Up in the Left-Hand Corner

Vacation #3 (but who's counting?) for the summer brought us way out to the upper left-hand corner of the country. Going to Seattle means getting to see our beloved girl-cousins...not that the gender matters so much, but it's a great chance for the boys to learn how the "other half" lives (Taylor Swift, makeovers, fashion design, etc....). Fortunately none of this is a barrier to having a great time together. Our trip started with a quick overnight in Seattle, and then we were off on the road to La Push.

First stop: Mike's four-star BBQ restaurant, complete with wall 'o' license plates. Guess who was happy with that?

Of course we had to make the stop at our favorite raspberry/lavender farm. This year the blueberries were in full force, the blackberries were on the downswing, and the raspberries were plentiful but super-ripe. The farmer warned us that if we picked them they wouldn't last for more than a day or two so we'd have to plan on eating them quickly. Well, yeah.

Yield: 9 pounds of raspberries, 8 pounds of blueberries, scattered blackberries.

When we finally reached La Push, the happiest person of all was probably Dave. Let's remember that he works basically 24/7 inside our house, so going anywhere is a big deal for him, but if he gets to immerse himself entirely in nature it's like unwrapping a totally new person. 

Second happiest was probably Luke. Of course he already love, love, loves being with his cousins. But stepping into the cabin, he just couldn't contain his delight. "I'm the happiest person in the world! This is the best place ever! This is the best DAY ever!" OK, so he's found his happy place. Can we make school more like this?

Having been here last year, the kids knew where to find some of their favorite spots.

Then, naturally, we had to make a fire every single night.

La Push also seems to bring out the snuggliness in everyone, especially Zach.

And Zach got some time to hang with his best buddy Eric:

After Julie and Eric and crew left for their camping trip, we were left to our own devices. Our first morning as a foursome we went for an exhilarating guided kayak trip. I wish you could see the beautiful close-up views of the bald eagles and the gentle curves of the Quillayute river, but we were advised against taking any electronic devices that shouldn't get wet. So without pictures, it's almost like it didn't happen. But I did get this wonderful insight from Luke, my co-paddler, when we got super-close to one bald eagle: "I just want to take this memory and seal it up so that I never, never forget it."

The next day we bundled up in all of our rain gear to head to the rain forest. Was it raining? Nope, not a drop. But the Hall of Mosses showed that it must have rained a heck of a lot at some point:

On our last day heading out of La Push (sob!) we meandered our way up to the hot springs and met Julie and Eric there. The kids had a great time in the 70-something-degree pool, but most of us spent the rest of our time between the 100-degree pool and the 104-degree pool.

For the grand finale, we headed back to Seattle and enjoyed our traditional visit to High Five Pie. Fortunately, when we got there (at a yawn-inducing 9 pm), our favorite giant round table was open, so we were able to have our pie...and eat it too.

Next installment: Portland.