42 Washington
Washington is the forty-second state, but that doesn't mean that it's the answer to live, the universe and everything. Or the question, for that matter. It is, however, very pleasant. I find the climate to be enjoyable, the scenery is pretty and my brief trips to Seattle have all been generally positive.
When my family lived in Montana we had an old pull-behind popup Jayco camper that we acquired from my paternal grandparents when they no longer wanted it. We took a long trip to Washington. This was when I was still a small boy, but I remember that although we visited Mt Rainier we couldn't actually see it due to fog, a state of affairs that I'm told is pretty much the norm. I also recall waking up in the morning and finding that a multitude of slugs had drowned themselves in the drain bucket for the camper's sink. Lastly, I know that we hiked through some rain forest, but which one it was eludes me.
It took me many years to return to Washington. I went to a PhiKap convention in Seattle in 2003, where I visited my old coworker jmartenstein. His wife Sarah took me to a Starbucks because "Seattle was the home of Starbucks"; I didn't have the heart to tell her that it was the first time I'd ever been in one. I also visited my fellow PhiKap/ex-WRUW cohost TP; he took me to a burrito joint whose name sounded like an innuendo-laden strip club name. I no longer recall the exact title, but it was something like "Pink Taco" or along those lines. I also got to go on the field at the then Qwest Stadium; Paul Allen, who owns the Seahawks, is a PhiKap and we had an official convention meal there.
After that tigerlily_blue and I traversed the state from Portland, Oregon to Tacoma on the epic "help my sister move to Alaska" road trip in 2008. We crashed with dmw7 and Irwin, and had a big seafood dinner with Frank, Theresa, jmartenstein and Sarah (plus their daughter and Justin's parents) at some place on the docks that was quite nice.
The number of people I know in Seattle has only grown since then, so I expect I'll return that way some day. This will almost certainly be in the next 2.5 years, as my high school friend Ryan, his wife Elisa and their son the Star Baby will be living out there until Ryan finished his PhD. Plus, I need to get to a Mariners game; I've been outside Safeco Field but not in it. And although I'm not a soccer fan, the Sounders sounds like a good time.
So I've clearly got ample reasons to visit Seattle. Are there good reasons to visit other areas of Washington? Or perhaps more accurately, are there specific areas of natural beauty that are worth the trip?
Scoreboard
Full Credit - 31: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia, Nevada, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington
Partial Credit - 6: Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska
No Credit - 5: South Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Arkansas
When my family lived in Montana we had an old pull-behind popup Jayco camper that we acquired from my paternal grandparents when they no longer wanted it. We took a long trip to Washington. This was when I was still a small boy, but I remember that although we visited Mt Rainier we couldn't actually see it due to fog, a state of affairs that I'm told is pretty much the norm. I also recall waking up in the morning and finding that a multitude of slugs had drowned themselves in the drain bucket for the camper's sink. Lastly, I know that we hiked through some rain forest, but which one it was eludes me.
It took me many years to return to Washington. I went to a PhiKap convention in Seattle in 2003, where I visited my old coworker jmartenstein. His wife Sarah took me to a Starbucks because "Seattle was the home of Starbucks"; I didn't have the heart to tell her that it was the first time I'd ever been in one. I also visited my fellow PhiKap/ex-WRUW cohost TP; he took me to a burrito joint whose name sounded like an innuendo-laden strip club name. I no longer recall the exact title, but it was something like "Pink Taco" or along those lines. I also got to go on the field at the then Qwest Stadium; Paul Allen, who owns the Seahawks, is a PhiKap and we had an official convention meal there.
After that tigerlily_blue and I traversed the state from Portland, Oregon to Tacoma on the epic "help my sister move to Alaska" road trip in 2008. We crashed with dmw7 and Irwin, and had a big seafood dinner with Frank, Theresa, jmartenstein and Sarah (plus their daughter and Justin's parents) at some place on the docks that was quite nice.
The number of people I know in Seattle has only grown since then, so I expect I'll return that way some day. This will almost certainly be in the next 2.5 years, as my high school friend Ryan, his wife Elisa and their son the Star Baby will be living out there until Ryan finished his PhD. Plus, I need to get to a Mariners game; I've been outside Safeco Field but not in it. And although I'm not a soccer fan, the Sounders sounds like a good time.
So I've clearly got ample reasons to visit Seattle. Are there good reasons to visit other areas of Washington? Or perhaps more accurately, are there specific areas of natural beauty that are worth the trip?
Scoreboard
Full Credit - 31: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia, Nevada, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington
Partial Credit - 6: Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska
No Credit - 5: South Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Arkansas