Destroyer, Ferry, Fish and Southerners

Bunking on board

Don't Tread on Me

USS Turner Joy

Nap on the ferry

Salmon!

Engineers!

Start 'em early

A pretty August Saturday pulled us out of DuPont. First stop was Bremerton, a Navy town, to see the USS Turner Joy, a Vietnam era destroyer. The kids enjoyed finding the nooks and crannies, Robert enjoyed the large engine and I enjoyed everyone enjoying. It's a self guided tour but we did find ourselves talking to a volunteer who served on a similar ship. He taught the kids what it took to eat a meal on a destroyer.

From Bremerton we boarded a ferry to Seattle. We took a little rest and enjoyed the scenery, including the approach to the city. It took a while to find our next stop, Chittenden Locks. It was prime time for the salmon to be moving up the fish ladder to get inland. The locks were pretty neat, too, moving everything from kayakers to big ole yachts.

Since we hadn't had enough excitement that day, we then went to the SEC Football Kickoff in Seattle. Folks from most of the SEC schools were there to brag, harass, out cheer, and pick on each other before football season started. From a spring Alabama grad to lovely older Florida ladies to asked if I was in a sorority and everyone in between. The Seattle Auburn Club had a nice showing. It was great to hear all those wonderful Southern accents all in one room. You could tell the longer we stood there and talked, the thicker the accents got. I do have to say for as many Alabama hats, shirts and stickers I see around me, there was only ONE Alabama fan there and she found out about it from the Auburn Club. I'm thinking lots of bandwagoning going on around here and no real connections. But I'm only guessing!

At the end of the day we were tired but went home happy. I love days like this!

Sesame Street Live

USO and Sesame Workshop teamed up in 2004 to create a special Sesame Street episode to deal with deployment. Since then they have made two more episodes about homecoming and wounded parents. They also have sent out Sesame Street Live to military bases around the world free for military families. They came to JBLM in August and we got to go. Except for the waiting in line part, it was great fun. Every kid got an Elmo spinny thing and a USO bandana. A huge thanks to the USO and Sesame Workshop for bringing something for the kids!

Davis Visit - Mount St Helens

Somewhere I have a picture of Gabby in this exact same spot doing this exact same thing but at age 2. Need to find that.

Gabby and Jonathan getting their Junior Ranger Badges

Gram and the middle grandkids

The Davis Family

The Hilliard Family

Olympia Waterfront

Last day of the Davis visit Robert managed to get off from work. We went to Mount St. Helens, which everyone should see in their lives. We stopped at the State Park museum at the bottom and then went up to Johnston's Ridge. It was a beautiful day and we learned quite a bit about volcanoes. We finished the day and the trip with supper at Anthony's in Olympia.

Davis Visit - Olympic Day Two

Banana slug

Ruby Beach

Lake Crescent - the whole group

Gabby gets her Junior Ranger badge at Hurricane Ridge

After spending the night at Kalaloch, we hit Ruby Beach first and the ate lunch at Lake Crescent. We finished the day at Hurricane Ridge where we saw a last round of critters - a bear, tons of deer, and a marmot. We finally made it back home happy and tired.

Davis Visit - Olympic National Park Day One

World's Largest Sitka Spruce

S'mores!

Saturday we set out for Olympic National Park. We hit Quinault Lake and the Hoh Rain Forest before going back to stay at Kalaloch on the Pacific Ocean.

Davis Visit - Wolf Haven and Tolmie

Sleeping arrangements

This one took a liking to Sammy

We took a slightly easier day and stayed closer to home. First we went to Wolf Haven International. They give a really great tour and tell about some of their wolves. The coolest part was getting to hear them howl, which they did a couple of times. One took a particular interest in Sammy, being the smallest of the bunch.

We ate lunch at Wagner's Bakery in Olympia (yummy!) and then went to Tolmie State Park to put our toes in the Sound. There was quite a bit of seaweed so it was a bit yukky but we still managed to find sand dollars and get wet. Afterward we headed back to the house and the kids enjoyed playing. In case anyone is wondering how big Ben is, he's riding Robert's bike.

Davis Visit - Seattle

Pike Place Market

I think Gabby's face sums up the big gum wall fair accurately.

"S" for Sam

and Sisters

and Space Needle

We did all the requisite things in Seattle - Pike Place Market, the waterfront and Crab Pot, rode the Monorail to the Space Needle and went up. It was a beautiful day and the first time I have been able to actually see Mount Rainier from the Space Needle. The Davis crew read about the gum wall in National Geographic so that was a new addition to the Seattle journey. I admit, it was disgusting but oddly fascinating at the same time. We all added a contribution to it. Except Sam - he didn't want to go anywhere near it. Who says the three year old isn't the smartest? He didn't make the last picture b/c he fell asleep in line for the elevator down from the top. The rest of the kids got to ride a few of the rides at the bottom while he napped.