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To be honest, our Seattle trip was much more fun than our New Orleans trip last summer. It was smooth sailing...no delays, no issues really (well, okay, other than the grubby motel we stayed at). We had a lot of fun seeing family and friends, as well as meeting new people.
Without further ado, let's get started!
Wednesday, August 12
Thankfully, our flights were on time and we only had an hour layover. We didn't fly out until 8PM (from Fargo) on Wednesday, so we didn't arrive in Seattle until midnight (2AM Central) and had to pick up our luggage and rental car then drive to Arlington. We arrived at our motel two hours later.
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| the city at night |
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| the handsome chauffeur |
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| our rental, a (compact car) Ford Fiesta |
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| our lovely motel room |
We stayed at a very cheap motel the first four nights. Like they say, you get what you pay for. For $75 a night, we got a moldy shower curtain, stained towels (but that was only after Dan went down to ask for them! and to clarify, we didn't ask for the stains, just the towels), and a somewhat unpleasant desk clerk. Of course, we did wake him up at 2AM to check in...
Still, I refrained from looking too closely at the sheets.
Thursday, August 13
Dan was the best man at his friend's wedding, and the rehearsal was on that Thursday afternoon. So, after breakfast, we had the entire morning and early afternoon to explore Arlington. We just hopped in the car and drove around before coming across a county park.
There was a neat sand sculpture at the park. Here's the front:
And the back:
Exploring a trail at the park...
We came upon a river, which was really low since they were in a drought this summer.
I was already in my dress clothes, so we weren't able to explore much. So we got back into the car and drove around some more, checking out the area. It was really neat!
The rehearsal was at 3PM so we found the wedding venue, which happened to be just down the road from where we were staying, and met up with everyone. Afterward, we had an amazing dinner at a nice little place in town. Sorry, no pictures...I forgot to take any :(
Friday, August 14
Friday morning, Dan went with the guys on some tours in the city while I waited in the motel room for the girls to pick me up. This was my only downtime during the entire trip, and I was bored out of my mind!
They got there at 2:00 and we went to lunch at a casino buffet, which was really delicious, before getting nails done and having some coffee.
I had a lot of fun getting to know Trista's friends (she's the bride, the middle person in both pics)...they are really nice ladies.
The guys spent two hours in traffic on the way back that night. Ugh! The only bad thing about Seattle is their traffic. Otherwise, it's great...beautiful scenery, plus no humidity or bugs!
Saturday, August 15
The wedding was Saturday afternoon at a place that was a farm-turned-wedding-venue. It was short and sweet, the weather was perfect, etc.
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| all dressed up |
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| hair stylin' |
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| adjusting the boutonniere |
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| the guys |
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| pacing |
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| reception hall |
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| just after the "first look" |
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| walking up the looong aisle |
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| vows |
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| the happy couple |
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| sweet centerpiece |
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| the cake was yummy! |
Sunday, August 16
We checked out of our cheap motel on Sunday morning and headed into the city for some sightseeing and shopping...
Our first stop was the Space Needle, where we picked up tickets to go up to the top later that afternoon.
We decided to walk around and go down to the waterfront....
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| neat bench at the sculpture garden |
Finally, it was time to head back to the Space Needle. We stood in line for quite a while before we were able to even get into the elevator, but we finally made it up.
We stopped at Pike Place Market too, but didn't take any pictures. I definitely wasn't expecting it to be so big! We stopped at a few shops, but a lot were already closing for the day...
Then we headed to Tacoma to check into our bed and breakfast, which was basically someone's rambler-style house turned B&B, and they still lived in the basement. I have to say it was the most awkward B&B experience I've ever had.
The people were really nice, but it felt weird having to walk down the hallway to use the bathroom that we shared with another room. We felt like we had to be super quiet all the time. There were a few other things that struck me as odd, but let's just move on...!
Anyway, this place was really cheap too, so what can you expect, really?
Monday, August 17
Monday, we drove a loop around the Olympic Peninsula, making a few pit stops along the way. Our first stop was Port Angeles.
Port Angeles
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| looking for critters |
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| the rocktopus |
Hoh Rainforest
We stopped to check out this giant tree that just fell last year; the second picture is the fallen portion of the tree.
We hiked two trails in the rainforest. Dan would have gone longer, but we still had quite a bit of driving ahead of us.
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| there were some really neat trees |
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| what a goofball! |
Ruby Beach
Our last "main" stop was at Ruby Beach, where it was extremely foggy, which made for a great photo op!! It was also really chilly, but that didn't stop the children from swimming.
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| Dan had to add a few logs to the shelter, of course |
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| still looking for critters |
We made a few other short stops along the way, including lunch in Forks and dinner at "Geppetto's" for pizza. This loop took us all day, and we returned to the B&B about about 10 PM, if I remember correctly.
Tuesday, August 18
We spent our last day in the Seattle area exploring Mount Rainier. Thankfully, we didn't have quite as long of a drive this time...we checked out a couple of the trails and then met up with a friend for dinner that evening.
There were tons of great photos from our trip to Mt. Rainier, so I'll try to only post a few of the best!
We stopped to check out a waterfall, and there happened to be a rainbow in it.
Don't be fooled...the trails are much steeper than they look. Our short hike was quite the workout!
Someone asked us to take a pic of them, so they offered to do the same in exchange. It's not often we get one of both of us on trips (other than the odd selfie :o). This is toward the end, when I was all sweaty and sunburned.
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| Reflection Lake |
Okay, sorry, I couldn't help posting all these. I just love them all <3 (and, yes, I actually did cut quite a few out!)
Wednesday - Friday
We flew out early Wednesday morning and drove to Park Rapids, getting there that afternoon. We had until Friday to hang out with our families, then we drove to Duluth for Maria & Steve's wedding.
We spent most of the time in Park Rapids, but I spent some of Thursday at Mom & Dad's. I had fun hanging out with Mom, Jeremy, and Sydney, then Trisha, Caitlin, and Vera after a little while.
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| Jeremy took his nap outside |
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| Jeremy & Sydney hugging :) |
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| Vera toddling along |
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| cousins hangin' out |
We helped a little with the wedding set up in the morning and afternoon...
The wedding was very casual and was held outdoors. Sadly, I didn't get many pics there. Sometimes, it's better to just enjoy yourself and not worry about capturing every moment.
Sunday morning, we headed out for our 8-ish hour drive back to Huron. This was with (Mila &) Sherlock, who was about 12 weeks old at the time. Yikes! But although he was a little anxious to get out of his cage at first, it went pretty well. He slept most of the way home.
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Well, I think this post is long enough for now. We haven't done much since, other than the weekend after getting back when Anthony & Alisha and Karissa & Tyler and Isabelle visited, but I'll try to remember to post pictures another time. Gotta shower and settle in for the night!
Wow! Fun post to read, and to see! You had great adventures (minus the not-so-great motel and B-n-B experiences!) and great pics!
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