Waterfalls

Today was a day of visiting waterfalls! We drove along a lovely little winding road and stopped at numerous places to hike to waterfalls and gorges. It was a popular theme for the day, and we bypassed a few hot spots because there were traffic jams and no parking, and to sit on these skinny coastal roads is a bit treacherous. John has been a saint and taken over the driving after I had a bit of a freak out as we came down Mt. Rainier the other day (I even woke myself up later that night with the panic-mantra I'd started to recite the whole way down, "We're okay, it's okay, we're okay, it's okay.") We stopped at Vista House, a funky little hut with cool stained glass windows and an observation area overlooking the Columbia River. We then meandered the scenic waterfall route, enjoying the stunning displays of steep cliff faces covered in moss, some of it neon green, lush trees and rushing waterfalls, some so hidden we had to hike quite awhile along more treacherous, rocky paths before reaching them. They were idyllic scenes fit for serious romantic and passionate trists, but for the gazillions of people traipsing all over. Two of them reminded me so much of the Jon & Egritt cave scene from Game of Thrones (if you don't watch GoT, the scene was really hot) and I could envision a wonderful night beneath a full moon in the mist of the rushing falls :) Ooo-la-la!

We stopped to picnic before deciding that 3 hours up to Tacoma was looming ahead of us, and if we could beat most of rush hour traffic, that would be a good thing. We hit the tail end of rush hour, some construction and an accident, so it took awhile of slow going, but we finally made it to a Comfort Inn along the freeway, and only 30 minutes from the airport. Tomorrow is an all-day travel day that will suck donkey balls, but we both have reading material, so hopefully it isn't too miserable. We have to return the rental car by noon, then sit at the airport until our 6:00pm flight, and getting to Minneapolis by 11:30pm or so. Blessedly, our pal Chris has offered to pick us up and deliver us home to our waiting kitties, who are apparently very ready for our return. At least, Walter is. He's been snubbing Mum and not touching his wet food, and since Cowboy Cookout is his favorite thing in the world, I think he is wanting his humans back. He is not a fan of our travels and gets very insecure when we go away. He will be Mr. Snuggles (after a brief cold-shoulder) when we get back. We usually don't let the kitties sleep in the bedroom, mostly because Walter keeps me awake pestering me, and Vesta has been known to puke on us in the night, or fly around like a mad-cat, but usually the first night back from a trip we succumb and let them sleep with us. Vesta has been happily taking over Mum's lap and giving her lots of head-butt's, so she seems relatively unperturbed about our absence. And she's been eating her special chicken and tapioca flour gravy which makes me happy. We can't wait to snuggle our own little kitties!!!!
More photos to come!
Love & hugs,
R&J