Changes

As we came into Eastern Washington we stopped at a pullout overlooking the Columbia river. That scene and the subsequent wheat and potato fields were in sharp contrast to the Cascade mountains which followed. We have decided that the Cascades are the prettiest we have seen so far. That may be because they are so green compared to the drought stricken mountains we had crossed earlier. Seeing the snow on the eastern side of beautiful Mt Rainier makes us aware that the cold season is not far off.

After missing about three turns we finally got to the Seattle Ferries. The ride over to Bainbridge Island was a delight. The weather was perfect and the sea was calm which is a good thing because a sea sick driver would not be a good thing! One thing we immediately noticed that we did not see on previous trips here were the two Coast Guard boats escorting the ferry. Both were armed with M-60 machine guns. That was a somber reminder to us of how our world has changed since 9/11.

We spent the later part of the afternoon driving about the Island and found the historic Norwegian town of Poulsbo. We wished there were more hours in our days because there is always more to see and explore than we have time for.

Tonight Jim is honoring rule number 4. The hotel we are staying in is definitely in stark contrast to the campgrounds we have stayed in. I like the rules!

Tomorrow we head to Tacoma to spend some time with Jim's family.