Jeff's Journeys: September, 2001
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SEPTEMBER
9/1 Olympic NP, WA
I played in the surf and on the drift logs on Rialto Beach. It was truly fun! We also went on a hike, looked at a 100 ft. waterfall (Madison Falls), and made friends with Park Ranger, Matt Smith, by discovering a beetle that he hadn’t seen before.
9/2 - 9/3
Daddy’s birthday, and Labor Day! Daddy’s birthday excited us all, and Amanda even gave him “Rainbow rock!” After the chants of “Happy Birthday” died down, we ate breakfast. The pop-tarts were good, but the grits were undercooked. We went to Cape Flattery, the most northwestern point in the contiguous United States. We got our Junior Ranger Badges, too! At Cape Flattery, we hiked a very muddy trail, sometimes with a boardwalk made out of the surrounding area’s timber, stepping stones, and “rootways” where you walked on roots where it was muddy, if the roots weren’t covered themselves in mud! But all of this was worth it, because the view of water slamming against the rocks was so powerful and majestic, that I could have stayed there all day! For dinner, we had baked potatoes. Monday was a travel day, ending up in Aberdeen, WA and we ate some Mexican nachos.
9/4 Aberdeen, WA
Today we swam twice, playing “train the wild dolphin,” but I got bored being the trainer, and was “fired” by the dolphins! We also went shopping and then to look for the Lady Washington, flagship of Washington. Unfortunately, she was on one of their extended “cruises.” We got a free tire rotation done at Sears, and back to the hotel, passing “Tsunami Evacuation Route,” signs.
9/5 Olympia, WA
After driving from Aberdeen to Olympia, the capital, we went to the visitor center right by the Legislative House, and got some great photos. A nice lady gave us some informative coloring books on Washington, crayons, and a lot of help.
9/6 - 9/10 Mt Rainier N.P., WA
Very, very cool! On Saturday, we drove into Rainier National Park, and settled into a very nice campground at Sunshine Point, which even had a river nearby. On Sunday, we drove to church in a town about 75 miles away. After the service, we had lunch, then drove to Mt. Rainier, and visited the big Visitor Center, and learned a lot about the park. The view from the observation level was neat!
9/11 Mt Rainier N.P., WA
A devastating day in all respects. This morning started out as usual, with Mama reading to me in the tent, then cooking breakfast with Daddy. While we were eating, a Park Ranger approached, and told us the catastrophic news. We all gasped as she told us that the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon had been crashed into by hijacked planes, flown by terrorists. As we were speaking, the WTC complex collapsed, and the Pentagon stood in flames. We listened to the news on the car radio, and collapsed the tents as another building fell to bits. Police said that another plane had been hijacked, but fell short of its mark. After driving to Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center and learning some cool facts, we got a hotel room in Kelso, WA, and sat stunned by the graphic images on T.V. We tried to take our minds off of this punishing, yet exciting and long day, by going to Izzie’s Italian Restaurant. We checked into a local hotel. I prayed for the victims and the victims’ families.
9/14 Kelso, WA
Retaliation? We were still reeling from the blow when we woke up, and drove to find a church.
9/15 WA - OR
Today we were still absorbing that fatal blow to the thousands of innocent people. We drove back into Kelso, but first here are the events of the day: We drove up to Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center on Mt. St. Helens, and learned how, why, and where the mudslide, lateral blast, and where the ash went. We also finished the Junior Ranger badges. Back in town, we went to a candlelight vigil, sang songs, said prayers for the victims.
9/16 Portland, OR
We traveled and did a lot in the past few days. We all went to Fred Meyer, bought at a new soccer ball, and ate at the deli, before heading back to Seaquest State Park. We took a hike and ended up at a beach. We waded in and had a great time. We stopped in Portland for a little break, and then kept on to Woodburn to find a hotel.
9/17 Portland, OR
Nearly six days have passed, and America is healing. We drove north to Portland, again, and did our lessons after checking into the Doubletree. We’d worked up an appetite for Mexican food, and filled it at Chevy’s. My original song:
Freedom Is The Way!
The top dog of all nations, is the USA,
I’m proud to be an American, ‘cause freedom is the way,
From the middle of the deserts
To a downtown metropolis,
I’m proud to be an American, ‘cause freedom is the way,
Oh, freeeedom is theee waaaaay!
9/18 Portland, OR
Today, we still paid our respects. (Flags all at half staff.) After doing our lessons, we went swimming while Daddy fixed the car. From the hotel pool courtyard, we watched a sailboat go by on the Columbia River, no other waterway for miles around. After watching it turn, we did a cannonball into the eight foot side of the heated pool. We went to Chang’s Mongolian BBQ for dinner.
9/19 Portland, OR
After my lessons, I kept myself busy by finger knitting, reading, and playing with Emily and Amanda. Nearly one hour passed before going to the lobby, and waiting for Daddy to return from the Ford dealership. We went to Barnes and Nobles, shopped, and back to the hotel to swim..
9/20 OR coast
Travel day, mostly. We were driving and hiking through giant redwoods and Douglas Firs, and even I was o-o-ohing and a-ahing at their size! We even drove through a tree, but it wasn’t an accident! They even had a guest book inside! We drove to Tillicum State Park. We got to the beach there, and had a very nice walk, but couldn’t see the Pacific Ocean because of the fog!
9/21 OR coast
We packed up and drove to the nearest beach, and found about 50 sand dollars! I saw ten Harbor and Steller seals at our next beach! We went to a dune area, and ran down dunes into the ocean! We got a campsite in Umpqua Lighthouse Campground, and had a nice fire.
9/24 CA coast
Today we were astonished by the super size of the Coast Redwoods in Humbolt National Park! We got to walk around in a big grove of redwoods on the Avenue of Giants. We also saw Immortal Tree, and it had stood through logging, breaking, being hit by lightning, and Amanda! We all got a peek around, and Megan and I got souvenir redwood pencil holders.
9/25 Sacramento, CA
. . . headed toward Old Sacramento, and once there, we each got a giant pretzel or hotdog. We visited the old town and got and old western photo made of all of us. After looking in all of the seemingly endless shops, we got milkshakes and ate dinner.
9/26 San Francisco, CA
Nearly everybody yelled, “hooray,” when we got to Fisherman’s Wharf, after doing a long drive sightseeing. . . . we made a video of us, on a magic carpet, really! My part was to “fall off” the carpet, and I rolled off! Everyone loved the sea lions at Pier 39, and we nicknamed all of them Queequegs! One was in the sun so long he looked white! We even ate clam chowder served in a bread bowl! We followed the Barbary Coast Trail and went on several historic ships.
9/27 San Francisco, CA
We drove down an amazingly scenic drive. We were out-played by a playground (Golden Gate Park), out-sat by seals, out-stood by the Golden Gate Bridge, bombarded by Lombard Ave., and out-driven by Daddy. We drove to a scenic hill lookout called Twin Peaks, and a 360-degree view of the city! We saw seals on rocks, but sadly there was tons of glass on a beautiful beach. What a shame! Our senses were perked up by a beautiful windmill, the breeze turning its graceful arms slowly. Wilhemina Gardens were right behind it with fresh scents floating in the air. Next were ‘crazy cars,’ or rather, junk cars driving by. We gazed at the International Orange, Golden Gate Bridge, my favorite! We also saw a funny building with things thrown out of it, hanging from the windows!
9/28 San Francisco, CA
Heading for San Francisco, we stopped at a solar area. We learned quite a few neat things! We crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was rustic red! We got stuck in traffic, and arrived at 6:00. We saw city hall, Alcatraz, and a beautiful view of the skyline! Chevy’s for dinner.
9/29 San Francisco, CA
We went back to Pier 39 today, and got another magic carpet ride, but not as good as the first. We saw a good street performer get out of chains and a straightjacket! Also saw Coit Tower, and Telegraph Hill views.
9/30 CA
We learned tons of things in the candy making section. We went on a long, neat tour of the Jelly Belly Factory. After going through it all, we each received a big bag of jellybeans! I really appreciated how long it took to make each jellybean.
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