Lotsa Places Today

Sooooooo today we went to a lot of places! I didn't even know what to put for the title because we had about 3 different destinations. We didn't leave Bend until around noonish. We just kind of hung out in the morning but once we started on the road, we drove about 2 hours to Crater Lake. It was a really pretty drive up and also really cold! There was snow everywhere and it was about 40 degrees! The lake itself was just breath-taking. The water was SO blue and there's an island in the middle that's also a volcano called Wizard Island. We went to about 3 different viewing spots to see the lake and then started down the side of the volcano. After that we drove another few hours to a river called Rogue Gorge and hiked around there for a little bit... really pretty! Then we drove to a little restaurant where we had a quick dinner and about the biggest pieces of pie I have ever seen. I swear I gained 5 pounds just eating half of it! Then we drove another few hours to our hotel at the base of Mt. Shasta. Tomorrow we're finally heading home!!

Bend and Eugene, Oregon

Sorry for not blogging yesterday! I totally forgot! Anyways yesterday we left Seattle in the morning drove about an hour to Tacoma. We stopped in a little restaurant and watched the World Cup..great yet depressing game :( It was really fun though! Then we continued driving and we got to Eugene around 7 p.m. We had dinner with my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Muscatell, with her husband, Dan, and her daughter, Jessica. Mr. Muscatell is the assisstant coach for the Oregon Ducks women's basketball team. He took us over to the brand new arena and gave us a private tour. It was the coolest thing ever! Then he took us over to the Oregon Ducks football stadium and let us run around. SO MUCH FUN (: It was really cool getting to see my 3rd grade teacher too! The next day we drove to Bend, Oregon. We left Eugene sort of late..we went to this really cool donut place - Voodoo Donuts - they put toppings on their donuts like captain crunch, oreos, peanut butter, yum!!! That was our appetizer :), and then we had lunch at Vero - super yummy! Then we started driving. It was a really show drive because we kept stopping..as usual (: When we finally got there around 6ish, we went to a brewery called Deschutes Brewery which is supposed to be kinda big in Oregon. Anyways it was really fun and good. Now we're back at the hotel and the kids are swimming with dad while me and mom are just chilling in the hotel room (:

Seattle, Washington!

Today we arrived in Seattle, Washington...our final destination! We left Spokane pretty early because my mom really wanted to stop at this breakfast place called "Chaps". She had seen it on the food network so we decided to give it a try. It was one of the best meals we've ever eaten. The restaurant itself was so unique. It was all just a good "meal experience!" We got to Seattle at about 6 p.m. and then we checked into our hotel, at a Sheraton which is a little weird for us since it's the nicest hotel we've been to so far. Then we took a taxi to a restaurant near the stadiums for the teams in Seattle. It was a pretty good meal but nothing compared to Chaps! (: Then we decided to walk back to our hotel so we wandered around the downtown area. We went to the Public Market...it was pretty cool! We walked down this alley where the walls were covered in gum. If you were within a five yard radius of this section of the wall, it smelled like mint! SO gross! So we checked that place out and walked around for about an hour and then finally got back to our hotel. Seattle is super cool city! It reminds me of San Francisco, just without the hills! We board the ship tomorrow around noon and are meeting my cousins, grandparents, and Auntie Carol around 11. Everyone is super excited and we can't wait to come and check out Seattle some more after the cruise!

Spokane, Washington

Today was a good day! We slept in pretty late, enjoyed the big fancy buffet breakfast the hotel set out for us, and headed off! We had a short drive today..about 3 hours total but it took us a little longer..as always (: We stopped in Sandpoint, Idaho for lunch and walked around a little bit. It was a super cute town! Then we kept going and only stopped when we saw a sign that said, "Tate" because I begged my dad to turn around! Once we got to Coeur d'Alene we checked into our hotel but since we were so early, my parents decided to keep going to Spokane. We dropped off our stuff and drove downtown. We took pictures and walked around for a while looking for food. We ended up eating in the mall and then going to see the movie, Monte Carlo, which was REALLY good! (Just don't ask my dad) (: We came back to the hotel and Beck and Reede went swimming and I'm just chilling in the hotel room, blogging! Tomorrow we're heading to Seattle! We can't even put our excitement into words!

Glacier National Park, Montana

We spent the entire day in Glacier National Park! We woke up super early...again... and left for the park. The biggest hike we were going to do that day was to a lake called Avalanche Lake. It was a steep 4 mile hike, 2 there and 2 back. It was a beautiful hike up with a raging river right next to us. It was so full that it was really close to spilling onto the trail. My parents said that if you slipped in, you would be dead. Everyone there was saying that the river was at least twice as high as it usually is. Still really pretty though! About a mile in...me, my mom, and Reede were walking way in front of my dad and Beck and this couple passes us and about 10 seconds later they start yelling, "Bear! Leave! Go!" Just shouting really loud and when we turned around there was another black bear coming up the trail following us. He was maybe 10 yards away and obviously way too close. They must have scared it though and it went up the mountain..we ended up seeing it again later. But it seems black bears have a thing for Shadbournes. (: Anyways, the view from the lake was breathtaking. There were mountains surrounding it with 3 waterfalls leading into it, all being fed by the glaciers on the mountains. It was SO pretty. We took a few pictures and relaxed for a few minutes and then looked up and realized Beck had taken off down the other side of the lake. So my dad followed and the rest of us just hung out.... for 2 hours! Apparently my dad had a hard time getting Beck back (: Once they finally returned, we headed back down the trail and walked back to our car for a picnic. Then we took a shuttle bus up to Logan Pass and took a few pictures. Beck and Dad took the shuttle back down so he could nap, and me, Reede, and Mom hiked for about 40 minutes. We met them back down at Lake McDonald and went out to dinner. After that we went on a short one mile hike to Lake Johns and then finally headed back to our hotel. Overall, Glacier was amazing and we barely touched it. Tonight, everyone is reaaallyyy tired! But this was our last major stop before the cruise! Tomorrow we're heading for Couer d' alene, Idaho and then the next day is Seattle! SUPER EXCITED (:

White Fish, Montana

Today was another pretty relaxing day. Me, Beck, and Reede slept in while my parents went out on a run. They came back and I swear the could not stop talking about it. "It was so beautiful." "Oh I love this town!" "We met the nicest man!" on and on and on... (: By the time they came back it was about 10 a.m. so we packed up and headed out for brunch. We ate at super cute restaurant and had a great meal. After that we just started driving...everyone in town said it would take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get there. Well, it took us about 4! We got there around 5... Beck and Reede headed straight for the swimming pool as always! Then we headed out for Glacier National Park for dinner. It was really pretty and we ate at a fancy restaurant right on a lake McDonald - where Lake McDonald Lodge is. My Dad has always seen pictures of this place and the red Jammer cars that run tours from it. They're all just too long (3+ hours and us kids will go crazy so we'll just do our own touring). We hung out there for a little and then headed back to the hotel. Pretty simple day! Right now, everyone is packing up backpacks and getting ready for tomorrow because we're spending the whole day in the park! Very excited!

Missoula, Montana

Happy 4th of July everyone! Our day was pretty mellow...we woke up in Yellowstone and just started driving. It was about 3 hours to get to Missoula, and this time we got to drive on the freeway (: We stopped in Big Sky to get gas but then we also stopped in Butte where we ate at a bar. In Montana, kids are allowed in bars. It was really fun and everyone was so nice. There was a guy around the corner who was sitting outside on a barstool and his pants were falling way down and Beck kept saying it was too hot inside so he could go look at him and laugh. My dad says this is where Butte got its name (: After that, we finished our drive to Missoula and went swimming at the hotel for a little bit. Then we went out for dinner. In the whole town, only a few places were open! People said that they close for every holiday, or just cause its Sunday, or even if there's a big college game on. We ate at some pub/bar place but it was really good. Then we headed over to the mall and parked our car with the other thousand-ish people who were there and settled in to watch a firework show. It was the longest and prettiest firework show I've ever seen. By then it was about 11 p.m. so went straight back to our hotel and passed out. Tomorrow is Glacier National Park in White Fish, Montana!