The Northwest

We've been escaping the heat by spending time in the Northwest this summer. Our first stop was in eastern Washington where we visited some of the wineries. It's also a big hops area since the majority of the hops used in beer production can be found there. Hops plants which reached well above 15 feet were planted adjacent to vineyards, making an interesting contrast.

After leaving Prosser, our base in wine country, we headed for the coast via the White Pass Scenic Drive which runs between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. It's a gorgeous drive and we had many fantastic views, including this one of  Mt. Rainier.

Our friends Judy and Jim were camp hosting at Mystery Bay in the Puget Sound for 2 weeks, and there just happened to be an RV park one mile down the road so of course we joined them. They had a spot on the dock with an incredible view. The crabbing was great and we were treated to fresh crab in every form just about every day. Yum!

Judy and I resumed our lunch and shopping excursions which of course was lots of fun.

After leaving Judy and Jim we headed to Vancouver to visit with Roberta and Matt. We don't consider ourselves city people by any means but sure do love Vancouver (and Roberta and Matt too). Of course we had to sample from the myriad of cuisines - sushi, Ethiopian, seafood, and so on. Matt took us out to Granville Island which is always fun to visit with the markets, artisans, people, boats and scenery. Even Brian seems to enjoy the market there. 

We spent a day at one of Vancouver's beaches where Roberta and Matt did a long distance swim followed by some free diving. Both Brian and I felt like the old fogies hanging out on the beach, watching the kids, but it was fun and we enjoyed our BC beach day.

After Vancouver we began working our way south along the rugged coasts of Washington and Oregon. It's a beautiful and impressive coast with the rough surf and rocky shore. Even with the sun shining the fog is ever present, hanging just beyond the beach, waiting to work its way inland.