On Saturday we left Richland and drove across Washington towards John’s dad’s place near Tacoma. We opted for a slightly longer but more scenic route through the Mr. Rainier National Park. I am so, so, so glad we did. It was just breathtaking. I drove the whole way (about 4 hours), and we didn’t stop. In retrospect, maybe we should have since it was so lovely, especially near Mt. Rainier, but I guess we’ll add it to our bucket list for the next time.

We honestly couldn’t get over the TREES. Beautiful, gorgeous, tall, green trees. EVERYWHERE.

This was nearing our highest point in the Mt. Rainier National Park, where we could see Mt. Rainier (behind us) and we drove through a lot of clouds/fog.

It really was too beautiful for our camera to capture. And the air smelled so good and clean that I liked to drive with the window down, even though the temp (which had started around 75-80 degrees in Richland) was close to 50 degrees.

We really enjoyed the drive. If I hadn’t been driving I would have taken more pictures of all the quaint woodsy towns we passed through before we got to Mt. Rainier park. Again, maybe we can stop next time. Once we were out of the park we stopped at the first McDonald’s we saw to use the restroom and change Elizabeth’s diaper. We had some food with us for lunch but we got some french fries and hot fudge sundaes to share. (That was John’s idea; he knows how to make me smile.)

John’s dad owns a bed and breakfast in Lakewood called Thornewood Castle. They were nice enough to put us up in a 2-bedroom apartment adjoining the castle. Our view from our living room:

The last time we saw John’s dad, Wesley was about 3 and Carissa was a baby. This was his first time to meet Elizabeth. On Saturday afternoon, once we were settled, John’s dad got our kids life jackets and we all went to the lake to play.

Wes was happy as ever tossing rocks into the lake the whole time.

The rear view of the bed and breakfast. Our apartment is in the building just to the right of the castle.

John’s dad, Wayne.

John took Carissa and Elizabeth on rides on the boogie boards around the shallow parts of the lake. They loved it.

One of my favorite short videos of Elizabeth because it documents her enthusiasm for life and cookies:

Saturday night after we finished at the lake (and I got sunburned) John’s dad took us to one of our favorite places for dinner: Black Angus (which we haven’t been to in a long time since the one near us in Utah closed years ago). It was so nice to visit with Wayne, and Wes thoroughly enjoyed his ice cream dessert.

Our sunset:

And to give you an idea of its real serenity, a video: