As I write this, we have no cell service so it won't be posted until we get to Seattle on Sunday but we have done so much, I have to write it down before I forget. Friday, we had our first driving hiccup as we left the Shelburne Inn. Usually, Ryan drives and I navigate, and only get behind the wheel on a long stretch of road. Well, Friday morning I decided to drive since we were following highway 101 all the way to our next destination. So Ryan tells me to turn left and just follow that road. Twenty minutes later, we get to the end of the peninsula and realize we weren't on highway 101 but were on highway 103 and had to turn around and drive twenty minutes back to the Shelburne. Apparently, 101 had a junction and turned right about a mile before the Inn. So after a forty minute mishap, we were back on track and learned that Ryan should drive and I should continue to navigate.
Our journey took us to Quinault National forest where we finally got to stretch our legs and do a bit of hiking. We hiked a rainforest nature trail where we saw some of the biggest trees in the area. Some were over 100 years old and 200 feet tall. Then, we continued on our way to Kalaloch Lodge where we stayed for the night. I was really hoping to get a view of the sunset since it was our last night on the coast, but alas, the fog was so thick you couldn't even see the water from out ocean view room. We decided we were there so we weren't going to let a little fog stop us. We took a nice walk on the beach bundled in our sweatshirts and jackets. After our delicious dinner in the lodge dining room, we played Yahtzee in our room until bedtime.
This morning we departed Kalaloch lodge for Sol duc hot springs. Our first stop of the day was Ruby Beach in Olympic National Park. This turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip for me so far. Although again, it was so foggy that you couldn't even see the water from shore, we were determined to walk the beach because all of the books said this was one of the best sites to see ocean life. And it did not disappoint! Fortunately, it was low tide so as we walked along the shore and peered into the many tide pools, we saw hundreds of sea anemone, starfish, urchins, and hundreds of thousands of mussels. I was shrieking in excitement like a little kid. I guess I always thought those sea animals were tropical and not so abundant in cold water but I was certainly wrong.
After dragging myself away from Ruby beach, we drove through Forks, WA. We didn't stop here but I thought beared mentioning because it was the setting for the Twilight books and was definitely trying to capitalize on its new "fame." Everywhere you look in Forks there is a sign for Twilight tours or Bella's Cafe. It just struck me as funny.
Finally, we made it to Sol Duc hot springs and almost immediately threw on our swimsuits and went to the springs. It's not really what you might think of when you think of Hot Springs but there were 2 large pools filled with genuine hot spring water that were more like hot tubs without jets. But the water in them smelled of sulphur and felt soapy to the touch. I may not be painting the prettiest picture here because it really was nice and the water really did take away all aches and pains just as they advertise, it was just a little different than I expected. They also have a large regular swimming pool that we swam in for a couple of hours, so we really wore ourselves out. After swimming, we hiked to the Sol Duc falls and back and enjoyed a nice light dinner of salad at the resort restaurant.
I have to apologize for the lack of photos taken on this leg of the trip. I took a ton with the real camera but only a couple with my iphone, so I'll have to upload them when we get home. Tomorrow we head for Seattle, our last stop on our epic journey, on our 2nd wedding anniversary. I am really sad for our trip to end but I'm excited to be celebrating 2 years together in such a fun city!
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