The Pacific Northwest

Dave and I left California and drove all the way to Washington - it took 12 hours. The sights were amazing - we saw Mt. Shasta and Mt. Lassen in California, with their peaks covered in snow - that's when I knew the scenery was really going to change.
Once we got into Oregon we saw Mt. Hood. We also saw sign after sign on the I-5 for Subway eateries, I started to wonder if it was the state sandwich. We did stop at Subway - they offer a Veggie delight sandwich, so I was happy. Some people look me you so weird when I say I am a vegetarian.
In Washington we saw Mt. Saint Helen's, I remember she blew her top off just before I gave birth to daughter Lyndsey in 1980. We arrived at Dave's folks house safely. Dave's dad George gave us a tour of his stained glass workshop the next morning - he is super talented and artistic. Dave's dad and his wife Jane went to Discovery Bay for a week with us, we took several small day trips. One of our day trips was to Port Townsend - what a cool funky little town right on the coast, very hippie. We walked along the main street, drove the town with a map to see historic buildings and homes - real old quaint homes, one was painted all pink and had a widows walk. I am not much of a military gal at all (stop the war), but we drove onto Fort Worden (Officer & a gentelman was filmed there) and we hiked out to the lighthouse which I totally dug. It was chilly, windy and the ocean was choppy - it felt rugged.
The following week we went to Oregon and stayed in Depoe Bay, right on the coast. The ocean was a constant roar always in motion, never silent. Dave's sister Alice and her husband Randy joined us - along with Dave's brother Don and his wife Joan. We had a condo full - we played domino's, cards and cooked lots of food. Apparently there is/was a pod of 90 whales that sit off the coast there, we saw two of them spout. I was disappointed because I really wanted to see some whale action. The weather was chilly, then it got super wet - rain - I got to wear sweaters with jackets and chunky hiking boots which makes me happy. Took a short day hike with Dave that wound up with us driving to a small town having a hot lunch.
The drive home was divided into two days - with rain and hail it was a slow go.
This time we are staying at Jennifer's house just five days until we leave. It is great to see her again, today we hung out. Went for a coffee and ran some errands together. It was a cozy mom and daughter morning. Tomorrow we will see Lyndsey. We fly to LA on Friday, where we will see my brother Alan and his wife Bonnie for a morning brunch, then we board a ship bound for the Panama Canal ~ I will write more after the Panama Trip.