Birthplace of the Crescent Roll...and Vampires

Our next day was to a different part of the park where we weren't so high up in the mountains. The first stop was at Crescent Lake where in 1912 at the lodge there, the crescent roll was invented (this may not be accurate, but is there truly any way of really knowing?). The traffic getting there was bad due to construction most likely related to tourists getting rolls (again, may not be accurate - well, the traffic was in fact bad).

The lake itself was really nice and there were a lot of people playing by the dock, out on boats and just swimming. I went down to the water expecting it to be really cold but it was actually just a little cooler than the air temperature. The lodge there was pretty nice inside too. We ended up getting out and stretching for a while and enjoying the scenery before moving on.

Sol Duc Falls was a little further down the road and required about a 2 mile round-trip hike to see it. Since it was around noon and we knew we wouldn't be close to anywhere to eat, we had picked up sandwiches and snacks earlier in the day so we could picnic when we got there. Again, it was pretty busy with the parking lot almost full but only one of the several picnic tables was being used. Unfortunately, it was the only one in the shade and since it was pretty hot and sunny at that point, we used their handy Aprimo blanket to sit on the ground before moving to the table when the other people left. It was pretty nice to just relax and eat lunch out in a park and give Sadie some time to move around.

The hike actually had some elevation changes and while we were mostly shaded from the sun by the large trees, the mosquitoes started to become a problem about halfway there. I'll give Laurel credit - she did all of that with a baby in front of her while getting bit up by the bugs. The hike through the different trees was nice and the falls themselves were cool - literally, as the spray from them was welcome after sweating on the hike up there.

After getting to the house yesterday kind of late, we got to today's place before dinnertime so we didn't have to rush getting everything out of the car. This house had a lock box for the key and we never met the owners and it was a little more relaxing to have a small, old house to ourselves. We stayed in Forks, famous for being the location of the Twilight books. Thankfully it wasn't a full moon so the werewolves stayed away and it was too sunny for the vampires to come out. The town goes all out for Twilight with a bunch of signs and stores that cater to that crowd, even years after the books and movies. It seems like the restaurants all have themed meals too for those diehards that stop by.

After dinner at a pizza place that I really enjoyed, we headed back to the house and spent a relaxing evening sitting around, drinking a few beers and chatting. We ended up staying up way later than we planned so I'm sure we'll pay the price tomorrow. Thankfully Sadie slept great the entire time - after we all went to bed, we never heard her fuss once (though I'm sure Mark and Laurel could hear every little noise as she was in the same room as them). This room was nicer and more comfortable because the bed was better and there was a fan, though the door popping open shortly after we went to bed was a bit disconcerting.

As they say in Forks, "The Edward Sauce contains no garlic." Note: I'm sure some there's some restaurant there that actually says this.

Finally, a Hurricane that doesn't disappoint

We tried to plan out a way to make our road trip easy for everyone so we decided that we'd leave for Olympic National Park when it made sense based on Sadie's schedule. Since we'd be driving out right past our hotel on the way out, Mark and Laurel were nice enough to just swing on by and pick us up from our hotel in mid-morning. It was another beautiful day as we headed out on the roughly three hour drive to Hurricane Ridge.

We made it out of Tacoma - including going over the (in)famous Tacoma Narrows Bridge (well, the new one obviously) - and since it was lunchtime, we decided to stop at the next place that looked decent. Laurel found a place on Yelp called Butchers & Bakers in Port Gamble and as we drove into the town, we were all impressed. It was very pretty with hills and water views and everything there was really nice. The restaurant was in an old building and served sandwiches but when we got there, the bakery part looked awesome. Jess and I ended up eating cookies and brownies for lunch and it did not disappoint. We even bought more for later.

We headed out and made one more diaper change stop at a rest area near Sequim and from there, we headed into the park. With a $30 entrance fee, we were glad we had one more month's use of our National Parks pass. For some reason the line of cars to get in was very slow and we found this to be a theme the whole time we were there - I still have no idea what everyone took so long with unless they were paying with pennies.

After a short drive up to Hurricane Ridge, we stopped at the the Visitor's Center there. It sits at 5200 feet and offers views of the Olympic Mountains on one side and a view of the Salish Sea on the other side. The mountain views are impressive and with rolling meadows in the foreground and mountains in the background, it looks like something out of "The Sound of Music". Mt. Olympus is just under 8000 feet so it's not terribly prominent but since it was a clear day, you could definitely see it and the glaciers on it. On the other side, you could see San Juan Island in the distance and see Vancouver Island and the city of Victoria in Canada. We did a short trail - after all, Laurel had 20 lbs. strapped to her which made it tougher - and saw the sights, such as the ski lift the native people built hundreds of years ago (we assume; there was no sign so Mark and I had to fill in the blanks).

After the drive back, we stopped in a park (which doubles as the spot of the Clallam County Fair) and let Sadie crawl around on a blanket. Too bad we forget our discs or else we could have played on the premier course on the Olympic Peninsula. After killing some time, we headed out for dinner in Port Angeles. Despite being at the height of the tourist season, it was dead downtown except for the one restaurant we wanted to eat at. Apparently, it's the best one on Yelp and that's all anyone wants to eat at. With an hour wait, we passed and went to a Texas BBQ place that was pretty good too (or maybe we were just really hungry at that point).

The hotel situation in that area is pretty bleak - it looked like mostly lousy hotels/motels and the couple decent ones were Holiday Inns and were very expensive. Even though I've never done it before, Mark and Laurel have used Airbnb before and had good experiences so we booked a place in Sequim. It was a pretty nice drive into it and felt like you were in the country which was nice. For this one, the owners were home upstairs with their dogs and we had the basement, which was fine in terms of space for us. The owners were trying to peddle their side businesses - hers was yoga and healing or something and his was Sasquatch sounds, about which he's written books. Yes, you are reading that right. The owner met us when we got there but otherwise left us alone which was good since we turned in early. Our bedroom was her yoga studio I think so it was creepy having a huge picture of a young monk right across from the bed. I swear that as we went to sleep his eyes were open but when we woke up they were closed.

As Mark says, "No one out here probably even knows what the Whalers are." Note: He said this as I was wearing a Whalers shirt today and oddly enough, as we were walking back to our car after dinner, we passed a group of young guys (smelling of weed, of course) and one had a gray Whalers shirt on. What were the odds?

Sounders

Since we're leaving for a mini road trip tomorrow, we had a relatively light day today. We started out by heading over to Mark's house where we took an Uber  to the Seattle Sounders game (our first one ever so we're now part of the 21st century!). The only soccer Jess and I have ever attended has been a couple Carolina Railhawks games so seeing an MLS game at a stadium that's known for its atmosphere would be fun.

Unfortunately, the Sounders aren't good this year but the crowd was still lively as we got to the stadium (and it was still pretty early). There was a lot of noise as people were heading to the gates all while chanting and banging drums. After getting inside, we got up to our seats - which thankfully were in the shaded part of the stadium, making for a very comfortable game given the beautiful weather - and checked out the club level. Between this and last night at the Mariners, we can definitely get used to the good life! We grabbed some food and waited for Greg to arrive.

The fans there are pretty good with their chants that everyone knew and the main supporter section was standing the whole time. It was a throwback game so they wore 70's jerseys from when I guess the Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps existed in some previous league which would have been cool but I kind of wanted to see their newer kits.

The game itself was good as Seattle scored on a penalty a few minutes in and dominated the game. Sure, a third goal by anyone would have been great (for recreational reasons only, of course) but we ended up being even from the games Friday and Saturday with some swings in there so that was fun. After it was over, we said good-bye to Greg and grabbed another Uber back to Mark's house.

Mark and Laurel were nice enough to cook for us again with burgers on the grill and fries. It was great to spend more time with them and Sadie and we had a wonderful evening. After leaving, I dropped Jess off at the hotel while I went to the airport to drop our car off since we wouldn't need it anymore. That took a little while (basically just waiting for the shuttle back to the hotel) but it saved us over $100 vs. dropping off in the morning so it was worth it.

After repacking, we went to bed and awaited our morning road trip.

As they say in Seattle, "We love the Sounders!" Note: Not a lot of people seem to say this. It's definitely a Seahawks town...

Falls to Pearl Jam

It was hard to top yesterday and we definitely weren't in a hurry to do anything. We had bought tickets to the Mariners game at 7 PM so we had all day to kill. We ended up not getting ready until mid-morning and then we headed up to Snoqualmie Falls since we had heard it was a popular site and meant to do it last time we were here. We also have friends in Snoqualmie so we thought maybe we'd see them there too.

The falls themselves were cool but it's not like it was something that took more than 20 minutes to fully see. I guess there are a couple different viewing areas and some hikes but after yesterday, we didn't care to do it. Besides, the sunburn I got being out all day yesterday was pretty bad so any sun felt extra hot. Our friends ended up not being around during the time we were up there so we just headed back to our hotel, ate lunch and then took it easy. I tried to figure out a plan for returning our car and figuring out where to stay during our last night here so that we didn't inconvenience any of our friends.

About 5 PM, we headed out to the light rail station to go to the Mariners game. It was pretty easy and cheap compared to sitting in traffic and paying for parking and we got to the game in plenty of time. Our seats were on the club level and the recommendation of Jackie and Erich, our old seatmates at the Canes game for a number of years. They, along with their sons and some friends, met us and Greg at the game (Greg's girlfriend Mary ended up being stuck at work and couldn't make it) and we all had a great time. Greg is the one I've gone to most of the ballparks with and it may have been over 10 years since we saw an MLB game together so that was nice. The seats were great - the club level was nice and less crowded - and the game was close too. We even made $3.50 putting in a few bets throughout the game so it basically paid for itself.

The game was busy but it wasn't because people were super into the Mariners vs. White Sox; it was because there were post-game fireworks set to the music of Pearl Jam. A lot of people stuck around and it was decent display - if we liked Pearl Jam, I'm sure it would have been awesome. The trip back was a little more packed on the train but not too bad and we were back to our hotel at around midnight, which is pretty late for us.

As they say in Seattle, "Eddie Vedder is the greatest musician of all time." Note: Judging by the crowd, they probably do say this.