I'm BA-ACK!!!

Note, these are in backwards order.
6/12: Pike's Market a couple hours before we had to go to the airport.
6/11: Me on board one of the Washington State Ferries, which was headed for Whidbey Island.
6/10: The beach and forest pictures are both from Olympic National Park. I pose on a rock at Ruby Beach and later I wandered about the Hall of Mosses in the Hoh Rainforest.










6/9: One of the stops we made in Oregon was Seaside, the final stop of Lewis and Clark's 19th Century expedition across the U.S.
6/8: Me in Portland, OR, the City of Roses

6/7: Snow at Mount Rainier National Park! 6/6: A totem pole by Victoria Harbor






6/5: Mount Rainier from the plane (It's impressive!)


Well, in actuality I've been back for a month now, but still...

Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia were AMAZING, to say the very least. I am about to go to sleep so here's the Cliff Notes version of my trip (although at least I'm putting a few pictures up!)

Day 1: Arrival-We didn't do much this day other than fly, although I did get a fantastic aerial view of Mount Rainier and I was fascinated by Washington State's law that fast food restaurants have to post calorie content on their drive-thru menus.

Day 2: This was the day I boarded the Victoria Clipper to Victoria, B.C. all by myself. What an experience! It was my first journey outside of the United States. It was also the farthest away I have ever been from anyone I know. Victoria was a beautiful city, and I would love to visit it again.

Day 3: While I loved Victoria on the first day there, I wasn't too fond of the drizzly rain. Luckily the following morning had some sunshine and so I enjoyed my remaining time there before I had to get on the ferry back to the U.S. When I arrived I met up with my parents. We made a brief stop at the Smith Tower in Seattle before heading off to Mount Rainier, which was an incredible and scenic drive. We stayed at the Paradise Inn at the base of the mountain, and it was like being in a winter wonderland.

Day 4: I spent the morning enjoying the fact that I was in more snow than Georgia could ever dream to see. Then we headed down to Portland, OR where we visited a rose garden before heading to the hotel to wait out the night while it rained.

Day 5: We finished Portland, seeing a couple more of the City of Roses sights (It's a lovely city by the way...really impressive). Then we headed to the coast, where we passed through Seaside (where I embraced the Pacific Ocean) and Astoria before heading back into Washington, where we stayed the night in Hoquiam (a sleepy gray town, but it grew on me as we left the next day).

Day 6: Leaving Hoquiam, we ventured into Olympic National Park, where the beaches were like nothing I've ever seen and the rain forests were just as amazing. It was raining, but it kind of set the tone so I loved it it. Afterwards we stayed at a hot springs resort and other than smelling like sulfur, it was really nice.

Day 7: Our last fully day, but it was just as eventful. After meeting a fellow HS alumna at the resort, we travelled out of Olympic through Port Angeles on our way to Port Townsend (a town which I saw from the ferry on my way to Victoria). We took a ferry to Whidbey Island from there, and we drove across Whidbey and took another ferry to the mainland, where we met up with my cousin and his girlfriend (he's stationed in WA at the moment). Then we drove back to Seattle.

Day 8: We woke up really early to get in a little more Seattle before it was time to go. I was sad to leave. The Pacific Northwest definitely left a great impression on my heart.

Way too short, but if I gave you every detail it would take forever to write. More soon. It's good to be back in business.