On Our Way

Good afternoon, my friends. We find ourselves in Olympia, Washington, this afternoon. It was a relatively short day of driving to get here. It began with some last-minute packing and preparation, and then, we were on our way. We spotted some fall color as we drove away from our home. I expect we'll a lot more of this as we make our way through Washington.

Traffic was fairly light getting through downtown Portland, which was a nice change from the usual bumper-to-bumper we often find there, no matter the day or time. And soon, we crossed the Interstate Bridge.

It took us over the Columbia River, which is the dividing line between Oregon and Washington.

And here we'll be for the next month or so.

Welcome, my friends. I'm so glad you came along!

There isn't a lot to see along this I-5 stretch...just evergreen trees lining both sides of the road. On a clear day, we can get a glimpse of Mt. Rainier, but we were under cloudy skies for today's ride. This barn caught my eye. Look to the left of the barn, and you'll see a minion holding an American flag.

We caught just a glimpse of  the tippy top of Washington's State Capitol building.

Here's another image I swiped off their website.

We had just about another 30 miles to go at that point. As we left the interstate, we kept seeing signs directing us to the campground "just ahead." And this tunnel gave us pause. We couldn't see the height limit because of a branch hanging in front of it. But wouldn't you think with an RV park "just ahead," it would be tall enough to accommodate our rig?

As it turns out...yes. And now...say it with me..."Oh look! There's the light at the end of the tunnel!"

Arriving at the campground, we caught our first Bigfoot sighting of the trip.

Arriving at our site, the kitties were in the swing of things right away. They've got their food and water, their potty box, and their kitty treats. Life is good.

Oh yes, and when I put down the wheat grass, everything was grrrrroooooooooovy.

Except for this: Our neighbors two sites over have a stupid woofie. We know it is a stupid woofie because, and you can say this with me too: "All woofies are stupid." These kitties do not like woofies.

It's a nice site here...spacious. We do have neighbors to our left and outside the frame. Obviously, we're in our truck camper for this trip, and towing our Jeep. The truck and camper require diesel fuel, which is inching toward $7 per gallon day by day. The Jeep runs on regular, which is still expensive, but not as bad as diesel. We'll use the Jeep to get around. (It's easier on the kitties when we're not moving the camper around too.)

Turning directly around from that image, this is behind me. This is the Nisqually River.

Looking to my left, it looks like this.

I caught a Western Gull in flight over the river.

We're meeting some friends tonight at the Olympia Oyster House. They have fried oysters on their menu, and I absolutely love fried oysters. They're natural here...not farmed...and Washington has some delicious oysters. The friend we're meeting is a friend from high school...we were in the band together. Andy played trumpet. I played alto clarinet. We were able to reconnect on Facebook. Several years back, Andy asked if I would make him a Marine Corps quilt, and, as a Marine Corps brat, I was happy to oblige.

So, we'll meet Andy and his wife, Karie, for dinner. We're here for two nights, and so we might meet up with them again tomorrow evening as well.

As for our own plans for this area, we plan to hike the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail tomorrow. It's looking like good weather in the afternoon, and so I'm hoping we'll be able to do it without rain gear. This is a trail we've wanted to do for a long time, and so we're looking forward to that. Fingers crossed the weather will cooperate.

Okay, and backing up to yesterday, I had time enough to top-stitch all the applique on "Across the Wide Missouri."

The details still need to be added. This will be stitched by machine.

Okay, and that's all I have for you today. I'll spend some time relaxing until it's time to head out for dinner. Tomorrow I'll be back to tell you about our hike.