Pacific Northwest DEVOR Family FUN

We are officially on our way home. We decided to take our time to get home by traveling by way of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

Before leaving Washington, however, we drove up to northern Washington to see a high school friend and her daughter Reghan. It was great to catch up again (in person, not via FB or Twitter).

HELLO BLOGGERS...why do my pics do this!!  I am open to comments to help with this problem.

On our way down we drove through Tilamook where they make Tilamook cheese and ice cream.  We tried both-YUMMY!!

We have fallen in love with the Oregon coast. There are endless beach views which simply take your breath away.

Good night y'all.  Come back soon to hear about our final days of summer vacation.

Pacific Northwest DEVOR FAMILY FUN

WARNING:  Long post with several pictures.

SAN FRANCISCO

We began our trip early on Saturday, July 2nd.  We were all looking forward to a road trip and leaving the home front for a while.  Our first stop was San Francisco.  We got there around 2 p.m. and checked into our hotel.  Brad and I stayed at this hotel about 10 years ago, so we were familiar with the area and remembered it being fairly accessible to public transportation and walking distance to some attractions.  Since we already have to pay $20/day for parking, we always prefer leaving our car so we don't have to pay a parking fee AGAIN somewhere else. 

We stayed at the Americana Best Western.  They recently remodeled it with a more contemporary look, so this made it a fun environment.  Here are a few shots of our room and surroundings.

We dropped off all the luggage and headed straight out.  First stop would be Lomard "Crooked" Street.  Checked out the iPhone map and it said it would be a 2.1 mile walk...NO PROBLEM.  We made it but forgot about the San Francisco hills.  Whew!!

Sunday, July 3rd we slept in for a bit and took our time getting ready before heading out around 10 a.m.  Our goal today was to visit Chinatown.  The night prior, I did a little research and found a self guided tour which included about 13 "discrete" spots.  I uploaded the itinerary onto my phone and we were off.  Here were a few of the highlights.

Chinatown Gate and main entrance.  "Where's Waldo (Emily/Juan)?"

Old Saint Mary's Cathedral, the city's first Catholic Cathedral built in 1854.

Chinatown Kite Shop.

Eastern Bakery-oldest bakery in Chinatown opening in 1924.  It was recommended to try the Golden Yolk Mooncake.  We did...once was enough.  :-)

Tin How Temple.  This stop had you walk up 3 flights of stairs to a beautiful temple where locals come to pray and mediate.  It was beautifully decorated with gold lanterns amid smoky ribbons of incense.  (Pictures were not allowed inside).  I loved this sight, because it is something you would never stop at just by walking by.  It was a GREAT stop.

Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company is where they make fortune cookies (DUH!!).  This was fun to watch and the employees were so sweet.  Giving us free samples over and over again, but you had to pay 50 cents for a photo.  Too funny!

Ten Ren Tea Company was a great stop to re-hydrate.

We ended our visit in Chinatown by having some traditional Chinese food at the House of Nanking.  Yum-O!

From there we walked down to Fisherman's Wharf.  We only spent a few minutes here because it was "uncomfortably" busy and we planed on going to this area tomorrow.

We were pooped, so decided to take the cable car to cut about 2 miles off our hilly walk back to the hotel.  Earlier in the day we stopped at the Cable Car Museum, so it was fascinating to see it all in action.

Our final day in San Francisco began early.  We had reservation to take a ferry to Alcatraz Island.  Here are a few pictures of our morning in Alcatraz.

 VANCOUVER, WA
July 5th, we continued north by making a stop over in Vancouver, Washington.  My Uncle Monty, Aunt Joan, and Crystal moved here about a year ago.  We had dinner with the family and then headed for a the hotel for a much needed nights sleep. 

Here is a pic of the family in front of their home in Vancouver.

The next day we headed out to view Mt. Saint Helen's.  It was interesting to see a natural disaster which didn't happen hundreds of years ago, but really very recently (1980).



(Sorry about the pic orientation-a few did this and I DON'T know why?)

SEATTLE



We then headed to Seattle, WA.  We stayed only a few blocks from the major sight seeing places in Seattle.  We stayed at the Moore Hotel.  This hotel is old and traditional, but had a clean bed and a warm shower. We liked it.



We visited the Pike Place Market Place.  This was a fun experience with so much to see.  We were in fresh produce and flower heaven.  We, of course, had to visit the World Famous Pike Place Fish guys.  They were so nice and really showed why CNN named them the "most fun place to work" in 2001.

The next day we headed to the Space Needle area and a local art show in Pioneer Square.

We also went to the Seattle Art Museum-free admission on Thursday's and we were sold

 We ended our day with some classic fish and chips on a Seattle dock.  It has been a great couple of days here in Seattle.

Tomorrow, we are heading to see Kami Bible, a high school friend, in Northern Washington and then will take a couple of days to travel the coast back home. 

Well, you made it to the bottom of this very long post.  Thank you for taking time to travel with us via the blog.  :-)