Friday, May 15, 2009

Finishing the Olympic Peninsula




We went to some more of the beaches in the area just south of Forks but the kids had seen enough of the ocean to not be too excited. Nearly 8 hours in the car over the two day trip was beginning to fray some nerves. We took a little side trip to see the big cedar.









The big cedar had been cited in several sources as a must see if you're in the area. We turned off highway 101 at a marker directing us to the tree. The pavement ran short quickly and turned over to a gravel logging road. The signs were all tree stumps with arrows pointing toward the big tree at various splits in the road. We bounced down the poorly maintained gravel path, scraping the sides of the car on trees, nearly hitting our heads on the roof of the car. A testament to the true hypnotic properties of television was the children's complete and total ignorance of our surroundings. The kids never asked once where we were. The road was terrible to drive on, no longer a smooth swift black top highway with cars buzzing by. There were holes we had to either slow down to 5 mph to navigate or drive around. The kids said nothing until the car stopped. They looked up, the car in the middle of the forest and began asking where we were. They were less than thrilled to find out we had driven into the unknown to look at a tree, the largest western red cedar in the world.



We got out walked around the massive trunk and journeyed back to the highway, slowly bouncing along without a word from the children. Until we stopped again at Ruby Beach. Savannah protested, "Haven't we seen enough of the ocean? All of the beaches look the same, let's just go home!"


So we did. Only there was one more big tree along the way.











We looked at the second big cedar and then travelled home. We had dinner at a place called Billy's in Aberdeen, Washington. They served up some good fried seafood. It was really good. Then we saddled up, drove through Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle and arrived home safely ready for another week of school and work.











Monday went by fast. Tuesday was P.E. day for the Miller Academy. Savannah, Shane and I spent a few hours in a climbing gym in Everett while Sophia and Traci explored the Everett Children's Museum. The museum reminded me a little of the Magic House in Kirkwood, Missouri. The main floor had a little main street, a farm, an airplane and bus, and several other interactive play areas. The roof had a playground. We were able to join Sophia and Traci at the end of the day as the last half hour of business was a free admission time. Shane and Savannah were a little jealous of Sophia, the museum was full of things to do.

















We plan on a trip to Deception Pass this weekend. The sun has been scheduled to make a glorious appearance all weekend.






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