End of Summer 2009 - Seattle (Day 9)

We took a trip over to the Olympic Peninsula today and hiked all around Hurricane Ridge. We got off to a late start and caught the 2:05pm ferry across to Bainbridge Island. Brandon was excited to ride what he called "a water taxi" and he had fun exploring all around the deck checking out the various views. The view from the ferry to downtown Seattle was amazing.

The drive from the ferry dock at Bainbridge to the Olympic Mountains and up to Hurricane Ridge was an hour or more, but the scenery was beautiful. It is quite an elevation gain too, to get to the top of the mountain from sea level, and the terrain up there is majestic. The weather was supposed to be clear, at least from what Will had researched, but as we were driving toward our destination, Will kept saying "See that cloud covered mountain over there? That's where we're going". It's been the running joke since I got here that I brought winter with me, because the entire time we've been here, the weather has been rainy/cloudy and chilly most days. And, it seems as though there is a cloud following me around because where ever we go, the sky is blue in the distance, but when we get there, it's cloudy. It was funny, Will joked that they'd just leave me at the bottom of the mountain so that it would be sure to be clear when they got to the top. And the funniest moment of all, was when we reached the summit to a point where there is always this amazing view of the mountains all the way down to the ocean... but as we rounded the corner, it was a thick blanket of fog... as we were directly in the middle of the looming cloud we'd been seeing from below. Will said "Here it is!!! The amazing view we've been telling you about!" and we all laughed because at that moment... there was no view, you couldn't see 50 feet in front of you. Luckily though, as we reached the viewpoint, the cloud discipated and we ended up with some pretty great views all around.

OMG - it is GORGEOUS up here. We hiked the trail all around the area and up to Sunrise Peak. Brandon had a blast because he loves hiking, and Preston kept making hilarious faces as he was riding on Will's shoulders. Jenni and I were busy taking pictures of all the beautiful scenery. I had a blast up here with my camera, and it turns out that Will is quite the fountain of knowledge on all the different aspects of cameras, so I was super lucky and got a photography lesson right there on the mountain. Makes me even more excited to take a class to learn everything there is to know about photography so I can get more serious with my hobby :)

It was chilly up on the mountain though... we all dressed up in our warm coats to hike around, but as the hike got more intense, I ended up shedding my thick layers to cool down. We saw many deer, and baby deer, oh, they're so cute!!! The deer here are not afraid of humans either, they just continue along their merry way, completely unphased by the people standing nearby. I love that! Reminds me of the times with my mom at Lake Merwin with the deer who would come and eat apples from your hands in the campground.

Back down the mountain we ate dinner at a cafe in Port Angeles, which wasn't great, but the company was wonderful which made up for the average food. Jenni had wanted to show me some more sights around the peninsula, but by the time we were down the mountain and had eaten dinner, it was dark and we couldn't see. Instead, we made our way back to the ferry dock. Along the way we drove over what appeared to be a rat or some kind of rodent crossing the road. Sorry little furry creature!!! By the time we made it to the ferry dock, the ferry had just departed, so we had to wait for the next one. An hour on the dock in the car, we all got very sleepy. We all slept on the ferry as we crossed back to Seattle, and as we finally pulled into the driveway at 1:30am, we barely said two words to each other as we all just came inside and went to bed. A long day, but it was loads of fun!!!

Poor Preston has had some tummy issues the last couple of days too, and he woke up at 5:00am this morning crying. I managed to sleep on and off over the next couple of hours, but poor Jenni & Will had parent duty and weren't as fortunate. They'll be taking naps today, for sure!!!

Brandon and I are heading over to Joe's to complete my recording session today. Stay tuned...