Washington Trip Pics!!

I finally have time to sit down and upload some pictures for you! We had the best time in Washington and I only wish we had gone sooner and could have stayed longer. This has to be one of the prettiest states by far!

Our flights were uneventful and my dear mother took us to the airport bright and early last Friday morning. We arrived in Seattle just after noon (Pacific time) and got situated at the hotel after picking up our rental car (Dodge Avenger).

Our layover was in Pheonix, AZ and shortly after leaving from there we flew over the Grand Canyon! It looks just as amazing from 30,000 ft as it does from the ground.

We had some time to kill that evening so we opted to head into downtown Seattle for the Underground Tour.

After that we knew we had to eat the famous Red Mill Burgers! They were some delicious burgers!!

The next day we headed east to see Snoqualmie Falls. It was a beautiful waterfall in a neat little town!

After seeing the falls we headed south on a long drive to Mt. Rainier. The drive there was breathtaking in itself!

It is still the off-season there so the road was only cleared part of the way up the mountain. It was neat seeing the plowed snow on the side of the road gradually get taller and taller until it was over 10feet and you couldn't see past it!

The road ended at a visitor center that was partially buried and only the door was dug out. It was so foggy and snowy that everything blended into each other and we couldn't see much.

^Can you see the snow piled up above the window shutters?

Sunday we headed west for a few stops. The first stop was Aberdeen were Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was from. Nick loves that band so he had to make a mini "pilgrimage" to the memorial site.

A short distance from Aberdeen is a town called Grayland that is right on the Pacific coast. The beach there was AMAZING. We just stood there in awe of the vastness of it.

I have been to several beaches but this is the only one I have ever seen where there are no high-rise buildings in view, nothing on the beach, and the sand seems to go on forever. This view below is with the ocean on the right. See how the sand and water just fade into the foggy sky?

The beach was so flat that when the waves would crash, it would take the water several minutes to reach its peak then several more to finally return to the ocean. I would guess that it was at least a quarter mile from the grass until you reached the water. Breathtaking.

On our way along the coast we passed an abandoned farmhouse/barn on 71 acres for sale. We had to stop and check it out!

Monday morning we headed south initially to see Mt. St. Helen but ended up abandoning that when the clouds and rain did not subside the closer we got. The trip was not wasted though because Nick's aunt and uncle live close to there and we spent the rest of the day with them! They live out in a little country town with beautiful views along the way.

On Tuesday--our last day there--we had a few hours between hotel checkout time and flight time so we headed back into downtown Seattle for some sightseeing!

We parked the car and headed up the to the Columbia Center which is the tallest building in the Pacific Northwest. We were very lucky to have a clear day and had a great view of the skyline from the 73rd floor!

After that I grabbed some Starbucks (cause you know it got started here right??) while we walked to the famous Pikes Market! They are famous for their fish throwing, but it is actually a huge market with everything from magic shops and bakeries to fresh produce and gourmet pasta. We could have spent hours there!

I got some souvenirs for family, and we much on yummy pastries while we walked around. Unfortunately it was too soon until we had to return the car and fly back home...

After our fabulous experience there, Nick and I both feel that Washington could very well be a more appealing place to move than western NY! The cost of living is a bit higher but it would be worth it to have such beauty right at our feet. How neat to have the ocean, Canada, mountains and volcanoes all within a couple hour drive??? I have started doing my research on certain towns, and we look forward to what the future will bring!