Olympic Coast

Our next visitor's were Anya's parents and aunt. They were here for almost two weeks, but it flew by because we stayed so busy. First of all, the weather was typical Seattle summer: nearly perfect. We were able to do tons of stuff outside; perhaps the most memorable being a trip to the Olympic Coast.

Despite being a coastal city (there is saltwater here), Seattle is actually several hours from the Pacific Ocean. We spent one long day going to the coast on the Olympic Peninsula. You take a ferry across Puget Sound, drive around the north edge of the Olympic Mountains, and end up at a wild, barely-populated stretch of coastline that's part of Olympic National Park.

The beaches there - we went to one called Second Beach - are incredible. It's the Pacific Northwest as it must have appeared to early explorers: rugged, unforgiving, and extremely beautiful. Sea stacks line the coast, evidence of North America slowly losing the battle to the waves that pound the coast year-round. Giant salt-soaked logs line the beach, which is nice as they're the only shelter from the constant, fierce winds. And although it looks inviting, the water, fresh from Alaska, causes an immediate, pounding cold-headache in your legs. The whole experience is primeval - and humbling.

But enough writing. The pictures show it pretty well. Here's the edited "best of" album, or if you have a lot of time on your hands, the full thing.