PNW Trip

Wow... what a trip. Jamie and I just got back from a trip to the Pacific NorthWest. It was a blast. We went to Seattle, Yakima to see Jodie and Nico, and to Portland to see Paul and Leisa.

We enjoyed Seattle a lot. The weather wasn't too bad either! It was a bit humid though.

On the way to Yakima we stopped by Mount Rainier. That was great. I've never been so close to a glaciated peak before. The park was fun and wasn't crowded at all. We got some very good pictures of the peak.

In Yakima we did a few things. Although there wasn't a *whole* lot to do there, we stayed busy. We especially enjoyed a quick day-trip to the wine country ( Columbia Valley, WA ). The contrast of landscapes between the coast and Yakima was very dramatic. Yakima is a lot like Colorado Springs in the summertime: brown. They say that's because they live in a "rain-shadow".

From Yakima, we headed down to Portland, OR, to visit with our friends Paul and Leisa. Paul did a great job of showing us the sites ( Leisa had to work ). The coolest thing was the Japanese Garden; definitely worth a visit if you can. Paul also took us on a tour of the Oregon State crime lab. The coolest part was the ballistics lab ( sorry Paul, toxicology is... well... toxicology ;) ).

As always, we took lots of pictures.

Here are some of the interesting places we visited:

Seattle:

• Hill House B&B - Nice place, fantastic breakfast. We had a shared bathroom & small room
• Experience Music Project - Didn't have time for the full experience; want to go back
• Icon Grill - OMG... get the meatloaf... seriously
• Space Needle - pretty cool, go at night.
• Pike Place Market - Worth a see

Yakima:

• Yakima Valley Museum - suprisingly a lot to see.
• Darigold Cheese Production Tour - avoid this AT ALL COSTS
• Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Museum - a museum of the Yakama native americans. Very good exhibits.
• Columbia Valley Wine - This valley has many wineries worth visiting. It's like a very old Napa.

Portland:

• Japanese Garden - My favorite place in Portland
• International Rose Test Garden - not too bad, lots of roses
• Powells Bookstore - It's mammoth. Must see.
• Doug Fir Lounge - Cool bar/restaurant. Lot's of free music acts.
• Cannon Beach - It's a PNW beach... big rocks, sandy, cold.
• Kennedy School - A must see, don't miss it