Experiencing America part 2

It was mostly cloudy, typical Seattle, our entire stay, but every so often mountains would appear, and the Puget Sound was blue.


On our way to visit my dad, with my sister and her son, we took (as always) a ferry from West Seattle to the Olympic peninsula, which is the home of the Olympic mountain range and the Olympic rain forest. The peninsula is special to people who like Twilight: ) Anyway, as we cruised along, another ferry caught up to us and I took this photo to show what they look like. Seattle has the largest ferry fleet in the world, Vancouver being second.




First things first, enjoy Ivar's clam chowder on the ferry. My sister treated, and the cup sitting in front of me was 5 bucks, I think. Every time we visit there is culture shock at the price of clam chowder. It just feels wrong to ride a ferry and not eat it. Here our ferry is docked shortly at Vashon island.



Well, skipping family photos, we met up with my dad who lives on the peninsula and went geocaching, of course, cuz we always do. I was so happy to find my father fit enough at his age to join us, and he even out-walked me. At the trail head we found garbage sacks full of elk remains, the heads missing, three in total. These animals were huge. Here I am pointing out the cartilage in the spine which is still there.



We geocached a logging area, so clear cuts and tall Douglas Firs. Also, the stench of Swamp Tulips was strong. Skunk Cabbage is the official name, I think. Anyway, we cached 4 hours here and ran into no other trail users, even though everything except motor vehicles was allowed. That testifies to the remoteness of the peninsula, and I wouldn't mind living there, even though a few years ago I was too snobby to consider it. I don't need to be in King county ever again, as much as it dyed my wool. More on that later.



Look at that, my dad is aging in reverse: )



He outstripped me - at one point I need a break and realized there are no ticks in Washington, so I lay down and rested on the ground. Something I have missed. The ground is mostly glacier-smoothed rock (like river rock), my sister told me.



This is the signature bird of our 2018 America trip, because he visited us on the peninsula, and he visited my mom's house in Normandy Park too. This red- eyed guy is called a Towhee. Have you ever seen one?



Every meal was an indulgence, and that is why my man and I gained at least 4 kg each on this trip. Here J enjoys Eggo waffles for the first time at my dad's house. I tried to stay on my Atkins diet, but slipped a little.



Pulling out of my dad's house, this Olympic peak greeted us. It was mostly cloudy our entire visit, so anytime an Olympic or Cascade peak showed up, I got excited. These are my mountains! The ones I miss every single day in Germany.  Riding a horse in their foothills is what I live for.



And then we went to Beaverton, Oregon. J wanted to visit a company that manufactures equipment for teachers of physics, the company his school uses. So we had an amazing tour of Vernier (complete with fire escape slide for employees who don't wish to use stairs), and they gave him some physics equipment that sent our luggage out of the line by customs, because those things look dangerous on airplanes.

After we visited the facility (which president Obama also visited, in his campaign's interest of tech and education tours), we went to the  local Beaverton Taco Time, which was the worst I've ever seen. Even J was appalled. Happily, a few days later J caught another Taco Time in north Seattle which was the standard quality.

I was anxious to try Chipotle again, and sadly, I got sick after eating it. I guess my stomach cannot handle the sauces I dumped on. It was kind of humiliating, that Chipotle's green chili sauce and extra hot chipotle sauce kicked my butt.




I drove from Seattle to Portland so fast I was amazed I did not get a ticket.

I was furious with the other I-5 drivers, who, despite signs, "Keep right except to pass" are so fixated on the "fast lane" that the entire fast lane was clogged, and the middle lane, even by SEMIS! So, I broke German law and drove in the slow lane. And I passed everyone else, the entire way to Portland and back. WTH! It's been proven dangerous to pass in the right lane, but the other lanes were clogged with people who felt better about their progress there. We literally flew to Portland in the slow lane. Culture shock is so hard. KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS  is taken much more seriously, even in other American cities, but in Washington state, no. Needless to say, no one does that crap in Germany.

About the photo above, you have to be a geek to know. The Oregon trail video game was developed in 1971. And Powell's books had a little tribute. Powell's books was a must-see for my husband after Beaverton. It seems different to me somehow, more sophisticated. It is the largest new and used book store in the world.

And the epicenters of freaks in the entire world.

I discovered, entering Oregon, that Portland is the epicenter of freaks in the world (their motto is "Keep Portland weird"). And entering Powell's books, I discovered it is the epicenter of freaks in Portland!

Can you imagine the dazzling freakiness I saw when I walked up the stairs and saw the Sci-Fi, Fantasy room? The epicenter of the epicenter of the epicenter.

But I got this really great iced Americano, my favorite espresso, and it was so yummy I went back to the coffee room and told them so.



I asked J to take a pic of me enjoying the best Americano in Oregon at Powell's. Shortly after this photo, I found a German board game called Concept. We'd played it once in Germany, and I was enthralled.

I immediately bought it and we played as a family a few times on the rest of our visit. It's, as I say, the perfect game for introverts, because you don't have to commit to the game, no one does, you just pop in and give your ideas if you like. It's like an icon-based version of charades. It's won 10 international awards. Trust me, if you're an introvert and would like to host a party with a board game, this is it. It's the most un-intimidating game ever.


Leaving  Powell's in Portland's Rose district, a sign that gave me a bit of culture shock, cuz these signs did not exist 11 years ago.

More to come!