Enjoying Ellensburg, WA

Yesterday was a day of rest. We had long naps...(we = me and Tom) while Stella hopped around the inside of the tent like it was a bounce house. Reeve and Kyle played at the playground...ALL DAY LONG. While we weren't napping we ventured into downtown Ellensburg and strolled the Kittitas County Farmer's Market. It was delightful! There were organic vendors there and lots of fresh food.

In Wisconsin we've been buying un-local Washington apples, now we could buy the local real deal. The Gala apples we bought were from an organic farm from Royal City, WA (about 40 miles away). We bought asparagus, spinach, salad mix (that was divine), some freshly baked tortilla chips and green salsa, about 2lbs of heirloom tomatoes grown in a local greenhouse, and a couple of loaves of locally baked bread. We went back to our campsite and chowed down the good fresh eats. Reeve hung around the electric cars they had on display. Drooling over one that he said was $110,000! He said it could go from 0 to 60 in under 5 minutes...not my cup of tea, but Reeve was really impressed. He said he'd like to buy the Leaf because that was more economically priced at around $20K. I was really impressed by 3 vendors there who were selling stinging nettles! Very progressive folks :)

When we got back to the campsite Stella really wanted to go in the pool. Tom braved the chilly Washington spring winds and took her and the boys to the pool while I organized the tent. We have too much stuff and we need to downsize to just backpacks by Tuesday morning! One thing I did not anticipate when I was planning for this trip was the chilly temperatures, especially at night. We started out thinking we would camp along the way, but when it got to dusk we just both wanted to keep driving. It was too cold to camp those first 3 nights. At about 11pm each night we pulled over to a rest area and everyone went to the bathroom, brushed their teeth. We took out the center seat in the van and laid out the air mattresses and sleeping bags. Reeve slept on the back couch seat, Kyle slept in the passenger seat, and Tom, me and Stella slept on the air mattresses. It was cramped, but cozy and definitely warmer than a tent. It also saved us a lot of time! Neither of us enjoys staying in hotels, so we were really quite happy with the way things worked out.

By the 4th night we were looking for a good place to camp...no matter the chilly night temps. We had contemplated going over the Cascades and staying in Seattle, but we know how WET Seattle can be. So we were thrilled to see the KOA sign in Ellensburg. KOA is not rustic camping by any means, and the kids really needed a safe place to roam and relax after our hard, long, push over the rockies. They've been wonderful to us here and let us park the Orange Crush (so perfectly coined by my favorite cousin!) and Silver Saint by their compost piles.

Tuesday is the day we wake early and head over the Cascades to Seattle and Harbor Island where we drop off our vehicles and trailer to Matson. Matson is the same shipping company that my Mom sailed when she was 19. She had just graduated nursing college and 2 of her friends packed up all their worldly possessions and got on a bus from Winnipeg, Manitoba to San Francisco, CA. In San Fran they bordered the "Lauralee" (is that the right spelling Mom?) and sailed from San Fran to Honolulu. I need to hear more about her adventure. Like how long did she live in Honolulu before she met my Dad there? My Dad was in the Navy and they met and fell in love in Honolulu. Mom and Dad, we need to write this down :).

So my time away from the family is nearing an indulgent end. I did find an outlet in the laundry room of the KOA, so that is what I'm using to recharge the laptop while I do a load of laundry. Suprisingly, this whole trip Stella has only had one wet diaper! She's been such a good sport and is quite good at going when we stopped for gas (about every 150 miles for the Orange Crush). Right now she is loading the laundry for me into the dryer...keeping her occupied while I type away.