Last week I hopped on a plane for a 4 day adventure in Washington with Tash!
I flew in on Wednesday night and we had ourselves a yummy Cheesecake Factory dinner, then headed back to her house to plan out our adventure!
Thursday morning, we slept in and then embarked on our journey to the Olymic Peninsula and Olympic National Park to hunt down waterfalls and lighthouses.
Here we are, again, on the Kingston-Edmonds Ferry-
Port Townsend was our first stop. Last time we were here, we ate at a yummy bbq place. So, we wanted to try it again. But now, its a delicious bakery and deli. I had an amazing fried chicken sandwich...mmmm...
Then it was off to find the Marrowstone Point Lighthouse. We drove through neat old military barricks and down a hill to this-
No Light on the Lighthouse! So, we wanted to walk around the point to see the house closer, but then we saw the naked people-
Yep! There was a nude couple taking a nice walk on the point. So, we turned around and enjoyed the beach instead...
And it was beautiful!
We hopped back in the car and drove back through Port Townsend...
to the Point Wilson Lighthouse!
And we really wanted to check out the Dungeness Lighthouse in Port Angeles, but this was as close as we could get (unless we wanted to hike the strand 5 1/2 miles one way)-
Enough Lighthouses for one day! I wanted to see Waterfalls! So off we went into the Olympic National Forest and our first stop-
Isn't it pretty? And I loved that we could walk down and play in it too!
How beautiful is this place?
Lake Crescent-
On the trail to Maymere Falls-
It was such a pretty hike-
We made it!
And I loved the log bridge...
When we made it to Forks, it was dark and late and we were HUNGRY! We found a bar that served food and had a surprisingly delicious (late) dinner. We stayed the night in the cutest little cabin in the woods (right of the main street in Forks)- The Mill Creek Inn!
This little place was awesome and cheap! I can't wait to come back and stay longer.
After a yummy breakfast at the local coffee shop, we set off to find more lighthouses and waterfalls! Clallam Bay was our first stop to find the SlipKnot Point Lighthouse. Only, the lighthouse is no longer there and the house is the Sheriff's Office...
And meet the Sheriff (Haha!)-
We were determined to see if the lighthouse had been moved out to the point. So we took our chances and decided to cross the tide pools and rocks to see if we could find it.
Ummm, we slipped on rocks, got tangled in seaweed, I fell and the tide came up.
We decided that we tried hard enough and needed to get back before all the rocks disappeared into the water...
We worked together to get over the giant boulders and through the driftwood back to safety...
We made it! We were so hot and sweaty and tired from our adventure. We decided to play it safe for the rest of the day.
We drove along the top edge of the country as we headed for Cape Flattery...
It was such a beautiful drive and I can see Canada!!
Cape Flattery
I have dreamed about coming here for years! It is the most NW point in the lower 48 states. It is absolutely beautiful with rocks and caves and even has a lighthouse!
I'm on top of the world!!! ( or on the tip of the USA!)
Dream come true!
Next on the list was the Third Beach waterfall, so down the trail we went...
We came out to the most beautiful beach...
took our shoes off and let our toes play in the sand...
But no stinkin waterfall!!!
We were a little bummed that the Third Beach Waterfall was a no show. So we decided to try and find another one at Lake Quinnalt. And look at the sunset we found on the way-
We made it to Lake Quinnalt, but it was dark. That didn't stop us from looking for the waterfall. We found it and it was pitch black. This is the pic I tried to take of it...
We still had an hour drive ahead of us and we were so tired and hungry. We never had lunch!
We made it to Ocean Shores around 10 and found a yummy place to have a late dinner, before spending the night in a lighthouse (BW) hotel.
Saturday was our last day of adventure (sniff, sniff...)
We slept in, got a free breakfast in at the hotel and then headed back to the "mainland". We took a nice little hike to Twin Falls-
We were too chicken to hike all the way up. But we got some nice pics at the lookout.
Then we hit the grandaddy of all waterfalls (in this area), Snoqualmie Falls!
- There was no hike. This is just in town, just a walk accross a bridge! Amazing!
I wasn't ready to go home yet though. So we looked up one more hike. Wallace Falls.
Here are the "Smaller Falls"-
We hiked a mile or so to the "Lower Falls"
And then we finally called it a day. We grabbed some yummy mexican food and then went home to Tash's.
I got to go to church with Tash and the fam on Sunday. I met people who knew or were related to people I know! And then we ran into Jessica Livingston. We used to be in the Escondido 1st Ward together and I was her Visiting Teacher. I also used to babysit her husband, Ren. She just moved into Tash's ward! We sat and talked the entire Relief Society lesson. I love her! It made church so fun. It's such a small mormon world!
We went home and had a quick bite to eat before she took me to the airport.
WOW! It was such an amazing trip and we loved all the time we got to spend together, seeing beautiful nature and laughing and talking the whole time!
I am so lucky to have such a wonderful friend. 22 years of friendship, many miles apart, but it is seriously like not time or distance has passed. We just pick up from where we left off.
I had such a wonderful trip, but was so glad to come home to my family. I felt refreshed and ready for the school year to start, work to resume and life to get crazy.
Or so I thought...
Can't wait to run away with my friend again soon!
