My Aunt Stacy and her family (Rick, Ben, and Hannah) drove out from Fargo to pay us and the pacific northwest a visit. They did all the Seattle sites on Wednesday and then we joined them for some sightseeing Thursday. We all went in the Suburban to the Ballard Locks, Theo Chocolate, Paseo’s for lunch, the Fremont Troll, and Gas Works Park. They rounded out their afternoon with the Meadowdale hike.
Friday we all left for our camping trip on the Olympic Peninsula. As usual, it was not without its maintenance drama. We ended up putting tires on not only the trailer, but also the Suburban at the recommendation of the tire people since ours were not rated correctly for the load we were pulling. On the way to Tacoma we had some scary trailer wagging that made us stop at the next store and question these new tires. They informed us that we had been given a not so good recommendation on tires and made us an appointment to stop at the shop in Bremerton to have them swapped out. So we stopped, unhooked the trailer, got the tires changed, had lunch, hooked up the trailer, and went on our way. But while hooking back up the trailer we realized our emergency brake cable was frayed and actually broke. So slight detour again to an RV store. Except google took us down the wrong road which ended in a ballpark where couldnt’ turn around and we had to back down about a half mile before we could. Back on the road we found the store, bought the cable, installed it, and went on our way again. We arrived about 4 hours late to the campsite and missed out on Hurricane Ridge with the Conrads that day.
On Saturday the Conrads headed to Victoria on the ferry and we did Hurricane Ridge. It was gorgeous, great weather and views. Sadly Judah was not wanting to sit in the stroller or walk, only be held, so our hiking was limited. We headed home and Judah had a good nap while we relaxed. After nap we did the Merrymere waterfall hike, this time with Judah in the pack, which was much better, and good since the last bit is a bunch of stair climbing. Then it was back to camp to meet up with the family for dinner.
Sunday we broke camp and headed to the west side, by way of the Sol Duc Hot Springs. That was a fun time of playing in the pools and soaking up the sun. Judah enjoyed the warm kiddie pool. Then on to Kalaloch, right on the beach. It was cold at the beach with very little sun and onshore breezes, we all got out our pants and jackets. It was a nice campsite though, all in the squiggly trees, and distant from neighbors. We got out the bikes and did loops around the campground. Judah loved riding in the Wee Ride with Stacy (we forgot the trailer, darn).
On Monday we all drove up to the Hoh Rain Forest to hike. Judah again in the pack, which he enjoyed. Back home for nap and beachtime. Judah really enjoyed the beach, as did Ally. She loved flinging her the big rocks around and digging holes. The Conrads were her new bestest friends, doting on her and taking her for walks.
We had to depart for home on Tuesday, which was much too soon, we would have liked a few more days to explore and relax. We got home around 3:30 cleaned up the trailer, put away stuff, washed and vacuumed vehicles, grocery shopped, cooked dinner, did laundry, made banana bread, packed up Conrads, and then enjoyed a few episodes of Arrested Development. Conrads departed early Wednesday morning and were sad to see them go.
Side note: We did a lot of driving during this trip and to help Judah we listened to a lot of They Might Be Giants Here Come the ABC's and 123's. As a result we often had these kid songs stuck in our brain. As I was writing this, naming each day and what we did, I was reminded of one that became quite "popular", the Never Go to Work song. So, for Hannah, our trip theme song:
On Monday, I never go to work.
On Tuesday, I stay at home.
On Wednesday, I never feel inclined,
Work is the last thing on my mind.
On Thursday, it's a HOLIDAY!
And Fridays I detest.
Oh its much too late on a Saturday.
And Sundays a day of rest.
Here's some more great pics!
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