It was pretty uneventful all the way from Montana through Idaho into Washington, except I must agree that Flathead Lake looked so much like Winnepasaukee that it was crazy! I thought we had traveled back to Laconia. It was really weird, but at the same time gave me the feeling that I sometimes get as I travel to new places. That many places are so much like different ones from home......that it's very comforting in a strange way.
We stopped in Spokane as a mid-way point to Jenn and Bryan's house. We had hoped to meet up with a friend we had made in Greece last November, and sure enough, she was available to meet us for dinner. Not only to meet us for dinner but to give us a guided tour of the beautiful city of Spokane. We had a wonderful dinner at the Peacock Room at the Davenport Hotel, which was so beautiful! Each of the major ballrooms had a theme of a different country. France, England, Italy, Spain and more. It was an incredibly beautiful hotel.......next time we visit, that's where we're staying!
The next day we headed for Jenn and Bryan's house in Kent, just south of Seattle. They had suggested we make two stops along the way: Cave B Winery, where they had stayed for a weekend, and Twin Falls, which was a stop along I90 where you could hike into the falls. We decided to go to both.
Cave B was a beautiful inn, restaurant, and of course, winery along the Columbia River. They were setting up for a concert that evening, so we were lucky to get in for a tasting at all.
Jenn and Bryan had stayed in one of the cliff houses overlooking the river canyon.
Of course, the wine was so delicious that we just had to buy a bottle or two!!
After leaving Cave B, we stopped at an overlook which was beautiful......until I saw the sign!
Of course, I sent Mike on ahead to scope it out first!
After stopping at a little place for lunch, we headed on to Twin Falls......what a gem of a place it was. A nice little hike.....well, maybe not so little, but so beautiful with the afternoon sun streaming through the trees. I love afternoon hiking just for the light in the woods.
What I loved most of all was imagining where they had stayed and just being at the same places they had been. It was wonderful walking where they had walked along the Twin Falls trail. In a weird way, it made me feel closer to them as I did things they had already experienced.
It's been really hard for me to have our children live so far away from home. When I do things they've done or go to places they've gone to, it helps me stay connected to them. As I see the lives they've built for themselves, I can rest assured that all is well in their lives.
Once we got to Jenn and Bryan's, we settled in and were treated to delicious stuffed hamburgers that chef Bryan created! They spoiled us terrible while we were there and I loved it!
They had been wanting to visit a local wine tasting room, so off we went after church on Sunday. Imagine my surprise as I perused the "make your own" wine labels on the bottles and came across this particular one:
After a wonderful day spent together, we celebrated Jenn's 30th birthday out on the town. She especially loved the ending:
Sadly, after way too short of a visit, we headed on our way. We had planned on stopping at Mt. Rainier National Park for a few hours on our way to Portland, Oregon. We could not believe our luck as the clouds lifted and we were treated to the most magnificent views we could ever have imagined. We overheard a park ranger telling someone that they hadn't seen Mt. Rainier in about 10 days.
As we drove up the mountain to the "Paradise" entrance, which we felt was aptly named, we decided we had time for a short hike up into the Alpine gardens.
Do you remember the opening scene from "The Sound of Music"? I truly felt like Maria as I climbed higher and higher toward that mountain......the fields and mountains behind us looked exactly like the Alps in the movie. I had an urge to run into the field, raise my arms high, and just twirl around as the music played all around me!
We were so very blessed to see Mt. Rainier in all it's glory the one day we could visit. Not only Mt. Rainier, but all the surrounding peaks and valleys. One of many, many gifts we have been given along the way.
~Karen
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