Washington Adventure

This year is the year of traveling.  After our Idaho trip we decided to go on a trip to Washington to visit Grandma Talbert.  This time we decided to try to make it all the way to Tacoma in one day.  When we go to the north west, we usually stop half way-ish and break up the drive.  The day before we left we decided that the car probably needed to be checked out by our favorite local mechanic.  The car needed a new timing belt and our wonderful Mr. Abbott took care of it before we had to leave in the morning.  (We really love our mechanic!)  But, because we had to have a new timing belt we weren't able to leave at 4 in the morning like we had planned.  We got out of the house about 9:30 and made it all of the way to Tacoma!

While we were there, we visited with Grandma, swam at the hotel and checked out Nate's old stomping grounds.  It was good to see Grandma and visit with her for a weekend.

It happened that we were in town for "Milton Days".  We were able to watch a parade (where someone in the parade recognized Nate and shouted at him but Nate didn't get a good enough look to figure out who it was.  I'm still curious about who that was.)  Henry also got to play on some tanks that were at the festival and play on the exact same playground equipment that Nate played on when he was little.

Henry likes to build himself a tent when were on road trips.  I love the tent.  We have good car kids.  I couldn't count the hours we spend in the car together going on adventures.

This adventure got a little more adventurous than we really care to get.  We were coming down the middle of Washington on I-90 when I decided that I was a little bored of the Pendleton to Boise stretch of the drive and that it would be REALLY fun to take the slightly longer drive home through northern Idaho and Montana.  We saw some cool new country and enjoyed the drive.  Then we pulled in to Spokane.  We were winging it and finding a hotel when we got as far as we wanted to go that night.  When we called the first hotel on our list we learned it was going to be a LONG night.  He informed us that ComicCon (or some Con) was in town, along with school starting back up, plus some other event and every hotel in a 200+ mile radius was booked solid.  WHAT?!  Surely that could not be true!  Clara was losing patience with with the car, along with the rest of us and we were ready to get out.  Nate and I started calling down the list of hotels in the area.  By area, I mean everything between Canada, Moscow, ID and Missoula, MT.  NOTHING!!!  Not even at the nasty, might be the lair of a serial killer, side of the road creepy places.  NOTHING!!!  We decided to just drive.  It was dark and I think we missed a lot of pretty mountains.  What I saw before it was totally dark made me want to go back in the daylight when there are open hotel rooms.  As Nate drove, I broadened my call radius and constantly harassed every hotel clerk, asking about cancellations.  About 10:30 I FINALLY found an opening!  It was at a Days Inn, 12 miles south of Missoula and the interstate.  It was well after midnight and we were so very grateful for, literally, the last room in the Inn, I mean in western Montana, northern Idaho, and eastern Washington.  The next day the tension had subsided and we were able to enjoy the remainder of our BEAUTIFUL drive.  We want to go back some time.  Certainly not an adventure we'll forget!