We left grammy and papa’s later than we wanted, however we left the day we intended which was a win in our book. We preheated the van with the diesel heater (have I mentioned how much we love it?),
Grandfather clock photos
took some photos with Grammy next to the grandfather clock that she made in high school (this is a common background which shows how quickly the kids grow) then got loaded up and drove away waving goodbye to grammy as she ran beside the van (a simple family tradition I enjoy). We were leaving Longview and jumped on the 5 to help us get to Tillamook quicker than the 101 would have.
More laundry, toys, and even some alone time for Jen and I as we went around the town looking for some missing items from our wardrobes.
I also took the time to work on the van a little bit. Our windshield wipers would make a chattering/chopping noise every time the would return on their wiping cycle, it was noisy but more than anything, just annoying and
Side of the road parking spot in Long Beach Washington.
We woke up, undisturbed throughout the night. We had heard that Long Beach was lenient about overnight parking along the roads, but was still pleased to not have to wake up and move locations. A good breakfast and then we put on our jackets to “explore” the
Walking out the boardwalk to play at Ocean Shore’s beach.
We woke up to a blue sky and the sound of waves crashing on the beach outside our door. We put up the beds and went out to the beach for a little exploring. The kids loved running in the low tide water and we got some great photos. After knocking the sand off our shoes and putting our jackets in the van, we headed back into the resorts entrance (holding our breathe through the smokiness) and checked out the menu for their restaurant. I saw clam chowder and my mind was made (though I ended up getting fish and chips with chowder on the side). Better than the food was the view (windows wrap 3 sides of the restaurant overlooking the beach).
We woke up next to Aubrey Davis Park on Mercer Island, a bridge drive away from Downtown Seattle. We found ourselves across the street from multi-million dollar homes and people walking their dogs right behind our back windows.
Can we TOUCH the airplanes???? Yes. Okay, lets go!
As you can see above, we made it out of the snowy campsite from last night, but it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. When I saw the truck “rip” up the hill with their chains on I had my suspicion that I’d need the same assistance this morning to extract ourselves as well. Sure enough, I took a couple tries on each exit route to no avail, the roads were too steep and the snow too slippery to get out without
Not the best night of sleep in my life, but I’m not complaining. I’m in the middle of nowhere Washington, with the people I love the most and we can go and do “just about” anything we want today. I know, lets go play in the snow!
Google Maps, I got it, I-90!
Our compass is pointed towards Seattle, Not for any particular reason, it’s just the right direction for us to be heading at this point in our journey (we’re roughly going around the country counter clockwise) and after taking a look at iOverlander we found a good possible site and set off along the 90. I guess google maps wanted to make sure I knew which road I was on:
We already had a stocked fridge, full water/ fuel tanks, and an empty trash can, so our only stop after being on the road for a couple hours was at Mountain View Park in Ellensburg Washington to run out some energy and make some lunch.
After swinging and teeter-tottering (love how playgrounds are getting dangerous again!) and eating lunch we hit the road for our last little bit of the drive for the day (about 30 minutes).
It was really neat as we got close to our site, we were flanking a wildlife refuge and saw a big heard of elk (~100) and a couple dear. Didn’t stop for photos as the kids were actually asleep in their carseats and evening was approaching which meant if this site didn’t work out, we’d need to quickly find and get to a backup. Fortunately no backup was needed as we made the sharp left down into an awesome flat next to Taneum Creek which clearly doesn’t receive much sun exposure as most of the hills around it were bare, but it still had ~8″ of snow covering it. There was one truck down there when we pulled in, but they were chaining up to drive out and after we backed into our level spot for the night, one of the guys came walking down the hill to ask if we were “all right”? 🙂 I said, yeah, we’re good, we’re staying here for the night. He gave me a quizzical look and said alright. After watching them need chains to get up the hill to the main road, I figured we’d need to do the same, but I wasn’t worried as we’d purchased two sets of chains and had already test fit them in the driveway to ensure we were prepare for just such a situation.
We all got out and played in the snow while the sun set and then settled back in the van for dinner, a few games of “Left, Right, Center” (aka: Washington), and bedtime stories.
Kids enjoying the last minutes of sunshine of 2018.
Here we go! We’ve talked and dreamed, we’ve planned and built, we’ve been excited and terrified, but today the rubber meets the road. We’re leaving the comforts of driveways owned by family in Spokane Washington and heading Southeast to Heart Lake (near Moses Lake WA) where we’ll spend the first night of our road trip around the country.
The drive itself (~111 miles) was easy and uneventful. We stopped once for groceries to fill up the Dometic CFX 95 Fridge/Freezer and once again to fill up the van’s fuel tank. It’s a diesel, so every time I fill it up I chant to myself, “Green Handle, Green Handle, Green Handle”, this has worked so far!
We pulled up to Heart lake and were pleased be be the only ones around. Molly, our dog (yeah, we brought her with) was also excited as that meant no fireworks which in the past has lead to shredded carpet, peeled paint and drywall, and messes we don’t want to discuss when the percussions of fireworks start to go off.
After a yummy dinner we tucked in for the night and dreamt of the miles, days, and adventures ahead.
Heart Lake Washington – Where we rang in the new year!
