The Olympic Peninsula

It was a long weekend this weekend, being Memorial Day on Monday, so like half of Seattle, we headed out of town. Zoe had found us a very cute cottage in the woods neat Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula, a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle. We had to wait an hour for the ferry, but it was worth it. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful view of the Olympic Range, but Mt Ranier was still playing coy. We enjoyed the drive from Bainbridge to Port Angeles, stopping at a classic 50s style diner on the way for a milk shake. We liked it so much we went back for lunch on Monday! We had planned to drive to Forks on Sunday (Twilight fans will know all about Forks) but decided it was too far after our day in the car on Saturday and opted for the closer Crescent Lake instead. It was lovely and we had coffee in the 1919 Lodge built before it was a National Park. I don't know if it was where he shot the bear cub, but Teddy Roosevelt shot deer here. The woods near our cottage were filled with squirrels, chipmunks, little mice and there were fallow deer and even a reindeer near the main house. We saw bald eagles! It was a beautiful weekend. We cunningly missed the turnoff for the ferry and avoided the crowds by driving the long way home via Tacoma. It was a lovely Memorial Day weekend.

Seattle

We arrived in Seattle only 2 hours after we left Sydney! In reality it was 24 hours of traveling. It wasn't too bad. The weather in Seattle was perfect, although we could not see the famous Mt Ranier. Our first job on arrival was to take Zoe to the hospital for a check up. She has been having some problems in her last trimester and has to go to the hospital three times a week. Luckily it's not too far away from their house. They live in Fremont - a Newtownesque suburb in Seattle's North. Their house is lovely and sunny, over three levels with view of the Olympic Ranges and Mt Ranier when it is visible.

Packed and ready to go

Tomorrow we are saying goodbye to our lovely view from the 15th floor and heading to North America for a visit to Sam and Zoe in Seattle, followed by a month in Canada.  Alan returns to Sydney mid July, but I intend to stay in Seattle with Sam and Zoe to assist with the birth of their second child, due on 6 August.  Zoe is hoping for a natural homebirth, but complications are beginning to perhaps make that unattainable, but only time will tell.

I am looking forward to catching up with former flatmates in Canada and California and we are doing home exchanges in Toronto and Ottawa.