Mountains and Cities

Monday, August 8, 2005.

LAST DAY! Although it has been a great trip - enjoying incredible sights - it's time for VacationGirl and family to come home. Their flight leaves at 12:03 Tuesday afternoon and if all goes well, they'll touch down at 11:42 pm, Dayton time. Should be home and asleep by 1:00 a.m. However, since they are connecting in Chicago, anything can happen!

VacationGirl has made two very important discoveries on this trip. The first you already know about - look, don't climb, the lighthouses. Another very important discovery was made today - Don't drive and expect dear(???) husband and almost 16-year old to navigate! It's a recipe for disaster.

Making "very important discoveries" like these are critical to one's health and well-being - or better yet to the health and well-being of dear (???) husband and almost 16 year-old. Everyone should make such relevant, critical discoveries on their vacations.

Enough for the discoveries - on to the trip.....

Group decision was made to visit Mt. Rainier - why come all this way and not see one more big rock! So VacationGirl and family pulled out of Kelso around 9:00 and headed up I-5 to Rt 12. That took them on the north side of Mt. St. Helen's and the south side of Mt. Rainier. VacationGirl was starting to have panic attacks because there was a HEAVY cloud layer today. All she wanted was one more day of the incredibly beautiful weather that they had experienced all week. But it didn't look like it was meant to be.

They got to one "scenic" view of Mt. St. Helen's only to see all clouds, no mountains. But VacationGirl had faith, even with the clouds blocking out everything. And sure enough, as they neared Mt. Rainier, the fog burned off and as they made their way around the east side of the mountain to the Sunrise visitor center, there was nothing but blue sky.

Sunrise is not the prettiest view of Mt. Rainier but it is the closest view that you can get to by car. Most of the pictures were taken at a view point at 6100 feet up - and then some at the visitor center at 6400 feet. You could almost touch the mountain. From the 6100 ft viewpoint, you could also see Mt. Adams - he lives right next door to Rainier and St. Helen's. Very pretty view. So up the mountain and down the mountain and on to Seattle to visit the Space Needle.









VacationGirl was dying to get one of the beautiful pictures of Mt. Rainier from Seattle - the ones from the Space Needle were ok but she had to shoot between the wires that kinda hold the thing up. The view is really great - it's right on Puget Sound and they saw cruise ships and ferries all over the place.










After leaving the Space Needle, VacationGirl headed for the hotel in Sea-Tac near the airport. (This was when critical discovery 2 was made!) . As she pulled off I-5 onto her exit, the mountain was right in front of her - the view she wanted! So she did the only thing possible - she pulled into a park and took a picture - it's the one you see below. She found that it would be very easy to live in a place where she could look out to the mountain every day - for some reason, it seems to speak to her. (She hasn't figured out what it's saying yet, but someday she will!) It may be telling her to lighten up and not be mad at dear (???) husband and almost 16 year-old for being directionally, map-reading challenged - or maybe not! However, that's what she'll assume for now as she begins the repacking process so that suitcases will close tomorrow morning!









"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. " ~ Rachel Carson

See ya back home!

Volcanos

Sunday, August 7, 2005
One more day.....
That refrain kept going through the vacationing family's minds all day long - like that song that just won't go away.
It's been fun but.....one more day! YEA!

The almost 16 year-old has been entertaining himself by taking cell phone pictures of all the "hot girls" in Oregon & Washington. As he, VacationGirl, and wonderful husband were sitting in a local restaurant being thankful that this particular chain does not exist back home, the cute little waitress and the almost 16 year-old kept giving each other "those looks" that only can happen between two young adults. He claimed that he was going to ask to take her picture. And when she asked why, he was going to tell her that he wanted to show all his friends back home how pretty the girls were in Oregon. Of course, VacationGirl and amused husband called him on it and darned if he didn't ask her. He took her picture and she blushed quite cutely.

Good thing she didn't ask 'why' since we were in Washington, not Oregon, and she might think we were raising an illiterate young man that didn't know what state he was in!

Today was Mt. St. Helen's day. The trip was an easy one - a quick 10 miles up the road to Rt 504 which takes you directly into Johnston Ridge Center, which is the closest that you can get to the mountain these days.

There were many good stops along the way - at one point, we had a great view of Mt. Adams and for a very short time, we could see Mt. Rainier poking its top up over the ridge. It was actually a very beautiful but sobering trip into the park. All around you can see new life growing up where the trees and grounds were stipped from the 1980 blast. But also all around the park, you can still see the downed timber - reminents of the blast.

The view from Johnston Ridge is great - you can actually see the new lava dome building. Apparently, it started building almost immediately after the blast 25 years ago. The new dome can be seen in the picture below - it's the one with the steam coming out. All around the park are warnings about what to do if there is an ash cloud - but we were also told that Johnston Ridge is typically not hit with them.

Standing on viewpoint from Johnston Ridge was kinda weird - it was named after a young geologist that died in the blast 25 years ago. He was monitoring the activity from there and calling in results - during his last transmission, he was "Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!" , then where was silence. Apparently, there was a ham radio observer named Gerry Martin that was parked two miles north of Johnston Ridge. He saw the avalanche and explosion and transmitted "The camper and the car just over to the south of me (Dave Johnston's observation post) are covered. It's going to hit me too."

They say that if you took the Washington Monument and placed it in the crater, it would only be a little more than half as high as the new lava dome. The crater that got blown out in 1980 is 1-mile wide and 2 miles long and 2000 feet deep. - It's huge.














Monday is going to the whirlwind tour - a quick drive by of Mt. Rainier - because it's there and then on to Seattle to go up in the Space Needle and visit a few more points of interest. Should be fun!

See you there!

Waterfalls, Waterfalls, Waterfalls

Saturday, August 6, 2005
Today was Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway day. VacationGirl was hoping for some WOW pictures but none developed - good ones yes, but wow ones no!

The Scenic highway starts out in Troutdale, Washington. Talk about a happy accident. VacationGirl randomly picked Troutdale/Greshman from the map only to find out after arriving that it was the beginning of the historic highway route. Luck was with her!

They hit the road early today - that was good because there was a full day ahead but bad because the fog hadn't burned off yet. The pictures that she had hoped would be WOW pictures were instead FOG pictures! But a Couch family vacation would not be complete without at least 1 fog picture. This one was taken from Vista House - high upon a ridge overlooking the Columbia River.

From there, the narrow highway wound its way down hairpin curves until it came to Waterfall Country. That's not what they call it in Oregon but there's one every mile. And because of all the grief that VacationGirl caught several days ago when she didn't want to go to some of the Crater Lake falls, everyone one of these would be viewed, climbed, and photographed! Yep - every angonizing step of the way.

Actually, she has to admit that the falls were all really great - each one was different and most were viewable without too much effort. They didn't get to see Bridal View because the trail was closed but they got all of the other! First on the list was Latourell Falls:

Next was Shepperd's Dell:

After that was Wakeena Falls - and yes, VacationGirl and family trudged all the way to the top! Very steep climb - very sore legs - but very worth it for the view.

Next on the trail came Multnomah Falls. It is the tallest waterfall on the route but unfortunately, we got to it right at noon when the sun was directly overhead. Between the sun and the mist from the waterfall spray at the bottom, pictures didn't turn out so great!

Last (at least for VacationGirl and family) came Horsetail Falls:

It's official - VacationGirl and wonderful family have seen enough waterfalls to last them for years and years. Please, if anyone hears her start talking about future plans that involve waterfalls, gently remind her to shut up!

Next on the scenic drive was the Bonneville Dam and fish hatchery. Can't say that fish hatcheries were a big attraction - something that just couldn't be missed but it actually turned out to be pretty neat. Some of the sturgeon there were absolutely huge - the one in this picture is actually pretty small compared to some of the bigger, more camera shy ones that we saw.

We also saw some "fish ladders" where the fish can get through the dam in special areas designed just for them - and for people to 'count' them so they know how many come through each year. We didn't really get to see any fish in the fish ladders - this isn't spawning season but it's still interesting to see the pictures (which were taken with the 35mm camera - not the digital - sorry!)

We drove on down the route to Hood River - apparently, it's the unofficial windsurfing capital of the world. With the gorge shaped as it is, it becomes a huge wind tunnel so wind surfers love it. We saw tons of them on the water. Pretty neat! (again, on the 35mm camera - carrying two and remembering to use them both is more than VacationGirl can mentally handle on day 7 of her vacation so give me a break!)

OK - it's about 3:00 pm - it's taken since 8:00 this morning to go roughly 60 miles and we're tired. So we turn the car around and head back west on I-84 to I-205 to I-5 that takes us out of Oregon and into Washington.

Tomorrow will be all about Mt. St. Helen's. There was a small 3.5 earth quake the day we got here under the mountain but apparently not enough to worry anyone. So, tomorrow we hope to get some good shots from the Johnston Viewing Center and hope to not get completely covered with ash.

See ya tomorrow!

Mountains

Friday, August 5, 2005

Today was Mt. Hood day for VacationGirl and family. After completing mundane tasks, like laundry (that she swore she wasn't going to do on this trip), they hit the road for Mt. Hood - Oregon's tallest mountain and the 3rd largest in the Cascade peaks.

The drive took the vacation family through parts of the Columbia River Gorge. They got so caught up in scenery that they missed their exit - by 12 miles! Tomorrow is Columbia River Gorge day so no diversionary trips were taken but all she can say is WOW! No pictures of the WOW stuff yet - that will be tomorrow - but WOW - it was beautiful.

But back to Mt. Hood. As we turned off of I-84 to Rt 35, we began to catch glimpses of the rock - and a large rock it is - 11,239 feet tall. Even half bare, it is still a beautiful mountain - as seen in the picture below:

There was a sign for Sahalie Falls so of course, the it just had to be visited. As the vacation family took this narrow, winding road, they were suddenly stopped at a stone bridge by barracades across the road.

To walk or not to walk. Well, we all know VacationGirl's choice - but VacationGirl's adventurous husband walked a few feet to the bridge. Much to everyone's amazement, there was no walking involved this time - other than the few steps to the bridge. And once those steps were taken, they were treated to this view:

After spending a suitable amount of time admiring the falls, the trip up to Timberline Lodge was started. Timberline Lodge stands at the 6,000 foot mark on the mountain - where most of the skiing and snowboarding takes place. Talk about a freaky sight - there were tons of skiers and snowboarders around - in August!

What's up with that?

Because Mt. Hood is so tall, people can enjoy year-round skiing and 'boarding. Kinda cool - but snow skiing was never a favorite pasttime of VacationGirl. Tried it - hated it. Adventurous husband claims to like skiing and almost 16 year-old wants to learn to snowboard - but they'll be doing it without VacationGirl. Hey, maybe she will go along and drink whoosie drinks in the lodge - yeh - that works! But, skiing and snowboarding are not in the picture today so, because of that, the whoosie drinks are not happening either.

As the Trailblazer made it's way down the mountain, another large mountain popped up in front of them. Where did this one come from? It wasn't there when the trip UP the mountain was made!

VacationGirl is thinking that these things are just like prairie dogs - they just pop up all over the place.

Curiousity got the better of adventurous husband so he stopped at a teeny tiny little store on the guise of needing something to drink. But as he walked out of the "store" with a smirky little grin, VacationGirl knew he found the answer to the question that plagued her - Mt. Adams! (Didn't know there was a Mt. Adams, but there is!) It's the second largest in the Cascade range but it's in Washington, not Oregon and since Mt. Rainier overshadows it, it's just the poor red-headed step child of a mountain. Poor thing! As they made their way down the road, Mt. Adams disappeared behind the scenery of the Columbia River Gorge - dispelling the fact that they just magically pop up - the mystery had been solved.

Since all they mysteries of life (or at least mountains) had been solved for the day, VacationGirl and family made their way back to their 'home away from home' and played Canasta before hitting the sack (and writing blog entries).

Off to the historic Columbia River Gorge highway Saturday. See ya then!

Half Way There

Wednesday Pictures:









Thursday Pictures:













VacationGirl and family are done "roughing it." They stayed Wednesday night at the Mazuma Motor Inn within the confines of the Crater Lake National Park. The rooms had no phones, no television, no air-conditioning! Couldn't even get a signal for the cell phones. All outdoor trash cans are virtually bolted down because bears frequently come into the camp grounds - right next to the motor inn. Was hoping to see one - from a distance - but Yogi must have been visiting a different part of Crater Lake Wednesday.

VacationGirl, wonderful husband, and almost 16 year-old took a vote on Wednesday morning. It was a unamimous decision to forgo the last few Oregon lighthouses and head inland for Crater Lake. There was a room waiting for us that couldn't be cancelled and dinner reservations at the only restaurant for hours. So when dawn broke on Wednesday morning, she was on the road again, leaving Reedsville and driving through the Umpqua river valley towards Crater Lake.

Crater Lake is spectacular - the pictures do not do it justice. Hopefully, the "real" 35mm pictures will do the color justice - an incredible color of blue. Thoughts of taking the 2 hour boat tour to the island in the middle (hey, sounds like Gilligan's Island) were entertained but quickly discarded when it was discovered that the trail takes a 1,000 foot drop to get to the boat. Down would be ok, but up? No Way! VacationGirl was seeing visions of moutain side helicopter rescues! How embarassing would that be! Even her loving husband and son decided that enough climbing had been done!

In the words of John Ohrenschall - "Climbing would be a great, truly wonderful thing if it weren't for all that damn climbing."

As we waved good-bye to Crater Lake, maps were consulted to find the "best" scenic route to Portland. The Rogue-McKenzie Pass scenic route was chosen - 82 miles from Sisters, Oregon. It took about 5 hours to drive. Well, in VacationGirl's case, it took 5 hours to ride. Along the route were many things to see - most involving climbing - but muscles had 24 hours to rest so they were ready.

In the first Thursday pictures, the 3 sisters mountains are pictured in the distance. Once you get into the Willamette National Forest, there are a ton of lava all around. As you observe Mt Jefferson in the distance, and our four-legged friend we met along the way, you can see all of the lava. At first glance, it just looks like chunks of dirt, but it really is lava - 65 square miles of lava flow. They call this part of Oregon volcano country. (VacationGirl is not quite sure who "they" are but it was in one of her zillions of Oregon travel books so it MUST be true!)

One of the last spots that we stopped at within the Forest was Proxy Falls. Our trusted travel book says that the falls are a short hike into the Three Sisters Wilderness. Hmmm, her experience tells her that "Wilderness" and "short hike" really don't go together. However, since all of the waterfalls on the way to Crater Lake were ignored, (and she caught absolute hell for this) it was decided that this one was a 'must see.' The trail was a mere 1.5 miles. After much huffing and puffing and being totally drenched from sweat, the refreshing sound of water was heard. Then VacationGirl and wonderful husband came to the perverbial 'fork in the road.' She felt like she was on the way to Oz and the scarecrow pointed both directions when ask "which way to Oz." The sign on the tree pointed in both directions to get to Proxy Falls.

Wonderful husband talked her into taking the trail to the right where someone had carved in "lower falls." She has reservations because 'lower' usually means walking DOWN and climbing BACK UP but she goes with the flow this time. But she wants to know where almost 16 year-old is! He went ahead - way ahead - but no one knows which trail he took. Motherly instincts are about to erupt!

Fortunately, wonderful husband was right. (Don't you just hate it when that happens?) After about 5 minutes, we came upon the falls and WOW - it was worth the hour of sweat it took to get there and back! They were beautiful. And better yet - way down where VacationGirl refuses to venture (her view is wonderful from where she is) is the almost 16-year old! He was up getting wet under the falls - where lo and behold - another family was there - one that just happened to have a teen age girl with them! We now have pictures of her at the falls too! Twenty years from now, we'll all be sitting around, scratching our heads, wondering who this young girl is!

So, after viewing the falls, we completed the trail and collasped at the car - after all, it is the hottest day of 2005 for the area. Boy, do we know how to plan vacation times!

After the falls, we had a 4 hour drive - we wanted to be east of Portland for the night so we could branch out to Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge. Budget Rentals will wonder where in the heck their poor car has been - we've logged over 1000 miles in 4 days - and we're not done yet.

Wonderful husband and VacationGirl have noticed an interesting phenominom in Oregon. When one pulls in to those lovely roadside refueling centers, commonly known as gas stations, one cannot pump their own gas. Apparently, this is unheard of in Oregon. Someone will always be there to pump it for you. Hmmm, is this why gas is SO much more here? $2.41 to #2.69 a gallon!

As an interesting side note - on Tuesday, while passing through Lincoln City and then again today while driving up I5 towards Portland, VacationGirl and family passed the 45th parallel - we were exactly half way between the Equator & the North Pole! Maybe that explains why she's hot, then cold, then hot, then cold, then hot.....

Oh well - enough for today. Friday starts the 2nd half of the trip - with either Mt Hood or Columbia River Gorge drive on the agenda - one Friday, the other Saturday. VacationGirl is thinking some snow would feel really good right now!

See ya tomorrow!

The Lighthouse Tour Continues

Hi friends and family.....
Not too many pictures today. We took a lot but none that really jumped out and said "post me!" The almost 16 year old decided that he was going to take most of the digital pictures because "he needs to practice for his upcoming photography class." We've taken 4 rolls with the 35mm but undeveloped film does not translate well into blog posts.

Today VacationGirl and her wonderful husband found that they do in fact have more bones, muscles, and ligaments that can become sore. She's considering a petition to make all attraction accesses flat - no hills, no slopes, no stairs.

First stop was Cape Mears lighthouse. The weather is beautiful - jeans and t-shirts are the order for the day - and we're quite comfortable. Comfortable until we started down the path to the lighthouse. We were certain we had been transported to Alaska. We all headed back for sweatshirts and even that wasn't enough. Getting to Cape Mears is like walking through a wind tunnel. It's a teeny little lighthouse but because it's on a 217 foot cliff, it packs a whollup - it can be seen for 21 miles out to see. That is, if the crew doesn't turn to ice first!

Next stops, Yaquina Head Lighthouse & Yaquina Bay Lighthouses. VacationGirl was hoping for a visit from the ghosts that reportedly haunt Yaquina Head but alas, they moved south for the summer to warm their little ghostly selves. If possible, it was even colder here than at Cape Mears. Since no ghostly appearences were in the works, VacationGirl just stood at the bottom of the lighthouse, hoping feverishly that a whale would make an appearance, while Tim & Steven climbed the 104 steps to the top of the lighthouse. She learned her lesson on the first day - no climb, just look! No whales, either.

We made our way down the coast to the jewel of the trip - Heceta Head Lighthouse. Only 1/2 mile to the lighthouse - all uphill - 162 feet - very, very long feet - very, very long 1/2 mile! By now, even VacationGirl's wonderful husband is beginning to feel pain in muscles that didn't exist before this trip. Of course, the almost 16 year-old jogs half way up - walks the rest - comes down to meet us and jogs up again. VacationGirl and loving husband are beginning to plan his demise as he mocks our poor tired bodies. Ha! Just wait another 20 years! Then he'll see!!!

Heceta Head is really not all that great up close - worth the climb but not one of the more spectacular lighthouses. However, the view from a distance and from across the cliffs is worth every climb we've made - it's truly beautiful.

One of the few 'attractions' that is not a lighthouse, bridge, or mountain is near Heceta Head - the Sea Caves. Since Guiness World Records shows this as the world's largest Sea Cave, we just had to see it. It was pretty neat - it's home to at least a kazillion wild Steller sea lions. We watched one little guy trying to get back up on the rock with everyone else - he finally caught a wave that took him to the rock and he was almost up and WHOOPS - another washed him off again.

VacationGirl knows just how he feels - her body feels like it's been beat against the rocks!

There's an elevator that takes you down 200 feet into the cave (after you walk down a steep, long path that you must then walk back up after your visit) where you can observe them through the glass - definately worth the walk - and a must-see if you're ever in Florence, OR.

Starvation is beginning to set in - we decided to skip lunch for the sake of lighthouses - and after far too many of them in a 48 hour period, we're ready to crash for the day. Hmmm, maybe should have thought of that a few hours earlier before all the hotels filled up! But we found a beautiful room in Reedsport - and we're resting our weary bodies.

No posts, no pictures tomorrow - we're staying in the Crater Lake National Park and the hotel supposedly has no phones, no television, no air conditioning. Guess there's no wireless either! It's a 5 hour drive inland and from what we hear, it is beyond description. Hopefully, VacationGirl can snatch the digital camera away and take some pictures.

See ya in a few days!

Only The Beginning

Yep, the pictures just about sum it up - pretty darn beautiful out here!

VacationGirl and family's internal clocks are still set to good old Eastern Daylight Time - we slept in until 8:00 today - EST - 5:00 Pacific time. UGH! But it did get us on the road and out of Seattle by 7:00!

First stop was North Head lighthouse in Washington. We were able to climb to the top of the lighthouse here. (first picture) VacationGirl made a critical discovery at this lighthouse. She enjoys looking at lighthouses, but not climbing up them! This was a very important revelation as it will save many bones, muscles, ligaments and other little used body parts from unnecessary strain as we visit the remaining lighthouses on the west coast tour. Discoveries like these are very good! So in this sense, the trip has been a rousing success thusfar!

Next on the agenda was Cape Disappointment - and it was! Oops - it wasn't that bad! Seriously, it is a nice lighthouse but not worth too much effort. There's a nice view from the Lewis & Clark Interperative Center as you can see from the 2nd picture. Steven found a trail that was only 7.5 miles to the lighthouse. Ha! Another important discovery made before disaster struck. VacationGirl very quickly reasoned that hiking 7.5 miles to see a lighthouse (that she can see quite nicely already) would be just as bad as climbing to the top of one. So she chose to visit Mr. Lewis and Mr. Clark in their Center while Tim & Steven hiked to the lighthouse. While VacationGirl meandered around and leisurely made her way to the car to relax and read, thinking she had a LONG wait, she spots a familiar face. Hmmm - did they come realize that VacationGirl's very importnat discovery was truly remarkable? Nope - they made it to the lighthouse and back. How could this be? Dots are such peculiar creatures - especially when they are not seen correctly - 7.5 was really .75 miles. So much for relaxing and reading.

So on down the road to Cannon Beach. (More stops were made in the land of lighthouses, bridges, and mountains, but those details will come in the scrapbooks later). Cannon Beach draws visitors from all over - the main attraction is a rock. Granted, it's a very big rock, but nonetheless, it's a rock. But in keeping with the tradition of Couch family vacations, rocks are something we visit. Haystack Rock is the name of this remarkable creature - it rises 235 feet from the ocean and is full of all kinds of living sea life - as you can see in one of the pictures.

Although our hotel had an ocean view, it was from about a block away and the rock could not be seen from our hotel room. But a short walk to the actual beach left us with wonderful views. It was low tide so we walked down the beach to the rock to see all of the sea creatures that call the rock home. The hotel manager said the rock was about a quarter mile down the beach.

He LIED!

It was at least 6 miles away. Ok, it just seemed like 6 miles. It did take us about 20 minutes to actually reach the rock. It seemed so enticingly close. But no matter how many steps VacationGirl took, that damned rock never got closer. Or so it seemed.

Finally, VacationGirl made it to the rock. She had to wade through the water a little to get to the rock to see the sea life - thank goodness VacationGirl's family doesn't travel with video cameras. There's a whole episode just waiting for America's Funniest Home Videos! Two camera's hung around her neck - trying to keep her balance amoung all the tide and rocks! This is when VacationGirl makes another very important discovery -

The Pacific Ocean is darn cold!

But after wading for about a minute or two, one's feet are numb to the cold! Finally, her kind, loving husband came to rescue her from the rocks and start the journey back to the hotel. Is it possible for the distance back to be longer than the distance to the rock? Well, just ask VacationGirl, because the distance was at least 3 times longer! Or at least her poor legs thought so. But we all trudged to the hotel (ok, the 16 year old got cute and jogged down the beach) only to be greeted by the prospect of walking up 3 flights of stairs to the room.

Note to self - ALWAYS get a ground floor room or at least a room with an elevator!

And although VacationGirl hoped for a Haystack Rock sunset picture, the restaurants were not cooperating and she couldn't make it back to the rock in time. However, sunset over the Pacific WAS captured and still looked beautiful.

Now, it's time for VacationGirl to attempt to crawl to the bed - the floor is looking really good right now - no climbing involved - and get some sleep for the next day's agenda of more lighthouses, bridges, and mountains.

Until then.....

Oregon - Here We Come

Whew! We made it! VacationGirl and family are in Seattle. Long journey, cramped seats! Although not comparable to India's travel time, 10 hours is still a long time to live in cramped little seats made for people that weigh less than 100 lbs and airports where cell phone conversations seem to be loud and never ending.

TIP - NEVER where hiking boots on long flights!

But make it, we did. Since the flight arrived at 6:31, VacationGirl had big plans to get the car, get to the hotel and then head to the space needle. Whoops! THAT'S not happening. Yes, the flight was on time, but when the person at the front the rental car line doesn't own a major credit card and is trying to come up with every way possible to rent a car anyway (and that's after spending 20 minutes trying to find the Budget counter - you know, the ONLY rental car counter that is no where near the other company's counters.), it tends to slow down the plan - finally got out of the airport and to the room (1 mile from airport) at about 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Unfortunately, our bodies think it's 11:00 p.m. so space needles will just have to wait.

Dinner at Denny's - whoo hoo! VacationGirl remembers when Denny's used to be good - but maybe those memories are colored a bit by the haze of alcohol - but it was still food. We did have a triple-priced lunch in the luxury of the Dallas-Fort Worth fast food court but by the time we arrived at our "final destination", we were ravenous! Even Denny's tasted good.

Monday we head for the land of lighthouses, bridges, and mountains. VacationGirl and family are all pretty tired tonight - so we'll just post the first pictures - from the plane on the way to Seattle.

See ya in Oregon!