Monday, June 29, 2015

Olympia and Paradise

We packed up from the Lake Crescent Lodge and drove to Olympia this morning. After a quick stop for a photo opportunity at Kurt Cobain's old house, we had lunch at Wagner's European Bakery. The sandwiches were so good and even better, they came with a small slice of cake. Yum!
We toured the Washington State Capitol building and got to peek into the two chambers.  The kids liked seeing the inside of the dome and all of the marble.  They even met some friendly guards!
Then it was back in the car for the drive to Mt. Ranier National Park. The driving times have been a lot longer than I had anticipated on this trip, mostly because of the one lane highways, windy roads, and getting stuck behind super slow cars. Late this afternoon, we made it to the Paradise Inn. The inn has a long history and is in the higher elevation area of the park. We have a 2 room unit, and although it is a little old, the views are amazing. We can see the top of the mountain from our room and it's just gorgeous. 
We took a short hike to Myrtle Falls, which were beautiful. We saw several marmots playing along the trail, which the kids liked seeing. 








We ate dinner at the dining room here and really enjoyed the buffalo meat loaf. I told the kids it was hamburger and they gobbled it right up. After they were done, I fessed up and they thought that was so cool to eat buffalo!
We made a quick stop in the gift shop for a Christmas ornament, a slap bracelet for my daughter and a postcard to mail to Grandmom from my son. The kids are finally asleep (at almost nine o'clock!) and I am enjoying the sunset view of the forest from our room. 

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