I can't believe that we are already halfway through with this adventure. It has been just wonderful. Thank you for praying. The kids (and us!) have been great, and we've had a great time. I'm so thankful we've been able to
go on this small journey. Sit back and get comfortable, today was a long day.

Kevin got us up early (thankfully!), and we were on the Wenatchee ferry at 7:05 a.m. that goes from Seattle to Bainbridge. The trip took about 30 minutes to cross the Puget Sound. It was windy and cold in the morning, and
bit overcast. It was still an enjoyable time, since it was my kids' first ferry ride. The boat was full of morning commuters, so it was a quiet ride

Our destination was the Olympic National Forest. I remember spending many vacations in the Olympics. It has always been a favorite place for me. We traveled a good couple of hours to Lake Crescent -- my most favorite spot. This lake is the clearest lake I've ever seen. The water is an incredible color of blue. There is a beautiful lodge here. My family used to stay sometimes in cabins that you can rent. It is just pristine and so peaceful. It was a taste of heaven with my family in the Olympic Forest, a maple bar from Albertson's, and sipping good coffee. I was just beaming.

From there we headed over and up to Hurricane Ridge. Though it was overcast or foggy through most of the national forest, here you rise above it for spectacular views. You can see most of the snow covered mountains easily.
Many have active glaciers on them. Once again songs of praise hummed through my head. It is just amazing to see all that God has created. 

We journeyed back the way we came, and waited for another ferry. This time the passengers were more lively, and there seemed to be more of them. I'm just amazed at how many people ride bicycles around here. They were the
first to get on and off the ferry, and there were a LOT of them.

When we arrived back in Seattle we looked for a restaurant that served Dungeness crab (it is indigenous to the area). We went to Ivar's, a famous seafood place on the pier, but they didn't serve it anymore! We tried Elliott's, but they wanted almost an arm and a leg for it. Finally, we made our way to the Crab Pot. I gladly devoured an entire Dungeness crab all by myself. The diet is definitely out the window. Instead of a nut crackers to help me crack the crab, here they gave me a wooden mallet (and a HUGE bib!). It was so good.

From the Crab Pot we walked about ten or eleven blocks to Safeco Field where the Mariner's baseball games are played. On the way there we passed by Seahawk Stadium, where my favorite NFL team plays :-))) We were able to
get some pretty good seats at Safeco and watch the Mariner's beat the Cleveland Indians 2 to 1. I had to laugh. There was one play where the Mariner's left fielder didn't get a pop fly. The people around us started yelling, "We want Griffey back! Griffey would have caught that ball!" We just smiled. Kevin got the kids souvenir cups, and got me a cup of Starbuck s. Our tour guide yesterday said that there are over 400 Starbuck's in Seattle. No, I haven't been to them all, but I have been to several!

When we were walking back to our car, God painted another beautiful sunset for us to enjoy. The ferry looked pretty next to the pink sky on the Olympic Mountain Range. We've been so blessed with great weather. Two days in Seattle without a downpour -- that doesn't happen much. I have been able to share many stories of my growing up with my children. Korey just keeps asking me to tell him another story. I think my family has learned a lot about me.

We miss all of you. It's nice to see the sights and do all of the things that we are doing, but even more so knowing that we get to share it with you and you will welcome us home. We are so spoiled. God is indeed good!

With our love and prayers, and until tomorrow,

~Cindy (and KSWx3)

Greetings from the Emerald City!  It was a gorgeous day today.  We are in Seattle, and it only sprinkled for about 5 minutes!  That's terribly rare for Seattle.  They have a lot of fun with so much rain here.  They have sayings like, "Seattle:  Nature's Car Wash," "Things don't break here, they rust!"  It was mostly sunny today, with just a few clouds.  I couldn't have asked for a better weather day.

 

After breakfast, we went downtown.  Here we bought tickets for the Grey Line Trolley.  This is a tour bus that drops you off at various points of interest throughout the day.  We went first to the Space Needle.  At first Kelley didn't think she wanted to go up, but after Kevin and Korey came down, she was ready.  The views were spectacular.  We could see both the Olympic and Cascade mountains.  We could see Canada from the top of the Needle.  Of course we were able to see both Safeco Field (home of the Mariner's baseball field), and Seahawks Stadium (GO SEAHAWKS!).  I was smiling.

 

From the Space Needle we hopped back on the trolley and went down to the piers.  They are much different than in San Francisco.  Here there are shops, and many seafood places, but it is not nearly as congested.  We got some great candy (Applets and Cottlets), and other souveniers.  We also took a boat tour of Elliot Bay.  What a great day to be on the water.  We got some great views of the city, as well as some good information about the city.  We ate lunch here, and Kevin and I both had a salmon burger.  The guy that grilled it, sliced the salmon right there.  It was so very good!

 

We left the pier and went to Pike Place Market.  This place is just fun.  At one of the fish places, if you order fish they throw it across the counter!  It is quite a show.  Pike Place is home to the very first Starbuck's (TOO COOL!)  Of course, I had to have something there (Caramel Frappaccino Light).  There were beautiful flowers, and all sorts of foods of various ethnic groups.  It smelled wonderful (and I didn't sneeze!).

 

From Pike Place, we walked to Nordstrom's and the Bon Marche'.  These are two high-end department stores.  I looked, but didn't buy a thing.  We then went over to the Westlake Shopping Center.  I found the Appletts and Cottlets here.  They even gave us some free samples (YUM!). 

 

Exhausted, we decided it was time to go back to Mercer Island.  We grabbed some Dominoes, and ate at a very nice park on the island.  Kevin then drove me to an Albertson's (grocery store).  I remembered this place as my father would get us doughnuts here after church every Sunday.  I just had to have a maple bar.  It was fresh and delicious (I'll be on my diet again AFTER I get home!)
 

We are tired, and heading off to bed.  Tomorrow we might get to see the Mariner's play.  I'm not sure what else we will do.  I'll be sure to let you know!  Thanks for thinking and praying for us!

 

~Cindy (and KSWx3)