July 10, 2024. Day 3 of trip.
Today was our first day dedicated to exploration and we made the most of it. I started the morning by making French Toast on my Blackstone griddle and it turned out really well. I’m getting the hang of heat management on this griddle. When I make French toast, I put the front row in first, the back row in next, and finish with the middle. When it’s time to flip, the order is reversed. The middle is quite a bit hotter than the rest, so putting it on last and flipping it first helps ensure I don’t burn anything. We rounded out breakfast with fresh blueberries and yogurt.
This morning was our first attempt to practice musical instruments on the trip. We got Dexter set up and discovered that the 3.5mm to ¼” headphone adaptor jack went missing so he can’t practice his piano using headphones. He was rather upset to have to practice the piano outside without headphones, but managed to get in about 45 minutes of “practicing.” Sitting outside at an RV park provides plenty of distractions for a budding musician.
We headed out towards Olympic National Park a little after 10 AM with a goal to visit Rialto Beach. This beach is just south of Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous United States. I found a small rock with a black layer, a white layer, and another black layer. It reminded me of either an Oreo cookie or a skunk. At least for now, this rock will be the symbol for whoever wins the suffering award of the day. We had a delightful moment watching a sea otter play in the surf. This was a new experience for everyone but me and even got Annalise engaged. Our hike wasn’t too long as Heidi was still pretty sore from her Ape Cave misadventure and we returned to the Highlander for lunch.
The next stop was “The Tree of Life” which is a large tree whose root system is almost completely exposed due to erosion, and yet the tree is still alive. It really was inspiring to walk near, around, and under this great tree. As we got out of the car, I thought that Annalise had accidently left the door open, so I attempted to shut the door and accidently pinched her foot. She wasn’t injured, but she was quite upset at me and was sure that I did it on purpose to punish her for some unknown infraction. This morning I told Annalise that she needed to spend her time in the car talking to her family and enjoying the scenery and not playing on her phone, reading her kindle, playing on her ipad or playing on her Nintendo switch. There is a time and a place for such diversions, but not today. Between the lack of electronic devices and getting her foot pinched, Annalise convinced herself that I was really upset with her and subjecting her to great punishment.
We headed back towards Port Angeles and made a quick stop at the aptly named “Big Cedar Tree.” This tree is about 1,000 years old and used to be one of the largest Western Red Cedar trees in the world, but a storm in 2014 split the tree in half, and now much of the tree is on the ground. I took a picture of Annalise looking through a hole in the base of this ancient lifeform.
On the drive back to Port Angeles, we finally had a good conversation with Annalise. We have discovered that if you take the kids on a long enough drive and prevent them from playing with electronic devices, you eventually get to the point where you can have a “real” conversation with them. We had a nice chat about our goals for this trip and how we are trying to help them develop into better human beings.
When we got back to the RV, Annalise wanted to have leftover Thai food, so she stayed behind to eat, practice her cello and take a shower, while Heidi, Dexter and I went to Port Angeles where we enjoyed Mexican food at Fiesta Jalisco. We didn’t let Dexter order off the kids menu and he managed to eat almost half of a bean burrito without extraordinary complaining.
We went to Walmart to look for a headphone adaptor for Dexter (unsuccessful), some DEF for Red Rover (success), some food, and various other odds and ends. Upon returning to the rig, we started our night before departure clean up. I put the bike rack back on the Highlander and loaded up the e-bikes. I put some fresh water in our tank. Dexter helped me put away our camping chairs.
Tomorrow we will be taking the Coho ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, BC. This will be the first trip to Canada for our children.
So far, I’m the only person who hasn’t “won” the suffering award of the day. I’m a little nervous that someone will create a plot against me to help ensure my victory. We shall see what tomorrow brings.
SAOTD: Annalise who didn’t get to play on her phone or text her friends and also got her foot pinched in the car door