In retrospect, there were several things about today's excursion that we should have done differently. First of all, we should have done a bit more research and planning so that we would not have been surprised by the lack of services (i.e. food) along our chosen route. Second, we should have ignored Google when it told us to leave the major thoroughfare. However, if we had planned and ignored, our day would have not been such a big adventure.
Our plan for today was to drive around the Olympic Peninsula and see the Hoh rain forest and the beach. We started off driving around the southern edge of the peninsula and planned to come back via the northern route. We had only been on the road about half an hour when Malia started to look gray and we needed to pull over to let the first round of carsickness pass. It took her a few minutes and some Sprite, but she recovered and we continued on our way. About an hour or so in, Google maps told us to get off the main highway. Not knowing the area, we followed directions and ended up on a number of small winding roads. And when I say winding, I really mean winding. After a while, Malia was looking a bit peaky again and Matthew said he wasn't feeling well. Grocery sacks were passed around but we had to keep going because there was no shoulder on any of these roads. We pulled into the very end of someone's driveway (still no shoulder, we felt lucky to find the driveway), piled the kids out and Matthew and Malia proceeded to make use of their grocery bags. I'm so glad I keep a number of empty bags in the car. After a few minutes of fresh air, we had to keep going. More winding roads and more time led us back to the main highway. I think Google sent us on our route because it was shorter in miles, but I also think it ended up being much longer in time. Our "scenic drive" and the accompanying car sickness added about an hour to our estimated travel time which meant it was time for lunch. However, there was no place to stop for food. There were houses dotted along the road, but that was about it.
Once we were back in the main road, we continued our search for food. Even though we were on the main highway, there were still no services. We fed Matthew and Malia since we had packed lunch for them (if we had known there would be no food, we would have packed lunch for all of us) and continued on, hoping to reach Forks before too long.
Nothing but trees. Matthew took this picture during the drive.
We did reach Forks...eventually. I was nearing 3:00 by the time we arrived and bought lunch. It was pouring rain through much of our drive (which slowed us down even more) and was still raining pretty hard as we looked for a place to eat lunch. We decided on a park with a nice big covered picnic area and stopped there.
Just in case you were wondering, this was today's is weather forecast for Forks. Apparently we chose a particularly rainy day to visit the rain forest.
We all felt better once we had eaten, but since it took us so much longer to reach Forks, we needed to reassess our plan. We opted not to drive back to the Hoh rain forest visitors' center. We did stop at the Forks timber museum and walk a short loop through the rain forest there. We would have liked to spend more time, but we were burning daylight.
This little hut is made form a single tree trunk. We certainly don't grow trees like that in Utah.
We also stopped at a store named "Authentic to Twilight." Yes, I admit that I went into the Twilight store. I had to do it just to say I did. The books are cheesy, but I like them. :-) Forks and La Push have definitely taken advantage of their moment of fame. There are references to Twilight and vampires all over the place: Twilight firewood-$5, Vampire activity high signs, etc. As we headed into La Push on our way to Rialto beach, there was actually a sign that said, "No vampires beyond this point-treaty line." It made me chuckle.
I didn't actually take this picture. It was raining so hard and we were running so late that we didn't stop. Luckily for me, other internet junkies found the sign amusing as well and finding a picture wasn't hard.
Our next stop was Rialto beach. We couldn't come all the way to the coast and not take our kids to see the ocean. It was still raining like crazy, but he went anyway. Our kids were suitably impressed. It was a rocky beach rather than a sandy one and there was a multitude of beautiful rocks, polished and rounded by the waves. It was far too stormy to do any dipping of toes in the surf, but it was great for the kids to see the power of the ocean and the height of the waves. In spite of the fact that it was freezing cold and still pouring rain, we had a good time.
Daniel took this picture. I love the way it is framed. He has a good eye.
After the beach we got back on the road, hoping to get back to Seattle before dark. We almost made it, watching the last of the sunset as we rode the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. I have a tendency to get seasick, but discovered that if I stood on the front of the ferry and looked at the land ahead of us, it was not too bad. Malia absolutely loved the ferry ride. Her top two most desired activities for our vacation were to have a picnic and ride a boat, so in spite of our plans totally self-destructing, she had a pretty good time. In fact, after we left the ferry and we were discussing seasickness and how it makes me barf, she interjected with, "I only barfed a little bit today." Way to be the optimist. A little bit is better than a lot, although not at all is by far preferable to either. But she didn't let it ruin her day.
So we learned some things. If we were to do it again (which I would love to at some point), we would make this a two-day excursion instead of trying to do it in one. We would stay on the beaten path. We would pack our own food. And it would be a less adventurous day...which might not be a bad thing. On the other hand, we're not likely to forget this trip. It's the stuff memories are made of. And in twenty years, we'll probably still be laughing about it.
