First stop ~ Seattle, Washington

We got up early Wednesday morning to begin our adventures to Washington and Oregon. A 7:00 am flight required a 4:00 am wake-up (4:30 am for Hannah). We got to the airport in plenty of time (thanks to Donna our early morning driver). We took off from Boston a little late, but we were not worried as we had a 3+ hour layover in Salt Lake City, Utah. Daryl and I could each check off another state from our states list. Does an airport layover count?

From Salt Lake City, we flew northwest. Hannah slept through the beautiful view of the Great Salt Lake and Sand flats, but she was looking out the window for the next amazing sight...Mount Rainer!!! The picture hardly does the view justice. God's creation is amazing!
We got to Seattle around 3:00 Pacific time (6:00 pm EST!) We were exhausted! Jon picked us up from the airport. We fed Hannah a little supper and put her to bed. Unfortunately mom and dad (nana and poppi) had to wait until the next morning to greet their granddaughter. The adults enjoyed a delicious lasagna supper, prepared by Jon, before collapsing into bed. Morning comes early when a 1 year old is still on an east coast schedule. Wake-up call was at 4:30 am (pacific time). We encouraged her to stay with us until almost 5:00, but at that point she was HUNGRY! Wake-up Uncle Jon!

Thursday, we got to explore downtown Seattle. Jon took us to Pike's market, which was filled with all kinds of yummy foods and beautiful flowers. We ate lunch downtown and then returned to Jon's apartment before heading to the Locks.
At the Locks, we got to see a boat pass from the Lake to the Sound and then we went to watch the Salmon climbing the fish ladders. Hannah, where did the fish go?
There it is! The King Salmon were fighting their way upstream to their breeding (and dying) grounds. We drew a crowd as we were encouraging and cheering the fish on. It was a lot of work!
That night we enjoyed some lively drumming with Hannah and Jon.
Followed by a walk to a lookout point for the sunset. Hannah had fun playing with Poppi.
Friday, we packed up (wedding flowers from Pike's Market and all our stuff) and headed down to Portland... actually Beaverton, where Maureen's parents live. A 3 1/2 hour trip ended up being MUCH longer due to a RV and grass fire that closed both sides of I-5. Thankfully, we were at a spot where we could turn around and meander our way through back roads to Mo's home. The next post will feature the next part of our journey.