Olympic Peninsula

I feel a panic rush over me as I realize that this is our last June in Washington. Next month will be our last July. And then our last August. Then September. Then it's back to winter again until we leave. Our time is short. There's just so much that we haven't done here. I don't want to leave without doing and seeing all the great things Washington has to offer.

I heard about Ruby Beach years ago. It has been on my list of "To Do's" since. When Joe heard mention of it a church, we decided it was time. So we put together a weekend camping trip. The beach and camping. What could be better?

We drove through the rain forest to our campground. It was beautiful. We didn't arrive early enough to get campsites along the bluffs overlooking the ocean, but that's okay because it was win-dy! Instead we found several sites that backed up to our own personal rain forest playground. Huge trees, roots, branches, and logs served as perfect entertainment for all the kids. As soon as we arrived, the kids disappeared into the forest playing follow the leader and lazer tag and only returned when we ate hot dogs, went to the beach and ate s'mores. They loved it.

The beach below the campground was covered in drift wood and the softest sand I've ever been on. We headed down to the beach around sunset. The dads flew kites, and the kids pretended the driftwood was their fort. They built sand castles and kingdoms. I love when surroundings spark imagination in kids. We could have stayed there for days and never gotten bored.

The next day we went to Ruby Beach. I checked the tides before we left to be sure we were there around low tide. It was a site to see. Again, beach access meant climbing over layers and layers of driftwood to make it onto the sand. The low tide meant we had tide pools and rocks to climb up and on. The girls waded through freezing water, collected oyster shells and drew in the sand. We practically had the beach to ourselves. They ran around and loved the wide open space of muddy sand.

The beach was breathtaking. I've been to a lot of beaches. California, Hawaii, Florida, Caribbean. And none of them compared to this one. It was so unique and gorgeous. Perfectly differnt. I wish we lived a little closer so I could go back and walk along the shore for miles. I would be able to spend every evening there with my family, clearing my head and soaking up all that beauty.

When the tide started to come in, we headed up the road to Forks for a picnic lunch. Yup, the now famous Forks, Washington. Of course, I have read all the books, but I'm not a crazy fan. But, it was interesting to see all the crazy fans. Crazy I tell you. Buses of teenage tour groups. Families from out of state in matching Twilight shirts. Souvenir shops crowded with people. It was unbelievable. From the main street we drove down, we saw Bella's car, the high school, the police station and the outdoor store where she worked. Just a fun place to stop, eat lunch, and people watch.

From there we drove the rest of the way around the peninsula. Simply beautiful. The drive was scenic and gorgeous. We couldn't get over the pure density of trees. Just thick, thick rain forest. We drove along the prettiest lake I've ever seen. We were surrounded by different bodies of water the whole time. The Pacific Ocean, the Hood Canal, The Strait of Juan de Fuca, Crescent Lake and Puget Sound. That's my kind of rode trip.

We finally made it onto the back side of Bainbridge Island and took the ferry over to Seattle. From there we drove to Alki beach. It reminds me of a California beach city. The main street sits just like PCH. On one side is the beach and the other side has small restaurants, beach shops and crowds of people walking, biking and skating. We finished the night off with fish and chips and one more evening of playing in the sand and water at sunset.

As we drove the familiar rodes home, I was grateful for our weekend. Grateful for the time we've been in Washington. And grateful for the things we've been able to do and enjoy here. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I think I'm going to miss it when we leave.

Really miss it.