Pics from the cross country road trip

Two weekends before we left Washington, we took the ferry over to Victoria, BC. This is the closest "big city" to Port Angeles and it was nice to walk around downtown and shop. I love the architecture here...when the ferry pulls into the harbor, it feels like you are entering another world. We went to Butchart Gardens, which was beautiful, and visited a bug museum at Danielle's request. If you think the giant locusts in FL are bad, you should see some of the bugs in Africa....super creepy. I held a giant millipede and got sick off of bubble tea, which I guess was a good thing since my obsession was getting a little out of hand.

View of Port Angeles from the ferry

Victoria's Parliament Building

Empress Hotel

Buchart Gardens

Fraternizing with the Locals

These are random pictures from the last few weeks. Aside from Mt. Rainier, I've been doing things closer to home lately...trying to enjoy what this area has to offer before we leave in less than 3 weeks (sad face): berry picking, hiking, lavender festivals, and wineries.

4th of July...view of Port Angeles from the dock...awaiting fireworks.

Donkey swimming with his most favorite Cindy.

Lavender Farm

I fell in love with lavender at the Sequim Lavender Festival.

Hurricane Ridge...these are the mountains that I look up at through my kitchen window.

Move Over Yosemite

This past weekend, we went to Mt. Rainier National Park. Having not done my homework on the park, I didn't realize that there was so much to see and we had to squeeze what could have been a week long trip into a day and a half. Although we saw the main attractions and did a little hiking, I would like to go back one day to do more hiking. To summit Mt. Rainier there is an 8 mile trail with a 9000 foot elevation gain...way out of my league. I think I may stick to trying to complete the 93 mile Wonderland Trail that encircles the mountain. Traveling across this country for the past year has allowed me to see so many beautiful places, but Mt. Rainier definitely takes the cake. These pictures can't quite capture her size and grandeur, but they are all I have to offer.

Plans

My assignment here in Port Angeles is regretfully over at the end of August. I have been offered and extension but have decided to stick to the original plan of heading back to FL and staying through the holidays. Its too soon to interview with anyone but the plan is to get an assignment close enough to PSL to drive home for the weekends. I am not looking forward to the heat...I've spent my entire summer between 60 and 70 degrees...but I am looking forward to seeing the family and exploring the natural side of FL. There are so many places I've never seen.

We are going to take the northern route home, stopping at Mt. Rushmore, then head south through the Appalachians, stopping in Asheville for a few days to determine its potential for permanent residency. We have been traveling not only to see the country but also to find a place that we want to settle. We haven't come to an agreement on the perfect place...but we are both discovering what we want. Unfortunately our opinions seem to be going in different directions. I loved Flagstaff and Port Angeles, two smaller sized mountain towns with national parks nearby, tons of outdoor activities, and adorable little downtown areas. Danielle is into larger cities with more culture & diversity and really liked Tacoma. I'm hoping that Asheville is going to be a good combination of the two.

Olympic Peninsula

These are just a few of the pictures from some of our weekend adventures around the Peninsula.

Hoh Rain Forest

Hoh Rain Forest

Hoh Rain Forest-Hall of Mosses

Cape Flattery


I can't even believe how beautiful this cove was.


Lighthouse in Port Townsend

Whidbey Island



Deception Pass