Washington trip: Part 2

We spent the next day in Seattle. Our first stop was the International District. Tony said, it was more like their version of Chinatown, since most of the writings on the buildings were in Chinese. We took a short walk around the neighborhood. We ended up in a small park, where Joey was fascinated with a man playing a string instrument called an Erhu. Meanwhile, I was following Tyler around the park as he explored and chased some pigeons. We took my parents and my brother Kirby to a cafe that served dim sum. From there, we decided to walk down to Pike's Market. It was about a mile walk, give or take. We were to meet up with my cousin and grandma later on. Pike's Market was super busy, but we got to see the famous tossing of the fish at the fish market. We bought delicious raspberries and cherries from the farmer's market. We took a stroll to the gum wall, where Joey got to place his own gum on the wall. It's gross, but strangely fantastic. Near the water, there is a huge ferris wheel. Being the tourists that we are, we bought tickets. My mother-in-law and Joey opted to stay firmly on the ground. The rest of us, got in line. It was fun and the view was incredible. Our last stop of the day was The Space Needle. It was cool, but one time will be enough for me. Although, it was fun to see my grandma and mother-in-law's excitement and awe. We drove back to Lacey and had a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier.

Beautiful Mt. Rainier

Our last day in Lacey, we decided to take it easy and relax. My brother took us to lunch at a very yummy Vietnamese restaurant. From there, we drove to the state capital and walked the grounds. It was a gorgeous day. After that, we went to my dad's favorite store, Cabela's. I have never been to one. It is awesome! We spent over an hour in there. I finally know what the fuss is about. We ended the day with a BBQ at my brother's apartment. It was a perfect way to end our stay.

Beautiful!

That's us. Down at the bottom.

Best store ever!

Inside Cabela's

Cousins

Sitting outside my brother's apartment.

We were up early the next day. We said our goodbyes and we started the trek back to New Mexico. We decided to take another route that took us right next to Mt. Rainier. We would come out by Yakima, WA, and merge back towards Idaho. Our goal was to reach Boise by nightfall. The drive through the mountains were absolutely breathtaking. I love driving through Oregon. I hope I get the opportunity to visit this gorgeous state again. We made it to Boise and stayed the night. Our goal was to drive straight to New Mexico. We made a stop in American Fork, Utah. We wanted to stop at this sporting goods store called Scheels and eat dinner. By this time, my dad and I were exhausted and a tad cranky (okay, I was very cranky. I'm sorry.) We decided it was too late to drive back and we opted to spend the night.

Mt. Rainier

family photo

Just around the bend.

Sunset in Idaho

Great view right outside of  Scheels.

Refreshed and ready to go, we ate a quick breakfast and started driving. We took a different route home, so we could show my mother-in-law Monument Valley We continued south and made our way to the Utah/Arizona border. Once we got there, we could see lightning and hear thunder. We could smell and see the rain. This drive was exactly the way I would have wanted it. It was so beautiful.

Goosenecks National Park

Tony's favorite, Mexican Hat

The rain was amazing.

From Monument Valley, we made our way back to my parents' house. This was an unforgettable trip. I am leaving out so many pictures and stories. My only regret is, I didn't take enough pictures. Oh, and I wish we had our regular camera. The whole trip was filled with spectacular sights. I am so thankful to have had this opportunity to travel and see parts of the U.S., that I never thought I would see. This is only a fraction of the United States. We truly are blessed to live in a beautiful country. I look forward to see where our next adventure will take us.