Washington State

We spent about 10 days in the state of Washington – a week in Tacoma and a weekend in Spokane. The weather was awesome, for the most part, which is not at all what we had expected. I guess we’ve watched too many movies. We expected nothing but gray skies, rain, and dreary, cold weather. Either we picked a great time to visit, or that’s not how it is all time. Either way, we were able to enjoy lots of outdoor activities at both stops.

For both of our Washington RV campgrounds, we stayed at Air Force “Fam Camp” parks, which are usually pretty nice and really cheap ($20 – $25 a night). It’s a good option when available. We stayed at Holiday Park at McChord AFB, which was super woodsy, with so many trees that we had trouble backing the RV in that first day. Luckily, an older, retired Airman stepped in to guide Ray into the spot. I was relieved, because my guiding skills are limited to “Can you make it go more left? Wait! You are going to hit a tree!”

Holiday Park was a nice place to camp for a week, because our neighbors across the street had three kids (ages 3, 7, and 8), and the girls played with them nightly, riding bikes and scooters up and down the road. We also enjoyed having all the base amenities, like the commissary, a base barber for Ray, and a pretty good salon for us. We all four got new cuts (and I got some desperately needed highlights).

While in the Tacoma area, we were able to visit Mount Rainier National Park and Seattle. Mount Rainier is really beautiful. Climbing to over 14,000 feet above sea level, the mountain has the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S. Apparently, about 10,000 attempt to reach the summit yearly, and only about 50 percent get all the way to the top. God bless them! I’ve never had one single bit of interest in that sort of adventure. I prefer to admire from a distance!

We couldn’t be 45 minutes away and not spend a day in Seattle. Though the Space Needle is way overpriced, we decided it was a must. We felt like it was a have-to-do while there, and I’m glad we did. The views really are breathtaking. We could even see snow-capped Rainier from there.

There was also a pretty awesome park in the Seattle Center, where the Space Needle is located. The girls would probably say that was the highlight of the visit.

Ray, who likes his 80s and 90s rap, had us listening to Sir-Mix-A-Lot’s ‘Posse On Broadway,’ as he loves his playlists that represent the city we are visiting. Being in Seattle, we both remarked that there was a whole slew of music choices he could have gone with. After all, Seattle is the birthplace of Grunge, aka the Seattle Sound. Nirvana would have been one option…

But with lyrics like

“I’m the man they love to hate, the J.R. Ewing of Seattle”

and

“Now the posse’s gettin’ hungry, and Mix-a-Lot’s treatin’-
we stopped at Taco Bell, for some Mexican eatin’-
but Taco Bell was closed, and the girls was on my tip-
they said, “Go back the other way, we’ll stop and eat at Dick’s”-
Dick’s is the place where the crew hang out-“…

Who could turn down some Mix-A-Lot? This meant we were listening to “Posse on Broadway” as we drove along Broadway and rolled into Dick’s Drive-in, where we had burgers, fries, and shakes in the pickup bed.

From Dick’s, we headed to Seattle’s waterfront, where we eventually wound up at Pike Place Market to check out the shops and the fish-throwing. We also found the gum wall, which was interesting and gross at the same time.

Our last stop in Seattle was Kerry Park, where we took in some gorgeous views of the skyline, and let the girls have some more park time. Two playgrounds in one day for them!

While in Tacoma, the girls finished up their last week of first grade, and we celebrated with their favorite place on earth (Where a kid can be a kid), Chuck E. Cheese, and we are all happy that school’s out for summer (a whole different playlist is coming).

We moved on to the eastern side of Washington and then spent a couple of nights near Spokane. We didn’t even explore the city this time. Instead, we stayed close to the campground and base, because it was pretty fantastic. We stayed at the Clear Lake Military Resort, a seasonal recreational area that offers camping, boating, and other outdoor fun. The kids immediately fell in love with the huge playground.

We got there on a Friday afternoon, and that night the campground played an outdoor, kids’ movie, and we roasted hot dogs and S’mores by fire pit in front of the big screen. Since Friday night is their usual movie night, this worked out well for the girls!

Saturday was spent doing more playground time, paddle boating on the lake, and then heading out to a beer festival on Fairchild Air Force Base.

For $10 (nifty glass included), those over 21, got to get four 6-ounce tastings from local craft beer companies. There were a lot to choose from, but I stuck with the ciders, since I’m not a beer drinker. Twilight Cider Works was there just for folks like me, who don’t care for the beery taste or aftertaste. Instead, I was treated to flavors like honey and apricot. As promised, the ciders did “delight” my “taste buds with both sweet and dry.”

The kids also had some fun with Sprite tasting and running around. They played Frisbee, cornhole, and ladderball, though the ladder was dismantled and turned into a game of sword fighting at one point. Nevertheless, we all had a great time! I heard some people saying that this was the base’s first craft beer festival, but there was a huge turnout, and it will  likely grow bigger next year.

Today we’ve moved on and are settling into a campground in Columbia Falls, Montana! We are excited to spend some time in Big Sky Country!