Most people will shy away from a trip to Washington in late March because of the rain and cold, but not us.  We’ve had tickets to fly to Seattle since early January as we wanted to visit with my family on the West Coast.  You see, back in the early 60’s two of my Aunts and my many cousins moved from Virginia to the Great NorthWest.

So William and I headed out on an adventure to reconnect with family and explore a bit of Washington.  We picked up our rental car from Seattle Tacoma Airport and headed south to Raymond.  Our first stop was for a Vegan lunch.  We did a google search and found a small cafe in downtown Olympia just blocks from the Capitol.

My cousins in Raymond, WA set up a fabulous family reunion party for us.  They went all out with many vegan dishes and of course Fresh Wild Caught Salmon.  Although we are Vegan, we had already decided we would enjoy the fresh seafood available in Washington.

Here’s a few pics of my Family:

That’s me with Debbi and Paula (and Art in the background)

 

And again me with Dorothy’s sons, Jeff, Greg, and Mark.

My cousin Larry (another one of Dorthy’s sons) could not make it but here I am with his two children Chad and Michelle.

The next morning we were up early and heading out to explore.  The first place that my Uncle Paul took us was to the cemetery where my Aunt Rosa was laid to rest.  I am actually named after my Aunt Rosa.  She was Rosa Mae and I Rosa Mary.  Hopefully the picture of the cemetery will show just how peaceful and serene it was.  What a view!

Here I am with my Uncle Paul standing behind Aunt Rosa’s headstone.

As we left the cemetery we saw a herd of Elk.  Seems it is a very common site around Raymond but it certainly was a real delight for me and William.

From there we drove further south to the Columbia River which borders southern Washington and Oregon.  It is the largest river flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America and made famous by the Lewis and Clark Expeditions.

This Bridge crosses the Columbia from the Rest Stop at Dismal Nitch Washington into Astoria, Oregon.

The ships in the background were anchored out waiting for a tug to take them inland up the river.

 

The weather was absolutely wonderful.  We were so blessed to have no rain and clear and sunny skies.  We drove on into Oregon and strolled on the beach at Sea Side.

We also went to see the Sea Lions.  There were so many of them you could hear them barking long before you saw them.  They were stretched out all along the dock without a single open space.  Of course I was delighted to see them but I am told the fishermen do not like the Sea Lions as they steal their fish right out of their nets.

On our drive the next morning back to the airport we would see Mount Rainer many times.  It was a bit difficult to get the best picture but I think you will recognize the iconic active volcano in the back of the picture.   Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A.

Reconnecting and getting to know my cousins again was long overdue.  We plan to visit with Debbi and Randall, Paula and Art, Dreama Gail and Gary, and Diane and her husband more often.  We do hope they will come visit us on the East Coast too.