Seattle
August 16th - August 21th

*Disclaimer - below is only a summary of events and has not been proofread.

Thursday, August 16th
Seattle

Shash, Tanya and I drove downtown and went to the famous Pike's market. It was very touristy so we weren't too impressed. We walked around a little and then went our separate ways. I ended up just driving around town for the afternoon. I went to the University area. It was very grungy. I also found a nice beach on the north end of town and sat there for a while.

That evening Shash and Tanya cooked dinner.


Friday, August 17th
Seattle

Todd arrived in town and we went to the Space Needle to meet him. We went to the Aquarium and saw some really cool fish and sea animals.

That evening we had a great meal at a Thai restaurant.


Saturday, August 18th
Seattle - Port Townsend

We packed up and head towards the Olympic Peninsula. We took a ferry across the Puget Sound and drove to Port Townsend. Todd had an ex-girlfriend there and she came and met us for a drink.

That night, after some driving around, we found a little campsite just out of town.

Sunday, August 19th
Port Townsend - Hurricane Ridge - Lake Crescent - Ozette

It was onto Olympic National Park. First stop was Hurricane Ridge which was high up and had beautiful views of the snow capped Olympic Mountains. We tried to go on a hike but realized that we didn't have enough time and do all the other things we wanted to.

Then we went to Lake Crescent and went for a short walk to Marymere Falls. The walk was lovely, surround by amazing trees and lush vegetation.

We drove onto Ozette, a town off the beaten track that Todd's friend had told us about. We set up camp at the Lost resort.

Monday, August 20th
Ozette

The reason for going to Ozette was a 9 mile triangular hike to the ocean. There was a threat of rain, so we hung around the campsite and wait to see what was going to happen with the weather.

Early afternoon, we decided to head off. It was the most amazing hike/day of the trip. The first 3 miles were along a boardwalk through stunning forest. The coastline was incredible. It was very rugged, with outcroppings of rock and aged logs scattered on the beach. Along the beach was a little lip where people had flattened the vegetation to make primitive campsites. There were huge trees that had fallen onto the beach and there huge root systems were exposed. There were other logs that had obviously been there for ages, were sun bleached and smooth from rolling in and out with the tides.

It was a spectacular day. We wondered around looking at every little nook and cranny. We spent way too much time at the beach and finally realized late afternoon that we were about half way. This meant that we ended up walking the last 3 miles through the forest in darkness.

Tuesday, August 21st
Ozette - Hoh - Portland

We did a couple of short walks in the Hoh Rainforest. Apparently the only rainforest in North America, it was gorgeous. The trees and ferns and all the vegetation were just incredible. Unfortunately, I managed to throw my camera in the river and had to run back to the car to dry it off.

We drove in the rain all the way to Portland and got there early evening. We had no idea where we were. The hostel was fully booked but they referred us to a traveler's hotel. We took one look at this place and didn't care how much we had to spend elsewhere. It was gross. We finally found a motel on the other side which didn't turn out to be much better. Thank goodness Todd was with us!

There was definitely a pimping business going on and some shady characters running around. I ran straight for the shower (we hadn't had one since Seattle!) and the other guys finished unpacking the car. At some point there was no one in the room and the door was open. While I was in the shower, a lady (prostitute and drug addict?) came in and was rummaging through my purse. Shash walked in on her and saved my wallet and cellphone! Crazy shit! Then my car wouldn't lock. The electrics were funny. After messing with it for a while, the alarm went off and we couldn't stop it! Todd unplugged the battery and we got the AAA to come a fix it. Crazy place!