July 30, 2013
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Epic Road Trip, Day 1
We’d been packed for days and didn’t sleep well the night before we left on our 4 week, 12 state road trip, and we were raring to go. We left early, topped the gas tank off and then didn’t slow down till we got to Ellensburg. Which isn’t really all that far, but it was the first Wacky Roadside attraction on the route so we didn’t want to miss it.
It’s called Dick and Jane’s Spot. They have ….er…. decorated their yard in an extraordinary way so we walked the sidewalks and alley and took our first batch of photos. The kids had fun finding so many odd pieces of “art” on and outside the house.
I have always wanted a blue bottle tree like this. Someday I will, but it won’t be in a yard like this.
Don’t get me wrong, I admire and actually really enjoy craziness like this. I just don’t want people wandering around my house taking pictures of it.
Although I obviously don’t mind taking pictures of other people’s houses. Or chimneys.
After that we wandered off to a public building. Maybe the library, or civic center, I don’t remember since the important thing was outside.
After that, feeling the first press for time (still lots of road to travel on!) we headed to Vantage, where I wanted to show the kids the wild horses monument Brewman65 and I had just gone to. I tried to drive by. I really tried. I had no interest in climbing that hill again. But.
I had to brand the horse the same place I’d done earlier. Exact same, as far as I can tell, since it isn’t permanent. But this is a new stamp, with the names Craftea (that’s me), Mr. Q! (that would be Quin) and The Hazelnut (Kendrah’s geocaching name) on it. Yea, us. Now can we go back down?
On the way to our first sleeping destination, we stopped for some caches, of course. I was aiming for Virtuals (no physical container, but a cool location where we need to identify something to prove we were there) like this one at a monument about a battle that took place.
And Earthcaches (again no physical container, but cool location where we learn something about the geology of that specific location) like this creek, which, to do a proper experiment about how fast the water flowed, both kids ventured in.
After that it was more wacky attractions like a giant loaf of bread outside the Franz Bakery factory and a building shaped like a milk bottle.
The kids found a leaf bench to share. See how much fun they are having? That’s cause it’s only the first day.
We arrived at our friend’s house in Spokane before dark (always a nice thing), had a great dinner, then went to bed as the sun was setting.
Our first day was a success, even if we didn’t make it out of our home state.
Comments (4)
Oh, my goodness, Heather — you do pack a lot into a short time. Are you aware that Xanga may not (or may) survive after July 31? You can reach me at jcwaters3@cox.net, or at slmret.wordpress.com if Xanga does not survive — if it does, I’ll still be here ~ ~ ~
Update — Xanga will survive — today’s announcement from the Xanga Team says that the fundraising goal has been met, and the team is working on completing the migration to the new platform — YAY — and never mind my previous message!
@slmret - That is great news. I’d heard rumors but had no idea what was happening. When I got back I was surprised it was still up and with crossed fingers decided to blog about my trip just in case there was good news of Xanga’s survival. I am glad, as I’m a lifetime member and know my way around. I’d tried to set up a new blog with wordpress but it was confusing — and had ads everywhere. Wasn’t interested in paying for a blog again. So, yea! I’ll get the other 24 days of my trip blogged here eventually and be glad it will stay!
Read the last several blogs from @TheXangaTeam, and today’s several from @edlives to get more details. You do still have to pay after Septmber 1 ($48/year) if you want to make new posts, but can read/comment without paying.