With one more jam-packed day ahead of us, my daughter J and I got up at 6:15. It was overcast, when we made our way downstairs to breakfast at 6:40. Even though breakfast was to start at 6:30, not everything was all out yet. Not even napkins were out. I was later told that the regular person called out sick and someone from behind the desk had to go fill in. Why would they have only one person to make and get all that food out? Not very good planning. Which reminds me- the place is "newly renovated", but there's no towel rack in the bathroom. Not very convenient to have to put your towel over by the sink or on a hook.
Anyway, we checked out at 7:20 and with a bit of sun and the odometer reading 43606, we were off. Since Portland is so close to the border, it wasn't long before we were in Washington. Vancouver was the first city we passed through, but not the Vancouver I'd visited before. I-5 had a fair amount of traffic. We noticed on Google maps that a Dollar Tree Distribution Center was off to our east in Pioneer. And, for a while, the road ran pretty close to the Columbia River, before we continued north and the river went west.
At 8:15 (43633), having gone only 27 miles in almost an hour, but not sure of what we would find ahead of us, we took a break at the Toutle River Safety Rest Area north of Castle Rock. (There's actually a website called washingtonrestareas.com. You can look the thing up!) We were back on the road at 8:21.
There was nothing for J to photograph and at 8:30 it started spitting. Sigh. The temperature was 63 outside, but the car was comfortable. She was able to continue the needlework, as I cruised along.
The GPS sent off to the east on US 12 at Exit 68. It got rather rural in a hurry. At Morton, we turned left onto Second Street and drove through town on WA-7. The terrain got hillier as we continued north. At Elbe, we turned eastward onto WA-706, aka National Park Highway.
As we looked up at the wooded mountains near us, we noticed the eeriness of the wisps of fog drifting upward like smoke and the clouds low to the mountaintops. J got a shot or two out the window.
Soon, we were passing lodges and cabins with Mt. Rainier in their names. At 9:48 (43738), we passed through the Nisqually Entrance to the park.
It's actually over 17 miles from there to the Visitors Center at Paradise up on the mountain. There were plenty of woods between us and there. At 10:02 (43743), we pulled into a handy parking area by the Nisqually River to take a few photos of the odd excuse for a river. So many large rocks in the bed! And it was obviously wider at times. Plus, look at those old trees in the bed, that had obviously been washed down stream. But, there's plenty of new growth on those trees.
We stopped again at 10:10 (43747), stepping out into the chilly 56 degree air to read the sign that explained why the river was the way it was. And to take more photos of the riverbed with more respect for it.
10:22 (43753) found us stopping again, but this time it was to take pictures of clouds. The temperature was now 52 degrees. I took some video, too, to capture the wisps lifting up to the clouds. We could see a bit of snow up there. So cool!
We paused at 10:31 (43755) to photograph the Paradise sign. It was now 50 degrees.
A minute later, we were parked in the crowded lot at the Jackson Visitors Center (43756). It was 49 degrees and the top of the mountain was not visible at all. In fact, the clouds seemed to be right at the top of the trees off of the parking lot. The Visitors Center looked modern and sturdy, which makes sense since it is open in the winter. The water in the restroom was ice cold, though.
Inside, there was a large open area with seating, much like a lodge, and a large topographical map. By the map, we listened to some of a ranger talk about what would happen if Mt. Rainier erupted. It is a volcano, after all. It was very interesting. I took photos of the top of the mountain on the map figuring we weren't going to see it today. Luckily, we'd both taken trips to Seattle and had seen it from the Space Needle.
The gift shop was upstairs, as was a terrific exhibit area. We visited both. We also walked out onto a sort of porch that would look out on the mountaintop on a good day. Today, I used it to chart the very gradual lifting of some of the clouds. There were good folks out there setting off on hikes, which we did not have time for.
We decided that it would be smart to eat in the cafeteria on the far end of the building. I got a turkey sandwich from a case for $9.50, barbecue chips for $1.75, and, because their only sodas were Pepsi products, a bottle of sweetened ice tea for a whopping $4. With tax, it came to $16.45, but captive audience.
Just before we left at 12:01, we took a few more pictures of what little we could see of the mountain above us.
It was now 55 degrees. We got a glimpse of the Nisqually Glacier. So, that's another one for the summer.
I saw some fireweed along the side of the road and slowed down so that J could snap some photos.
At 12:15 (43762), we parked in a small parking area near the bridge over the Nisqually River. Bridges make me nervous, but I wanted photos, so that was that. We took them looking both up and down the river. It must be quite something during the spring melt.
When we got back on the road at 12:23, it was 56 degrees. Our route continued to be rural as we retraced our steps and continued on WA-702, when we reached Elbe. We came down out of the mountains to an area that became more and more urban as we turned from west to northwest. Eventually, we reached I-5 again, but we now headed southbound, as the road had brought us out northeast of our next destination, Olympia, the state capital.
Yes, it was time to add another capitol to my collection. At 2:24 (43839), we parked at the Visitors Information Center parking down the street from the state capitol. Here it was 76 degrees. We paid $4 to park for two hours. There were some pretty flowers there that looked for all the world like wildflowers.
As we approached the Legislative Building (aka, the Capitol), we could see that it was none too big. It also wasn't very tall, although the brochure said that the brick and sandstone dome went to 287 feet at the top of the cupola and is the tallest masonry dome in the country. Seeing some pretty flowers, that seem to be red hot pokers or torch lilies, in front of a building, I tried taking a shot with them in it to dress up the scene.
We went in through the southeast entrance, which put us at Visitor Services. We took care of getting my capitols passport stamped and then roamed the halls equipped with an oversize guide pamphlet. We'd missed one tour and didn't want to hang around for the next at 3. The pamphlet was a good enough guide, because, honestly, there wasn't a lot to talk about. All the info was architectural and how beautiful it was. And, yes, the marble is lovely and the chandeliers are great. But, the only statues are replicas of the two representing the state in Statuary Hall at the US Capitol. There is a bust of George Washington, that is great for selfies. In fact, his face is everywhere, because it is part of the Great Seal. It is even on doorknobs. But, he never came here. There is nothing about the state and its people. No grand paintings of history or scenery are here. I've said it before- as capitol is how a state presents itself to the rest of the country and the world. This one does a terrible job of it. Heck, the marble throughout the building is from Alaska!
The photos below are of the rotunda area. The four corners feature flags of the 39 counties and Roman-style firepots by Tiffany.
We found the statue of Mother Joseph, who founded hospitals in the Northwest, but couldn't find the one of Marcus Whitman, a physician, who brought settlers here. The Washington bust was easily found, as were the medallions on the railings.
We stopped by the third floor reception room, but couldn't go in. I did get a photo of some of its half-domed ceiling, which was attractive.
The House of Representatives Gallery had very pretty flowers in the carpet. It turned out they were the state flower, the Pacific Rhododendron. It is incredibly difficult to see in this photo, but the names of the county are high up on the walls. We could only see this and the Senate from the Gallery sections.
Over on the Senate side, I was fascinated by the map on the screen of the voting districts. Talk about gerrymandering! They do not use electronic voting machines on this side, but they do on the House side.
When we finished, we went down to the gift shop on the first floor. They had some local products. I found a postcard and a couple of pins. They also had two clerks, who were so busy talking about the job that one of them might get, that they didn't notice anyone until they were asked if they could pay.
We were back in the car and on the road again at 3:28. Now, we had to head up I-5, going past Seattle on our way to Everett. Unfortunately, it was getting on to rush hour and we did encounter traffic. We just needed to get to our destination before it closed at 7. Hopefully, well before it closed.
And, that we did. At 5:50 (43930), I pulled into a space across the street from Funko. Both J and I have quite a few of their Funko Pop! figurines from various fandoms. J had been so anxious to go here, that rather than drive from Glacier to Seattle on Sunday, we'd gone to Portland, because Funko is not open on Mondays. Neither of us quite knew what to expect here, but J thought we'd be able to build a Funko that looked like us. We loved the exterior of the building with the giant Pops! They had outgrown their original building and expanded across the street, hence the Pops! up on the bridge. We also discovered, when we reached the corner, that there was another building up the street that was theirs. Note that in the windows up in the offices you can see figurines and Pop! boxes.
Inside, we found giant Pops! in vignettes. They saluted some of the most famous fandoms: Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Harry Potter, etc. There were some of Funko Freddy, too. We thoroughly enjoyed walking around photographing these.
We found a fake conveyor belt that sort of simulated what they would be like coming through production. In this same area, you could build a Funko, but it was a monster, not yourself. That was disappointing, but saved some money.
There were also Pops! for sale, both regular size and small ones, as well as things like pencil cases. I saw a set of the Sanderson Sisters from Disney's
Hocus Pocus and thought they'd be great for my other daughter, who loves the movie and the Sisters' show at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom every year. However, they were seriously bulky. So, I checked the online store and, yes, I could order them. So, I made a mental note to do that at home. I knew I'd have to make room in my suitcase, though, as soon as I saw Weird Al Yankovic as a Pop! That had to be bought.
We left the store at 6:50- ten minutes before closing. Back in the car, we took some time trying to figure out where we wanted to eat dinner. We decided that some place right here in downtown Everett would be best. Thanks to Google maps, we were on the road at 7.
Our destination was basically on the street up behind Funko. However, it was cooling down and we didn't want to walk back to the car in a strange town. At 7:03 (43931), we parked pretty close to El Paraiso Mexican Grill. We walked up to the corner to take a photo down to the Puget Sound. The wind was rather cold and we decided we would definitely not be sitting at the tables outside of the restaurant.
As we were led to a booth on the far right side of the restaurant, we passed a stand, where a lady was making fresh tortillas. We were each offered one, which we took. It was good, but spicier than I expected. We chose Chicken Enchiladas Mole for $13.95 and Chicken Flautas for $14.95. I got a Diet Coke for $2.75 and J ordered water. It took a long time for those drinks to come. The food was pretty good, but the server left something to be desired. Not very friendly or speedy.
We left at 7:59 and it was downright chilly. J searched on Google and found a Shell station not far away. At 8:03 (43932), I braved the wind and filled up. I saved 15 cents a gallon again with Fuel Rewards, getting 10.107 gallons @$3.329. Rather expensive, even with the savings. Oh, and the car claimed it was 70 degrees outside. That was a darn cold 70.
We were on the road at 8:13. Traffic was not bad as we headed south past Seattle. J had booked tonight's hotel and picked one close to SeaTac, as we would be flying out in the morning. At 9 (43975), I pulled into the Days Inn. It was a very weird entrance. There was a narrow drive next to the building which led back to a small lot and a garage. Not knowing really where to park, I turned around in the back and parked next to the retention wall along the drive. This turned out to be okay.
We could see the big Delta building north of us.
After J checked us in, we hauled all of our stuff up to room 426 for the major repacking that we had to do tonight. The ceiling in our hall was so odd. We were on the top floor and there was obviously glass up there, but it was covered with cardboard.
The room itself was very basic. It also let in a fair amount of hall noise during the evening. But, it would be just one night.
We emptied water bottles, collapsed the cooler and the thistle backpack, and generally repacked all of our stuff, trying to make everything fit. You know, the stuff you do before flying home.
Today, I drove 369 miles. I'm looking forward to seeing the total for the trip after we drop the car off tomorrow.
