Wanderlust

We made a quick trip to Spokane to visit family and participate in the Spokane Race for the Cure. Luckily, we flew on Alaska Air, which has complimentary beverages hence our apparent enjoyment of the flight.

Our team was the best team, of course. Obvious by these pictures, I'm sure anyone would agree. Thanks for Rick for taking us and picking us up downtown so we only had to walk what the race actually designated. Oh, and have to mention our official 'sleep-in' member, Sean. Of course he was a member of the team, the smart one that was still dreaming while we were rubbing our eyes. Logan was our leader, and probably could've done it twice in the time it took us to do it once.

Naptime! That race and the lunch after it was draining...

I'm still not sure which sister is actually taller, despite the back to back measurements... I leave it to the judge bear to decide...

What a lovely family I have!

Driving along the coast, very windy, rainy, combined with ups and downs – I inevitably got sick. However, we made a good decision the morning we left – not to ride the bike up. So we got lucky on that front – at least stayed dry and warm. Stopped often along the way, so it took longer that the 101, but we expected that and had the luxury of time on our side.

Sea lions and squirrels

Elephant sea lions sprawled out along the sand and barked while they tried to squirm out of their skin, which didn’t have the most pleasant smell, as you might be able to tell by my expression. What they lacked in odor, they made up in cuteness. How a wild (and incredibly large) animal can be cute, I don’t know - but they have it nailed. There were very aggressive squirrels at this stop as well, to the alarm of Curtis. At least this time, he didn’t get attacked by a random squirrel, of which he is very good at, especially in Vancouver, BC.

This is supposed to be the largest bridge of some suspension capacity; we just played in the rain instead of basking in its glory.

Amazing views along the coastline

Stopped in Santa Cruz to ride some rides at the boardwalk area – beautiful beaches, fun rides, and food – great place! No wonder Karen loves it, and thanks again for the real-time directions to the Crows Nest!

We stayed near Japan Town in downtown San Francisco, close to the Cherry Blossom Festival location. We got together with family for lunch at Sapporo Ya – John and Gerry came all the way into town to meet with us – thanks guys!!!
The festival has tons of vendors, food booths, and entertainment. *And* the only place I’ve been to with Sapporo on draft to wander around with in your hand on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Seems as though our family and friends have all been drinking the same water... lots of babies! Some are here, some are coming... and a loving welcome to them all.

The newest additions are two of my cousin's beautiful babies! (that's a capital B-U-tiful)

Here is Miss Hailee

and Mr Jack

We started our trip with the Day of Remembrance in Boise where Mom happened to be the keynote speaker at the Governor's office at the Capital!

and met with Mom's friends for dinner while in Boise

On our drive the first day, we made it to Vancouver, WA the first night and tried Burgerville, which was close to our room. Unfortunately, it definitely didn't live up to it's "Best Burger of the Pacific Northwest" motto.

Day Two we finished the drive up the Olympic Peninsula to Port Townsend where we stayed at the Tides Inn. Beautiful views, great location!

The Fort Worden Kite Festival

Our first Kite Festival Class was Painting a Hapi Coat with Barb - we were probably the least 'creative' - we just followed the print, no frills.

Mini Arch Class with Charlie - itty bitty kites that you could 'fly' in your closet or by blowing hard!

Eating lunch at Ichikawa with Chrissy - just one of the great times we spent with her!

Who knew there was octopus in the soba? We didn't...until they were almost gone.... Good place to eat after taking in a cozy flick at the Rose Theater. If you know what the meal contains, at least.

Rokakku Class with Dan - ours are still naked and need to have a creative splash of color and design added.

His are bit larger than ours....

Of course we did some shopping....Very cool bookstore in Port Townsend called Phoenix Rising

After the Kite Festival, we took the Whidbey Island Ferry and drove over Deception Pass up to Bellingham, which was beautiful along windy roads.

The Bellingham coastline

The beauty of the Bellingham areas are (I believe) along Chuckanut Drive where we did some hiking, and Whatcom Park where we did a few yards of sprinting (thanks Mom!) - which is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places I've ever seen, honestly.

We got to meet up with Bishops for dinner in Lynnwood after exploring the Daiso store, and ended up staying in Everett with them (thanks guys!) and were greeted by snow the next morning!

But we perservered and made it to Uwajimayas on the way to SeaTac before Mom's flight = power shopping!