 41, and I-5 are these little yellow flowers. I have always wanted to get a picture of them and I finally got my chance.
The most interesting thing (and I have to say it is pretty amazing) to see on the drive is the California Aquaduct. Laura kept asking what river it was.
When we got to Sacramento, we spent the evening with Tom's aunt and uncle. They had a tasty dinner waiting for us. It will be our last home-cooked meal for days. We had a great evening. 
And last, but it really deserved its own blog entry... Mae turned one the day we left. I still cannot believe the "baby" is one.
