On the Road Again

Another summer, another 2300 mile journey for the Sampsons!
[Apologies in advance for any wonkiness, this was typed on my ipad.]

 

Once the (very thorough) moving crew had loaded up our belongings into a Mayflower truck, we loaded up our car as well,  said goodbye to Pullman and Moscow and headed across Idaho and into Montana.

Butte-ful!

We made it into Butte just after dark, not before the front of our RAV4 was mauled by bugs.  Butte was a beaut, but a short stay,as we loaded up for a long days drive across Montana.  

Bugz all up in mah grill

It was from Butte to an unremarkable stop in Billings. Despite a nearly 600 mile day, the long drive was punctuated with stretches of beautiful landscape while listening to Willie, Dylan, the Dead, and a little MMJ.  Later, I scanned the radio dial somewhere around the edges of Wyoming and South Dakota to be treated to back-to-back gems by Faith No More and Mötley Crüe, a definite Evansville flashback.

Late afternoon brought on a crackling thunderstorm.  While Joe caught a break and the kids a nap, I gripped the steering wheel  and watched the big Montana sky light up like an Ansel Adams print I once had.  Of course the fun of onelane construction and hydroplaning through downpours was thrown into the mix, but we made it to Rapid City, SD in time for dinner.

Thank you, Gutzon Borglum

The next morning, we got up early and snuck in a side trip to Mount Rushmore, leaving the cat at the hotel.  Keystone , SD is very cute and kitschy in a Gatlinburg sort of way, fake saloons and old tyme photos,  

The kids earned their  junior rangers badge, their 12th to date!

Mount Rushmore and the visitors center was more inspiring and educational than I expected it to be, and so continues my love affair with the National Park Service and how well they educate, protect and inform. (Am I too old to want to be a ranger when I grow up?)

I'd never really thought about how Mount Rushmore is such a gutsy marvel of art, engineering, nature, leadership, and persistence, but to see film footage of FDR dedicating the monument 14 years after it began, and  how the vision from many years before that became a reality, was all very stunning.

Into the Badlands

By 11 we were headed back  on the road east through the Badlands,  past Wall Drug, and the Corn Palace, past lots and lots of cows. Probably not many places in America where you  have 100 miles worth of gas in the car and still nervously wonder if you'll make it to next open/working gas station.  Dakota!

Lunch became a similar challenge, so it was convenience store foods combined with snacks we'd already packed. The Sampson favorites are:  Funyuns, cornnuts,  and fig newtons washed down with Gatorade and Dr. pepper - things we exclusivey buy on the road. I'm sure we'll feel great later!
 (ed note: i did counterbalance that with a roasted veggie salad once we got to Madison.)


Back to the lands of Cheese and Chili

Now we've arrived in Wisconsin for a day to rest up and spend time with family, and celebrate my nephew's 2nd Bday. We plan to gorge ourselves on cheese curds and frozen custard in the next few hours.

In the meantime, Joe and the kids have begun the countdown to a meal at Skyline (36 hours or so?) Cincinnati, here we come!

Viva Viva Sea-Tac!

"I like people's style in this town."  - Maggie

 Another great weekend in Seattle! Since it was our second trip, we tried to see things we didn't see the first time. We traveled by foot, ferry, lightrail, bus, car, and monorail - I'm not sure how we could have packed more into 2 days.

The first evening we strolled around the Seattle Center, where there happened to be the Northwest Folklife festival, with food, art, music, and excellent people-watching. Seattle Center was much, much, more lively than it was the last time we were there in the fall, and I think we experienced the full spectrum of  the people of Seattle  (Hula-hooping is the new hacky-sacking, FYI.)
 
We explored the Queen Anne neighborhood, and had dinner at Pho Viet Anh, where I had my first Vietnamese coffee (delicious and strong, so I won't be ordering one of those again for dinner unless I plan to pull an all-nighter.)

Fremont library

Adventures in Wonderland
The next morning we grabbed lattes at Caffe Vita and mapped out our route - planning to catch one bus to Fremont, then another to meet friends for lunch near Ballard.

 It was a little early in the morning for the Fremonters, not everyone had opened up shop yet, but I was able to get cookies at the Flying Apron, and we posed for pictures with the troll,  while checking out the public art (disapproving Lenin?) and a few shops.

Fremont troll  - are those two little goats gruff?

Then came our big mis-adventure. Long story short, we took the wrong bus or got off at the wrong stop, but a very nice man patiently guided us back on our path, first offering us a ride in his compact car (we declined), and then driving and stopping at key intersections so we knew which way to turn. We were well off the beaten path and more than a little disoriented, until we rounded the corner and found Chinook's with a sigh of relief. (So thank you, man from the AM/PM with the Austrian accent, wherever you are!)


We enjoyed lunch overlooking the Fisherman's Terminal.  Our friends then drove us through Ballard and dropped us off at the Chittenden Locks. We sat in on a bit of a tour, and watched the locks in action, guiding the yachts through. There was only one lonely salmon on the fish ladder, (still too early in the season.)  And the very helpful rangers got us on the right bus back to our hotel. :)

K!K!K!K!
That evening we went downtown to the Mariners game. It was Felix Hernandez bobblehead night, so of course, the King was starting pitcher.

The King, and his adoring court (above)

SafeCo field has amazing food selections - BBQ, sushi, Thai, (even a whole gluten free stand with soups and sandwiches)  though we went for the usual fare of hotdogs, fries, and cotton candy.With the on and off drizzle, we got to watch the roof open and close twice! They play the theme from 2001 Space Odyssey while it opens:

The sky!

Island Hopping
The next day we took a ferry to Bainbridge Island.

Though we weren't able to get up to Whidbey or the San Juan islands, I still got to check off my list "See a starfish". There they were, clustered on the pilings, much larger than I'd imagined.

 It was a little chilly, so you can see we had the outside deck to ourselves, though we did spend most of out time on the main deck (inside). Andrew loved the ferry boat ride, and wanted to check out the every bit of the boat, fore and aft. There's even a cafeteria on the boat!

After a little lunch and shopping around Bainbridge, it was back on the ferry to watch our approach back into port:

Though this was our last trip to "the west side" as the locals say, we know we didn't see it all and I hope to get back there again. Thanks, Seattle!