A little photo journal of our trip out west <3
We have had it on the calendar for a looonnnggg time, but this past weekend we made our way out to Washington State to celebrate the birthday of this gem.
She’s the last one standing for me and Russ and we weren’t going to miss having a part in this celebration. Rachel and Zach were spread far and thin with end of season tournaments. But we were happy to have three of our own tribe able to join us.
As always, we were hosted with grace and love and generosity and chicken…lots of chicken…from these two that feel more like siblings than cousins to me.
We arrived at various times on Friday and headed over to their beautiful home, deck and grounds that are absolutely the most lovely place.
It’s basically like a botanical garden with cool seating and we loved being with them.
On Saturday, we gathered at a local park. Aunt Ella Mae had a hefty contingent of her relatives there from all over the country. It was good to be with my cousins.
On Sunday we took a jaunt over to the Pacific coast. Having three musicians in tow, we stopped in Aberdeen to see the original home of Kurt Cobain. We also visited the place where he lived for a while and the inspiration for the song “Under the Bridge”.
The youngsters among us filled us in on more information than we had previously known about him and his music. It was interesting and sad.
Although the weather was sunny and warm our whole trip, we entered the overcast zone that has penetrated the near coast every time we have ever gone when visiting Washington. I never mind. I think it adds a certain mood to that area and has a foggy beauty of its own.
Which makes for cool pics like this…
and this…
After a delicious lunch here..
We headed to the Olympic National Park to see some of the rain forest areas.
The views were incredible and as you can see, we returned to the sun and blue skies…
We hiked one of the shorter trails through the rain forest, which we learned qualifies for being such by the amount of rain fall they receive each year and the variety of moisture dependent vegetation and a continuous canopy.
check..check…check…
After our hike we took in the museum and gift shop and got a rare photo of these three handsome fellas…
Then it was back for more food and family on the patio. My cousin Kenny surprised me with a birthday serenade and a cake made up of chunks of Aunt Ella Mae’s two cakes…it was hilarious.
The next morning was an early start and our flight home.
We got to see Mt. Ranier clearly our whole visit plus flying in and out. Also…we could actually see four mountains as we were exiting the state. A lovely birthday gift to me, for sure. But I will leave you with the star of the show…
It was a wonderful trip and so good to be with family.
Best. Day. Ever.