Seattle Patriot

Upon learning that our long-anticipated trip to Holden was going to be thwarted due to forest fire requiring evacuation of the Village just the day before we were to leave, we decided that we would have to make other arrangements, and quickly set to work on the planning. Unable to decide the details for a 5 day trip in fewer than 24 hours, we decided just to get a head start, and figure out the rest along the way – quite the undertaking for a family of advance planners. We packed up and headed to Victoria, Canada for our first stop.

We visited all the major attractions, saw Butchart Gardens our first day (pictures pending from Mom’s camera) and decided there was no way we could fit Victoria into 20 hours, so decided to stay another day, in which we got in some light hiking, played games, took in the sights and sounds of the beautiful city.

Next, we moved on to Winthrop, Washington. I’d never been to Winthrop before, and couldn’t imagine what a town with a population of about 350 people could offer, but off on the adventure we went. It was GREAT! Similar to Leavenworth’s Bavarian theme, Winthrop has adopted a western theme, and it was just like visiting the old west without the scary old west things (e.g. bandits, random shootings, etc.). We took a walk at night and could see all the stars. It would be a great place to come back for a honeymoon, and Ciara tells me it has great cross-country skiing in the winter. I’m sure I’ll be back! On our way out of town, we also went horseback riding in the hill country and it was fantastic. Second only to our ride in Ireland, the horses were very responsive and we got a great amount of trotting and even some cantering up the hills (go Ben!).

Our last stop was Grand Coulee, to see the Grand Coulee Dam, which none of us had ever seen before. It is truly an amazing feat of engineering, and really puts almost all the other dams of the world to shame (and is happy to tell you how much better it is). We saw a “slaser” show – where they let water spill over the falls and played a giant laser show (music and designs circa 1981). It was hilarious and informative all at once. Hope you all enjoy the photos! (And video likely to follow!)