Spring Break - LONG

We have been looking forward to our Spring Break trip to Seattle for quite awhile now. Shawn wanted to go see places he remembered from trips growing up, and we wanted to go see Brent and Andrea before they move. So, Thursday after Shawn got off work we left and stayed the night in Boise.
Friday we drove all day and got to Seattle around dinner time. I thought we would be there later, but when we were close (about 30 minutes away, or so I thought) and it was almost dinner time I called Brent to see if they wanted to go out to dinner somewhere with us. They agreed and right after that we hit rush hour traffic. We got to Brent and Andrea’s later than we thought, but still went out to dinner at a yummy little Asian place. Shawn got some Sushi and we all shared some good eats. After we got all the girls to bed, we watched the movie Twilight. Brent and Andrea hadn’t seen it yet, and I brought my newly acquired DVD.
Saturday, we had to make a stop at a Walgreen’s because I had left my cosmetic case with all my toiletries at mom and dad’s in Boise. After that, we all went in to spend the day in Seattle. It was cold and rainy, but we still had a great time. We walked through the Pike Street Market for awhile, then walked down to the waterfront and had lunch at a seafood place called The Crab Pot. After that we went on a quest to find Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, which Shawn had very fond memories of. However, it was much different than it was when Shawn went, so he was a little disappointed. After that we went to the Seattle Aquarium. They had a cool “touch pool” where you could reach in and touch different sea creatures like starfish and sea cucumbers. They had great exhibits and several things for the kids to do. After that, Brent and Andrea went home and we travelled on to the Space Needle. It was still pretty windy and rainy, so we didn’t spend too much time outside, but the girls enjoyed walking around and “playing” with the electronic displays. This was Felicity’s favorite part of the trip. After a quick dinner at McDonalds across the street, we headed back to Brent and Andrea’s. We were all pretty exhausted, so after the girls were in bed we just relaxed a bit and then went to bed.
Sunday morning we went to sacrament meeting with Brent and Andrea. By this point my cough was in full-swing, so I really didn’t want to stay for all of church and Shawn really wanted to go see Mt. St. Helens, so we drove down that way to start the next leg of our trip. Apparently, we were there a little too early in the season, because the visitor’s centers were all closed by the time we got there and we had to drive through some very snowy roads to get up to the viewpoints. The piles of snow to the side of the road were literally taller than our car, and in some places it was only plowed as wide as one lane. We got as high as we could and then parked and waited through some short snowstorms so we could catch a couple of glimpses of the base of the volcano. On our way back down, we did get a chance to look back and see the peak (we think). After that we had dinner and started our way up the coast and stayed the night in Aberdeen. Shawn went swimming with the girls that night while I rested. This was the first night that my cough really kept me from sleeping.
First thing Monday morning Shawn went to get me some cold medicines and brought my breakfast to the room. Then we continued our drive up the coast. We took a little detour and drove through a cute little old-fashioned town (Seaside?) that was established in 2005. We also got to drive onto the beach in one town and do some combing for seashells. Shawn found a whole sand dollar for Lydia, and the girls all found some other shells to bring home. This was Lydia’s favorite part of the trip. We took another detour to go see the Hoh Rain Forest in the Olympic National Park. It was amazing and beautiful to see all the moss growing from the trees. We also stopped in Forks that day to do some Twilight sightseeing. I know I was doing the same thing, but I was amazed at how many people were there taking pictures of the “fake sights” of Twilight, like the Swan Residence, Dr. Cullen’s parking space at the hospital, and the police station. We had dinner there, but were disappointed that they were out of their “Bella Berry Pie,” and then drove to Port Angeles for the night.
Tuesday morning we tried to drive up to the Hurricane Ridge viewpoint in Olympic National Park, but the road was closed about half way up due to avalanche danger. Once again, we were visiting too early in the year apparently. Instead, we drove to Bainbridge Island to take the ferry across to Seattle. We were there a little early, so we stopped at Rite Aid to get a few sundries and to let the girls spend some of the money they had been earning. Turns out, the prospect of earning a dollar will get you a good stretch of quiet time in the car and other things from 3 young girls. The ferry ride was quick, but pretty fun. The girls and I had never been on a ferry that size before. Again, it was quite windy and chilly, so we spent most of the time inside the ferry watching the seagulls fly outside the window and having some snacks. This was Evelyn’s favorite part of the trip. From Seattle it was on to the Tri-city area. We got as far as Kennewick and decided to stay the night there. Shawn took the girls swimming again, and we ordered Pizza Hut “room service” for dinner. While we were waiting for the pizza, I made a quick trip around the corner to Wal-Mart to get some birthday supplies for Shawn’s “party” – some gifts, a cake and ice cream, and some paper goods. After dinner, the girls and I went in to the bathroom to wrap presents in the towels and we sang “Happy Birthday” and had some cake and ice cream.
Wednesday, we drove all day (with a stop in Caldwell to get Cedric from Shawn’s parent’s house) to get home. Shawn’s goal was to get home before 8 p.m. so he could get me to the Urgent Care here. We made it 15 minutes before closing. I was so miserable and exhausted by this point that I was pathetically in tears while the nurse was getting all my vitals, etc. They did a CBC and assured me that I was indeed sick. I got a prescription for a nice, strong antibiotic and some cough suppressant that would also help me sleep. Other than being sick, and Shawn doing all the driving (he said it scared him to have me drive while coughing), we had a great time spending time with Brent, Andrea and Taryn (Thanks again!) being together, seeing the sights and doing the things we did. We also managed to listen to 3 ½ books on tape – Fablehaven 2, Treasure of Greene Knowe, The Last Apprentice and part of Justin Morgan Had a Horse.