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Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and a Wedding in Upstate NY September 12- October 1, 2014 Driving away from the San Juan Islands early was difficult. Raja was having issues so we just took off, caught the ferry, and then drove to Silver Creek, WA. Silver Creek would be our home base while we visited Mount Rainier and Mt St Helens. Before we could play tourists we had to play parents so we drove Raja to Portland to get checked up by Dr. Stephanie Harvey, a dear friend who just so happens to be living on the West Coast. Luckily, Raja’s blood work was normal and her radiographs (x-rays) just showed some degenerative joint disease (arthritis) in her pelvis.   Our assumption was that she fell in the RV. Actually after several days back in the RV we noticed that Raja would no longer go to her favorite ‘sun’ spot up on the dashboard by the steering wheel. So we think she probably got caught up on the steering wheel while jumping down. Fortunately, several days of pain medication and rest had our sweet old lady back to her talkative self! After patching up the cat we decided it was again time for the tourist us, so we drove to Mount Rainier National Park. Our destination this day was the Paradise area. What a beautiful drive and hike. The mountain peaked out showing us it’s magnificence, and the marmots where playing and chatting around every trail bend. It was a better hike than either of us thought it would be, which for us is a pleasant surprise. Needless to say we really enjoyed ourselves! Exhausted, the next few days were spent on [...]

August 29 – September 1, 2014 We arrived in La Conner thinking it would just be a quick stop before taking the ferry to the San Juan Islands. Yes, you read that right, but that post will have to wait until later. We got a great spot overlooking the Skagit Bay that offered us unbelievable sunsets from both inside and outside of the rig. We of course went shopping at the local farmers market and also managed to stumble across the 4th annual grand opening of the New Sound Brewery. Fun times were had and more sunsets were witnessed. La Conner is a cute little town overlooking the Swinomish Channel and Skagit Bay. It has a lovely historic downtown on the riverfront. We enjoyed drinks at the local brewery, fresh bakery items, and browsing through the shops. Each shop in town is required to sell different and unique items. That was a breath of fresh air as many small tourist towns have 10 shops that sell all the same items. Thus the shops were true local gems. Anacortes is a nearby town and it is where the ferry terminal is located. We decided to check it out in the toad first before bravely driving the RV on the ferry. Driving the town afforded us with many great ocean views and secret coves to enjoy. We also drove around Fidalgo Island and enjoyed most of the local sights. Since our park once again had a hot tub we found ourselves relaxing and chatting with the locals about the history of this place and travel spots in general. People who travel are an interesting bunch to say the least. We [...]

Leavenworth, WA August 9-17, 2014 What does one do in Leavenworth, Washington? Enjoy the German heritage, the sites, and relax. We both remembered this place and had been looking forward to visiting the town again. Upon arriving we were completely lost trying to find our RV Park. After setting up camp we were talking about how weird our first impressions were and decided to get to the bottom of the lack of deja vu. To make a longer story shorter, after talking with a few locals about the city’s past we decided that we had actually never been here. We had been reminiscing about the Danish village of Solvang, California, NOT the Bavarian village Leavenworth, Washington! What a great surprise for a traveler to conclude. [Click here to read our blog post on Solvang, CA]   Wiping our Leavenworth slate clean we dove head first into experiencing the Bavarian themed town. The town has a calm river running through it that tourists enjoy tubing in. The schnitzels are authentic and the beer gardens called out our names. While in town we stocked up on all things German, namely sausage, ice cream, beer, cheese, and more sausage. That’s the wurst that we could buy. The local community happened to be running a theatre show of the Sound of Music that we couldn’t wait to see. The open-air theatre overlooking the Cascade mountain range did not disappoint. And the Leavenworth Summer Theater performers did an excellent job incorporating the ‘Swiss Alps’ into the performance. All I can say is that the hills were alive with the sound of music! Overall our stay near Leavenworth brought rains to the area helping to douse [...]

Newport, WA, Spokane, WA, and Coeur d'Alene, ID July 25 – August 1, 2014 Leaving Glacier National Park is always sad, but seeing how they had no room to keep us, we reluctantly left. Our next stop was Newport, Washington. We set up camp about 45 minutes north of Spokane and then relaxed a bit in the hot tub. So after our morning swim and soak we took off for the farmers market in Spokane. After some great fresh finds among the stands, especially wild mushrooms, we went to check out some of the city. Spokane is a nice city along a set of waterfalls. There are a few parks that litter the city center and are a nice break from the hustle and bustle. Also, there are some good restaurants that overlook the river that divides the city. Of course we also had to pay homage to the local breweries. We slowed down a bit this week and got caught up on our reading, movies, and pool time. Coeur d’Alene was a close day trip that we took. This little town is actually in Idaho and was action packed with lakeside water sports while we visited. Eating out in the marina was a great way to make us both feel like we were small part of the 1%. The RV park we were staying at had a ton of trails and was nestled next to a state park so Wizard loved his walks in the woods. Did I mention we loved our time in the pool and hot tub. The park also had a driving range, a clubhouse with activities, disc golf course, paddle boats/canoes, etc. So as [...]

Missoula, Montana July 5-11, 2014 Breweries, Buddhists, and Beauty, these three words sum up our stay in the clear mountain skies of Missoula. Who would have thought that this Montana town is another great spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of big city life but with all the amenities that one needs to live a life of Montana luxury? We arrived on Saturday and dutifully found a local brewery to watch the World Cup. Futbol and fresh brewed beer, it doesn't get much better than that! After our drinking was over we called it a day, some days are busier than others, what can I say. We awoke refreshed and did a town drive of Missoula, home to the University of Montana, which is why the little town has a handful of local breweries, a downtown full of swanky shops, and side streets with plenty of good food. A wide river, the Clark Fork River, runs through downtown splitting the town in two and adding ambiance while eating or drinking riverside. Staying just outside of town afforded us with an easy path to the National Bison Range. Because it was less than an hour drive we loaded up for a fun filled day of exploration. On the way to the Range we passed a nice Buddhist monastery, the Garden of the One Thousand Buddhas, so we swung in to see what in the chant was going on. We walked amongst the 1000 Buddhas and enjoyed the surrounding scenery and then were once again headed to the range. However, an interesting fact is that they chose the location of this Buddhist garden because it sits in a valley surrounded by 360 degrees of [...]