Shiju and I left Denver on a 5:20pm flight to Seattle, Washington on the 1st of October.  We arrived at 7:15pm with a light drizzle and some fog, but that was expected.  We took the shuttle to our rental car place and got our transport for the next four days- a little black Nissan Versa.  The hotel wasn't that far away and we had checked in and freshened up in no time.  We had dinner at the Ginger Palace hotel where Shiju had a delicious Lemongrass Seafood Medley and I had the Thai Vegetable and Tofu Curry.  Since we have a long day ahead of us, we turned in shortly thereafter.

Day 1:

Our day started off early at 4:00am.  We found the nearest grocery store and picked up snack,fruit, breakfast and coffee and then headed out on our way.  THe drive would take us about four hours with no stops, however in reality one must stop and stretch every now and again and it took us about five hours to get there after a brief stop in a little town called Elma in search of lunch.  Having had no luck with that, we went to the gas station, got snack and used the restrooms.  We also ate our breakfast of two giant blueberry muffins in the car.

We passed through the pretty port town of Aberdeen and headed up along the coast, passing through tall stands of evergreen trees and orchards heavy with ripe apples and pears.  It was still quite early when we got to the first beach, Ruby Beach and the sun was slanting through the trees and dispersing in the surf making the lower parts of the seastacks fuzzy in the morning light.  This beach was wild coast with a pebble shore and a large, tree-topped sea stack just off the shore line.  There was hardly anyone there and those who were were quietly enjoying a morning stroll just like us.

Our next stop was the Hoh Rainforest, further north in the park.  Our drive took us through tall trees covered in Club moss, giving them the appearance of jolly green giants!  The air was calm and quiet and the occassional bank of fog would roll in every now and then blocking our views of the sea.  Along the way we saw little deer and squirrels clambering about in the branches overhead.  At the park itself, we were greeted by a moss ocvered phone booth-very cute, and a little visitor centre where the ranger warned us about a rather amourous male Elk on the rampage for a suitable mate!

We headed down a tree lined path, our footsteps echoeing in the silence around us.  We crossed a little wooden foot bridge that took us over a crystal clear stream overflowing with green water plants and tiny fish, overhunf with branches dripping in Club moss.  This path lead us to the Hall of Mosses, a beautiful glade of old trees, both evergreens and maples all hung with moss to form a dome of green overhead, like the roof of a cathedral.  The only sounds were those of barking Elk, and birds and the drop of water from the trees above.  The whole place commanded our respect, the need for silence, even reverence.

Time was running out and Shiju wanted to head out to Sol Duc, even further north to take pictures of the Sol Duc river falls almost 71 miles away.  We still wanted to see the tide pools all the way down South back almost to Aberdeen and the sun was setting fast.  We headed back to the car, and stopped to take pictures of a lake backed by tress in their full fall colours of reds and golds.

An hour later we arrived at Sol Duc and were disappointed that the hike was about 2 miles each way, there was no way we could get there and back before night fell.  We settled for the smaller river falls at the Sol Duc Hot Springs resort on the way back and continued on our way back, with a vow that we would return and spend more time at the park.  It was time to head home, stopping on the way at Rialto Beach in Mora to see a bigger more impressive seastack on a wilder more pebbly beach.  We spent about a half hour here walking the beach and climbing the rocks, then left again promising the stones that we would be back to spend more time with them.

As we drove away, catching a last glimpse of the setting sun over the Pacific Ocean, we watched the full moon rise and knew that there was no way we could make it down to Kalaloch in time to see the tidal pools and all the little creatures that call them home.  We had to continue our way back to Seattle and our hotel stopping once in Hoquiam for a delicious Mexican dinner and a chance to stretch our legs.

Day 2:

After a good night's sleep, we awaoke late the next day and got ready for a day on the town.  Our plan was to visit Seattle Aquarium, the Pike Place Public Market and the Space Needle.  A delicious breakfast perked us up for the day ahead and we soon set out on our adventures for the day.

Our first stop was at the Seattle Aquarium.  This was located right down on the waterfront on Pier 59, and had exhibitions of marine life from the Puget Sound and Northwestern Pacific.  The visit began with an introduction to what the Aquarium is about by one of their divers underwater.  She showed us a lot of the wildlife that is found in the waters around Washington.  The exhibits moved from crashing wave pools to touch pools with colorful starfish and sea anenomes, to a ring filled with jelly fish on to the Giant Pacific Octopus,and in to the Pacific coral reef.  The whole aquaruim had a wide range of colorful and unusual fish and sea creatures and gave a good insight of what was in the waters around us.

In Building two there were shore birds, a salmon ladder, Harbour Seals, Northern Fur Seals adn River Otters that were being funny and playful in their tanks.  The whole aquarium had been set up really well and we had a really good time wandering through it.  Our next stop was to the PIke Place Market Place, just across the street and up a long flight of stairs from the Aquarium. 

The Pike Place Public Market, is a very busy, very diverse market with everything from fresh, cut, flowers, to fresh fisha nd other seafood.  One can find almost anything in between, fresh fruit and vegetables freshly harvested from local farms, crafts, jewelry, old records and music, to books and eateries that serve up local fare.  It was fun to wander through and see all this and enjoy the sights and smells.  We spent an extra bit of time watching the world famous fish mongers going about their business, taking orders from customers, yelling them out in a chant and then tossing the order from one person to the next to get it packed up and delivered to the person waiting.

We then went on an hour long hunt for a nice restaurant to have lunch in, in particular for the seafood.  This however, proved rather difficult, since the entire city is perched rather precariously on a steep hill that slopes right down to the water.  After about an hour of hiking up and down the streets, we found a neat little door in the back of the market, that led into a nice Italian restaurant that had a rooftop dining area.  We were seated and a nice waiter named Roy, helped us pick out the best dishes in the house, a vegetarian lasagne for me and Mussels and Clams for Shiju!  Delicious!

After we had eaten and were waiting for our bill, me being a fan of the Discovery Reality series Deadliest Catch, I asked the waiter if he knew where the Northwestern made berth in the Seattle area.  He said that we should head down to the Ballard Locks because this would be where the boats left the safety of Salmon Bay to head out to their destination of the Last Frontier, Dutch Harbour, Alaska.  So, we wandered down there admiring the boats in the bay under the drawbridge that we had to cross over to get there. When we finally got there we went down to the locks and were lucky enough that there were three crab boats heading out, the Mystery Bay, the Pinnacle and the Rollo.  It took them about a half hour to get lowered to the level of Puget Sound and we spent the time talking to the captain of the Mystery Bay.

Then it was time for the boats to leave and we waved them off wishing them luck.  It was starting to get dark so Shiju and I went back to the Lockspot cafe and had a beer and fried fish and then headed back to the locks to watch a huge barge being let into the Bay.  The Captains son was being let off the boat there and it was interesting to watch the pride that the captain had in taking his son to sea with him for the first time.  When darkness fell we left to find our way to Kerry park where we would be able to see the Seattle skyline at night with the space needle in the foreground.  It took us about 15 minutes to get there through winding streets and steep slopes until eventually we got there and it was the most breathtaking view ever.  All of a sudden the residential area gave way to clear view of downtown Seattle with the Puget sound in the background and the skyline in the foreground.  It was a full moon and so the sky was partly lit by the moonlight that cast a kind of eerie glow on the clouds.  We spent about an hour there experimenting with our night photography options and then headed back to the hotel for an early night. 

Day 3:

The next day was our last full day in the Washington area and we wanted to head out to the San Juan Islands for a day.  We got up early got coffee and breakfast, stopped at the grocery store for snack and then headed out this time to Anacortes to get the Washington State Ferry out to Friday Harbour.  It was a really pretty drive and being early we beat the rush hour traffic into downtown Seattle.  After about an hour and a half because we had to stop for coffee on the way, we got to the Ferry Terminal in Anacortes, a pretty little town sitting right on the water, we found out that the next ferry to Friday Harbour was leaving at 2:14pm.  Not wanting to sit around and wait all day we decided to take the 12:00pm ferry to Orcas Island and then if we had time to hop from there to Friday Harbour.

We had to wait at the ferry terminal for a while and were first in line in lane three to get on the boat.  Since we had time to kill we got our cameras out and took pictures of the beautiful view of Mt. Vernon peeking out over the blue water.  After quite a bit of experimenting, we got back in the car and it was time to board the ferry.

It was a gorgeous ride, though the wind was pretty strong out there on the water.  It was a clear sunny day and the views of the surrounding islands was great, we explored on the boat and hung out on the outside deck keeping a keen eye out for sea life.  Our first stop was at Lopez Island, where we picked up a few foot passengers, bicyclists and a car or two.  We watched the ferry back in and the road lowered to the deck to allow passengers on and off and then watched the boats' powerful propellers reverse and then churn up the water until it was white and frothy as it backed away from the dock.

There were some beautiful sail boats out enjoying the good weather and strong winds.  We got lunch at the cafeteria on board and then sat out on deck enjoying the fresh air and pretty views.  Then the ferry stopped at Shaw Island for a quick offload and headed on to Orcas.  Once on the Island we drove into the pretty little town to see if we could get a ferry schedule for the times of the last ferry to Anacortes.  We got a pretty fleece blanket with a Killer Whale on it for my sister and then went and had chocolates and hot chocolate at a vute little homemade chocolate place.  We were pleasantly surprised to see tins of tea leaves from our hometown of Ooty, India on the shelves and started a conversation about that.  We thanked the owners and continued on our way picking up a ferry schedule at the local market.

We drove to one end of the Island where we hiked up Mt. Constitution and took in the breathtaking views of the surrounding islands and in the distance the coast of Cananda and Vancouver.  We also saw what may have been a pod of Killer Whales off in the distance with a whale-watching boat near by.  My only regrets are that we did not have enough time to go whale watching, but that can wait for next time!

After a brief pit stop we headed back up the road to the other end of the island to get the ferry back to Anacortes.  It was a pretty drive with houses scattered between fields and stands of tall trees, with pretty gardens and orchards heavy with fruit.  We checked in at the Ferry Terminal and were soon on our way back to Anacortes this time with one stop and Lopez Island.  It was a gorgeous view of the setting sun over the bay and we enjoyed the ride  back.  We decided we would go to Bellevue and get Thai food at a restaurant recommended by our waiter of the day before.

After an hour of driving we got to Bellevue and found the restaurant was across the street from Microsoft.  We ordered and chatted about the weekend, and how fun it had been.  It was a delicious meal and we headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.  Tomorrow we would be leaving.

Day 4:

We woke up early and began packing for our trip home.  Today we would be heading out to Everett and the boeing factory.  We ate a quick breakfast at the hotel and then checked out of the hotel.  It had been a pleasant stay, but we had decided we would stay closer to the park the next time around.  We got to Everrett in time for the 11:00am  tour and spent the time browsing through the store and the gallery below, that was filled with information about the company and the different kinds of engines that clients can choose from for their aircraft, Rolls-Royce, GE or Pratt and Whitney.  Amazing!  I was in seventh heaven and drank in everything with the eagerness of a twelve year old!

It was time for the tour to start and Shiju and I got on the bus along with about 20 others and headed out to the factory where we would watch them make the new 747-8F and the 777, 767, and 787.