Lewis Army Museum Stop

September 5, 2021: On our way home from Seattle we stopped to see the Lewis Army Museum.

They have several tanks and old army vehicles on display outside.

Paxton said this looks like the same jeep Great Grandpa Black was driving the in the old photos he saw during WWII.  

We took turns going inside the museum, dog aren't allowed inside.

I looked through and then went out and hung out with Tux while the boys explored the exhibits.

This piano has been on Fort Lewis  since the First World War and was originally located in a service club on base in 1918.  The piano was actively used until 1990 when it was moved to the museum.

This helicopter stands as a memorial to the crew of 81-23557 and was dedicated back in October 18th 1983.

Tux and I waiting for the boys.

After walking around at the army museum, Tux was tired and the boys were tired too.

Versii and Tux took a little nap together.

Tired Pax.

Kaden on his phone and you can see the hilt of the sword he bought himself at the Army Museum.

I'll have to take a photo of it and add it to the post later.

 

Date in Seattle

September 4, 2021: After we packed up camp, we left for Seattle.  

Josh has talked about talking the boys to see the Troll Under the Bridge for a while now and this time we finally made it!  So here are the boys with the Fremont Troll.

Before our trip, Josh told me that he was surprising me with a fancy date and I needed a nice dress.  I went out shopping and found this blue dress to wear on our date.  Only we realized about an hour and a half into our drive to the campground that we had both failed to put the suit bag that had my dress and his shirt and tie in the car!  Which meant we had nothing nice to wear to dinner and meant more shopping!  I did manage to get away from home with the earrings and strappy sandals I had picked out.  We ended up stopping at a Nordstrom Rack between Rainer and Seattle and I found a dress to wear.

We took the boys and the dog to the Staybridge Inn.  It's dog friendly and their room was on the fourth floor, which had a room top dog area not.  Which made it very convenient for them to take Tux out.

Then Josh and I drove over to check in to our hotel.  We stayed at Hotel Ballard.  We had a beautiful room with a sitting room, a balcony and a fancy bathroom.  

Josh had told them we were celebrating my Birthday, so they left a birthday set-up.  

We don't drink, but the chocolates were delicious!

This is the little black dress I found to replace the one I forgot.

It reminded me a little of the type of dressed the royals wear in England.

***

On our way to dinner we stopped to pick up Pizza for the boys and dropped it off to them.

Josh made reservations for our dinner date at the Palisades. 

We have been to the Palisades one time before when we were in Seattle. 

I looked up the pictures in my Google Photos and our first time there, was in February of 2011.

***

On a side note, can I just say I love Google Photos!  

I have lost photos in the past, so I try to upload my photos to multiple locations: 1. Walgreens (for if I want to print photos); 2. Shutterfly (for photo books); 3. An external hard drive (for backup); 4. Google Photos (where I can easily find and share photos any where I want.)  I scanned and saved all my childhood photos and Josh's in my Google Photos.  It's so much fun to be able to have access to all of our photos in the palm of my hand!  Technology can be pretty amazing and I am so grateful that we have so many photos so I can easily recall precious moments in our past.

***

Anyway, enough photo talk.  We really enjoyed the bread and butter!

We ordered prawn cocktail, a caesar salad and steak with potatoes and asparagus. 

The views of Mt Rainer, the marina and the Seattle Skyline were really beautiful!

For dessert we had the flourless chocolate torte and the cream brulee.

The marina at sunset!

It was a lovely evening out with Josh!

Camping near Mt Rainer

September 3, 2021: Driving up to Mt Rainer National Forrest to camp overnight at Ohanapecosh Campground.  Originally we had planned to drive to Idaho and stay with my cousin Katrina and her family during Labor Day weekend.  We had planned to see Yellowstone while we were there, but then Josh checked the local weather cameras and saw that it was so smoky there due to the wild fires.  When we had so much smoke here, we had really bad air quality and down in Idaho right now their air quality is even worse.  Josh just didn't want to see Yellowstone that way and be stuck in all that smoke, so we ended up cancelling our trip to Idaho and will have to go another time.

The views along our drive were beautiful.

When we arrived, Josh checked in first thing with the Ranger and we lucked out with the last first come first serve camping spot on Labor Day Weekend, so that was amazing!  Most of the time our camping consisted of overnight stays in our trailer, which is kept stocked with all the supplies we need.  This time our camping plan was for Josh and I to sleep on a memory foam mattress in the back of the truck canopy, for Paxton and Tux to sleep in the back seat and for Versii and Kaden to sleep in a tent.  We did well packing the food we'd need, but we totally forgot to pack camp chairs, lanterns and games.  So hanging out in camp was not as great as it could have been.  Sitting at the picnic table definitely does not compare to a good camping chair.   We all took a walk around the campground.  It's a nice campground filled with massively tall old growth trees.

Getting these three to pose for a nice photo can be quite the feat.  They are almost always clowning around and trying to be silly.

I caught this Blue Jay sneaking into camp and stealing away dog food from Tux.

Tux stays super close when you're eating.  He never wants to miss out on a thing or a crumb.

It's been so dry here in Washington, that they have a burn ban currently in effect.  So Josh packed his little camp burner to cook with. 

Kaden holding the new knife he bought at the market in town.

The beautiful Crystalline Ohanapecosh River.

Visiting the amphitheater, where they removed all the benches for some reason.  So they boys decided they all needed to pose on the stumps.

I think this is the nicest stage I've ever seen at a National Park campground.

The river at dusk.

Entertaining ourselves with the camera, photographing light in the darkness.

***

Versii ended up commandeering the hammock from Paxton and sleeping in it all night, while Kaden slept in the tent, Pax and Tux in the back seat, then Josh and I in the bed of the truck.  It was a rough night for me, and a little for Josh too.  He said that I took up most of the bed haha, which I laughed about and said "Welcome to my world".  Most nights Josh ends up taking up two-thirds of our bed at home.  But for me, the mattress seemed like it would be comfortable at first, but I forgot to bring half the pillows I usually sleep with and after laying there for a bit, it just was too hard for my back.  By the time I got up in the morning my back and my neck were so sore.  But aside from the terrible nights sleep, waking up in pain, and the supplies we wished we'd brought, we managed to have a good time together as a family enjoying the beauty of nature.