Wow! We've been on the road for 13 days! It doesn't seem that long at times, then I think it seems longer. This has been such a fun trip so far and I'm so glad we did it. The kids are doing so well and have complained very little. And you know what? I don't think I've heard "Are we there yet?" once. Thank goodness for DVD players.
Well, July 29th we headed up to the Redwoods. We had such a nice drive up 101. It took a little longer than I thought, but by early afternoon we were driving through a huge tree! The kids thought that was so cool. Thanks to the kindness of a guy in the group ahead of us, I actually managed to do it without scraping my car. After that, we stopped at a few side of the road places to see neat wonders in the redwoods. Our last real stop was the Avenue of the Giants visitor center where the kids got to do some exploring and see the various sites they have there. We ended the evening in Crescent City, CA, spending the night near the ocean. The kids actually needed their warm pjs that night.
At the last minute, I changed the route to Corvallis, OR, by going up the coast. I've never driven along the southern coast before and, considering the heat wave inland, decided the cool weather would be nice. We didn't see much because of fog, but we still had a good drive. The foliage and mountains and ocean all together are just lovely. Finally, I had to cut across the mountains to get to my brother, Cory's, house. There, the kids and I had a nice visit with Cory and Meg and their latest addition, Linus. He's one of the biggest 5 month old puppies I've seen in awhile.
The next morning we were driving up to my dad's house in Seattle. We stopped at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center along the way. I was living in Yakima when it blew and wanted to show the girls what happened. We couldn't see the mountain due to haze, but the kids all enjoyed the walk through the nature trail around the marshes. Hayden walked most of it himself as well. That evening we were in Seattle with my dad and Aunt Holly and Uncle Steve.
The next 2 days, Saturday and Sunday, were spent in party mode. Dad and Hayden share the same birthday. Dad's 60th party was Saturday with his friends. It was so much fun. Great food, music and people. The kids also got to ride horses. Hayden's 3rd birthday party was Sunday with more aunts and uncles and cousins. All of us enjoyed just visiting and playing. The kids especially had a good time getting to see each other again.
Today, was just a nice quiet, relaxing day. The birthday boys just took it easy and had fun. We took a nice walk by the lake and again enjoyed each others company. I love Seattle so much when we have weather like this. It really makes my want to move here. Yes, Jason, we will be talking more about that!
I'll post pictures tomorrow. We are going to have another relaxing day with the Stribling cousins. Then we are off to Yakima, WA. The last leg is coming up!
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