Rounding out Washington and into Oregon

After we left Leavenworth, we headed two hours over to Issaquah to stay at the Issaquah Village RV Park. The main reason we stayed here is for its proximity to Seattle. We were able to get up on Tuesday morning and have a short drive over to the factory tour at Filson.

That's a long time!

Street view

 After 2 nights by Seattle we headed another 2 hours south to Suntides Golf Course in Yakima, WA. We didn't do much here, just relaxed and went to a few thrift shops. There are so many amazing and fun things that I would love to purchase!

Hi there handsome feller!

 And after many, many rainy days - we finally saw the sun.

YEEESSSSSS

 On Friday, we crossed over into Oregon to hang out just down the road from Hood River at Memaloose State Park in Mosier. We stayed 5 nights, and let me tell you - this is one of my favorite areas. If it wasn't for the housing prices we would buy some property here. Big sigh - maybe someday.

While we were there we went on a fun little brewery tour at Full Sail Brewing. They are one of the first microbreweries in the country!

Smell all the things!

Don't eat me, I'm to cute!

Me and Porter popped over to The Dalles one day and went to Klindts Bookstore, an adorable little shop that's been around since 1870.

And through it all Emma watched over :)

My long suffering girl

More Washington

After cruising the Olympic Peninsula, we drove a quick 70 miles to Sequim, WA. We stayed a single night on October 6th at Rainbows End RV Park. It was just a stopover point so that we didn't have to drive to far, but it was well worth it. Sequim has a really quaint little downtown area filled with amazing little shops.

It was here that I discovered the joy that is the affogato at Hurricane Coffee. As a coffee lover, I don't know how this has been hidden from me for so long. But I'm seriously happy to have been introduced. Two shots of espresso over a scoop of ice cream - genius!

You are my life now

I didn't get any treats :(

From Sequim, we headed down the western side of Puget Sound another 80 miles. We spent a long weekend, Friday to Monday, at Gig Harbor RV Resort in ... Gig Harbor. This is another super cute little town. The little downtown area is right on the harbor and is full of great little shops too.

We mostly had a quiet weekend, it rained a lot and it was kind of nice to just relax. We did drive over to meet up with family at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma though. Not only did we get to meet our newest niece, but this museum is seriously worthwhile. The place is filled with amazing pieces of art there, and we got to watch a live demonstration. We really enjoyed it!

Family is the best

Can I take these home? Please?

After Gig Harbor, we had a long(er) drive, 161 miles over to Alpine View RV Park in Leavenworth, WA. This stay is the actual reason we even headed up to Washington. We had made reservations many, many months before - which is not at all usual for us. But we have been trying to go to the Leavenworth Oktoberfest for years, but lodging sells out in the spring. Plus, we met up with our Michigan traveling buddies Green Heart Adventures who we hadn't seen since the first of May.

Okotoberfest isn't the only thing in this area though, the town itself is adorable, and the surrounding area is gorgeous. We decided to do a short hike on Tuesday afternoon. The Icicle Gorge View Trail is a little 2 miler that should be easy with 6 kids in tow. What we actually ended up doing though? Was the Icicle Gorge LOOP - which ended up being a FIVE mile hike. Oops. The kids survived and it was gorgeous.

See? Gorgeous

Most of the week it rained. And rained. And rained. So, we didn't do a whole lot. I did have a chance to walk into town from the RV park and snapped a pic off the bridge.

Not to shabby

Friday night, the festivities began. We hopped the free shuttle and went down to partay! Okay, so we just went to listen to some music, have a few beers and check it out. What can I say, we're not in our 20s anymore :)

Prost!

Goofy kids

Saturday is the big day for Oktoberfest - a big parade and the keg tapping ceremony. But it was still raining so much that the parade was cancelled. They had one sad little wagon go the parade route. Here it is in all its glory:

Woohoo!

On the Road Again

After an entire summer back at home in Bend, we hit the road again on Thursday, September 29th. We headed up to Portland, about a 3.5 hour drive, to Columbia River RV. We only stayed 2 nights, but it gave me a chance to get my hair fixed up and for us to go to OMSI, which is always fun!

Run for your lives!

Cheering for his stuck ship

From Portland we headed over into Washington to a tiny little resort in Silverlake by the same name. We found Bigfoot while we there.

He's bigger than I'd pictured

Our goal in staying here was to go up and see Mount St Helen's, but fall weather in Washington wasn't very cooperative. We saw a few glimpses of her before going into the visitor center, but by the time we came out the fog had really rolled in!

Mount St Helen's is back there. I swear.

We decided to drive around the Olympic Peninsula since we had time, first driving over to the Quinault rainforest. We stayed at the Rainforest Resort, where the rain is plentiful, but the internet is not.

Our beautiful Beaver

The world's largest Spruce, and Porter

We did stay right next to the world's largest spruce though, which was fun. And really the entire area is just beautiful. We only stayed a single night in Quinault. On Monday, the 3rd of October we headed up to Forks, Washington. We stayed there 2 nights and went to the Hoh Rainforest (one of my favorite places on earth), and over to see the ocean at Rialto Beach

With my love

Mushrooms that look like Cala Lillies

They can't help but climb on things

Or into things

All my best guys

Hudson contemplating

Enough with the pictures

Emma trying to slay the waves

A Week Outside St. Pete

After Miama we need to get over to the West coast of Florida, but it's quite a long drive. We split it up by spending New Years Eve night in Naples, FL. It was 124 miles to Club Naples and I honestly wish we had just driven straight through. I did not like this place. At all. It was hands down the worst experience at an RV park we've ever had.

Thankfully it was a single night and we could move on! On the 1st we hit the road again over to Bradenton, FL. We drove another 123 miles up to Winter Quarters Manatee. It's not a bad little park, especially after Naples, but we weren't there for the location - my amazing friend Nicole was flying down to meet me!

Squee!!!

She flew in the evening of the 2nd so we didn't really do anything that day. On the 3rd we went to a very ... interesting flea market. But really, most flea markets are a little odd, and the Red Barn Flea Market was no exception!

On the 4th we drove over to Sarasota and went to Siesta Beach. When you think of white sandy beaches? You are basically envisioning this place. It's amazingly beautiful. After the beach we wandered some of the cute little shops, and had a delicious lunch at Village Cafe

He just loves pictures ;)

Photo bomb by Huddy

On the 5th we grabbed a Groupon deal and went to Can You Escape. If you've never heard of these, basically your group is locked in a room. You are given a certain time span in which to solve puzzles scattered throughout the room. If you solve them all, you escape!

It was seriously fun, and I'm proud to say - we did it!

YES! We can escape!

On the 6th we went to Mixon Fruit Farms. They give you a tour of the grounds and tell you about their history. It was interesting, but the highlight was the stop at Wildlife, Inc. They care for and rehabilitate a bunch of animals. We learned about them and got to pet, feed, and even hold a few of them.

I'm too cool to smile for pictures

How cute is he?!

Porter LOVED the animals

All good things must end, and on the 7th I had to send Nicole back to her family. What an amazing visit we had though!

Sad Pandas