this trip? i feel guilty saying things like, “i needed this family-reunion-vacation” knowing traveling is a luxury, but i’m still going to say it. since we’ve returned to our home {almost five weeks ago} i am more relaxed than i’ve been in a long time, in sync with my husband, nature, my own mind and spirit. like my soul has found a peace it needed. why? i believe it was because i reconnected with so many of my kinfolk.

i believe, we each need those connections to stay balanced.

{Pasco farmer’s market | my sister-in-law Janice, moi, niece Marisa | fresh flowers for my dad’s grave}

visiting my Dad’s grave in Kennewick…

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the washington-family-reunion-road-trip-vacation-documentation continues on…

after our stop at lake quinault, we continued on to montesano. Montesano, Washington is my hometown. i was born in Juneau, Alaska and also moved to American Fork, Utah the year i was in third grade, but I definitely claim Montesano as my hometown. I lived their most the years from the time i was an infant till i was thirteen years old. and now, my kiddos have been there! so cool.

when i was a kid my grandpa would always tell me this story:

in the early days there was an indian chief named Monte, and one day the indian chief from the next village over paid Monte a visit.

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we ventured out of Sequim, and headed to Port Townsend for one day. it still amazes me how much sunshine we had during our 10-day trip to Washington state. we spent six of those days in the Pacific Northwest with only ONE day of rain. most of you will never understand how amazing that is…

Port Townsend is a small section of the northwest that reminds me of the northeast. a beautiful waterfront community with no shortage of sail boats, seagulls, and fresh seafood.

while driving into the area, we spotted a VW fair and had to stop!

says Kiana: this is the car i want, exact color,

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we fell in love with this place. if i ever get the opportunity to live on and run a lavender farm… i will not pass it up. pending, i also live near a big city of course. my soul splits itself between two perfect places to live. i’d like to spend time in a quiet rural cottage {or beach house} where i could watch my kids play in wide open spaces all day and a manhattan apartment where we go and enjoy the nonstop city life. and, i’d like a cool roof garden in the city to overlap the two. ::smiles::

i am so happy here,

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we spent a good amount of time in national parks on our washington trip.  starting with the olympic national park, we ate lunch one afternoon al fresco style, on top of hurricane ridge. we felt like we were eating on top of the world!

you can see by the pictures below, the clouds would just float right over the ridge, right past us…

{all photos by me.}

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