Days 10 (and 11) - SeaTac, WA - Conway, AR

We purposely booked a midday flight home so we wouldn't have to be rushing around in the morning to get to the airport.  Even with the extra time, we arrived early and buzzed through security without a hitch.  Near our gate, a cellist who plays (or played) with the Seattle Symphony was set up in a common area playing her electric cello.  It was so soothing and relaxing that I nearly dozed off right there in an airport seat (NOT the easiest thing to do).

Our inbound plane from Dallas was delayed due to weather and thus our outbound flight to Dallas was delayed too.  Our connection time was already a little tight, but this made it even more so.  I kept an eye on the weather and the timing and decided to just go with it and not worry about rebooking anything at that point.  We were soon boarded and on our way with Mount Hood and Adams off to our right, still covered in snow, but gleaming under the sun.  Even the mountains of Idaho were pretty!  I was able to see the Great Salt Lake before clouds obstructed further views.  Dallas was still dealing with weather/storms and by the time we got close, the pilots slowed us down just enough that we could sneak into our final approach just following a storm.  It did provide some really cool photos from my window seat, but quite a bit of turbulence too.

Upon landing, my American app notified me that our flight to Little Rock had been cancelled and we had been rebooked on an 8:30 pm flight Sunday night.  Gah!  I had no intention of spending and entire day in Dallas for no reason.  After getting off the plane, we stopped and some friendly gate agents where we struck up conversation and made the best of the situation.  After about 20 minutes, we figured out the best we could do was an early flight the next morning on United to Chicago, then an American flight to Little Rock.  Not great, but at least we were going to be home by noon.  We walked to the Hyatt Regency at the airport (being on-site sold us), got two rooms, and soon settled into a dinner at the hotel restaurant.  Before heading to bed, I checked to see the status of our bags (we checked them) and they had made it to Little Rock where they would be waiting for us the next day.

We both had to set alarms at 3:45 am in order to get to the airport in time to get checked in and get boarding passes.  Our flight for Chicago left at 5:45, which is really, really early folks.  We hit some bumps over Missouri as we flew over thunderstorms that had parked in the air, but we were soon on the ground at O'Hare.  Unfortunately, the helpful gate agents in Dallas made a snafu on Carolyn's ticket so we had to fix that with the ticketing agents in Chicago.  All was well in the end, but when you're running on little sleep and you're ready to be home, it just added to frustrations.  Finally with boarding passes in hand, we got on the plane bound for Arkansas.  Again, the storms over Missouri caused us to have some roller coaster fun mid-air; even our descent into Little Rock was fun.  We deplaned and then retrieved our bags from the American baggage office (faster than the baggage claim!).  Our parked car was ready and we were soon headed over the river and back to Conway.

This was an amazing trip.  Such sights, such fun, and such food!  I'm a traveller at heart and whenever I'm on the road, I'm often at my happiest, especially when I'm there with family and friends.  And when I return from trips, I'm always re-energized and ready to tackle the daily grind.  Time to start saving up vacation time again, but I'm already thinking, "Where to next?"

Day 9 - Hood River, OR - SeaTac, WA

A bright and mostly clear sky greeted us first thing at Hood River this morning.  After a Starbucks run, we drove through downtown before heading east.  At Mosier, we exited the interstate and returned to Highway 30, the Historic Columbia River Highway.  This scenic highway continued to impress us as it provided sweeping vistas, the chance to see an apricot orchard, and the ability to stop and really savor this sights all around us.  The highway ends at The Dalles, and after driving around their city center, we jumped back on the interstate and continued our trek east.

We soon turned north onto Highway 97 and very quickly came across a replica Stonehenge.  This version was built in 1929 by the same engineer who built the Columbia Highway.  It's meant to be an exact model, even including the horizontal lintels.  A wind turbine farm was also located nearby as the landscape changed from the river gorge into a scrubby, plains look.  Our journey continued across the Yakama Indian Reservation as we made our way to Yakima, and lunch.

With full stomachs, we turned the car back west.  When planning this trip, I really wanted to get up close to both Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, but unfortunately it's still so early in the season that the roads leading to them are closed.  Instead, we took a great road in between Mt. Adams and Rainier that went over the Cascade range at White Pass.  We had the opportunity to see Rainier in the distance, but she shyly hid behind layers of clouds the entire day.  Mt. Adams was quite lovely to see.

We soon turned north and found ourselves in Friday evening traffic coming into Seattle from the south.  After getting settled, we headed out for a final meal in Seattle, this time opting to visit West Seattle.  We ate at Duke's Seafood and Chowder on Alki Aveune, which is across Elliott Bay from downtown.  The dinner was fantastic and we were soon visiting two spots at which you could see the skyscraper skyline across the water.

Bags are packed and we're ready to go home, with some regret at having to leave this beautiful part of the country.  Here's hoping for easy flights!

Day 8 - Astoria - Hood River, OR

We began the day tooling around the riverside town of Astoria.  We soon drove up Coxcombe Hill where the 92 year-old Astoria Column had been erected by the Great Northern Railway and Vincent Astor (the great-grandson of the city's namesake, John Jacob Astor).  It's 125 feet tall and has 162 spiral staircase steps inside which you ascend to reach the observation deck.  The view from up top was amazing as the sun was out and fog was rising from the Columbia River.  We could even hear seals that were sunning on one of the piers about half a mile away.

On our way out of Astoria, we drove by the house featured in the movie Short Circuit (Stephanie's house).  The Goonies house is also in Astoria, but the current owners really dislike folks taking photos so they have "No Trespassing" signs up and threats to call the police.  A photo isn't worth that!

A short drive away was the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park which is the site of a rebuilt Fort Clatsop.  The Corps of Discovery arrived in the area in November 1805 and by the end of the year, the party had constructed the fort which they wintered in until they began their return journey to St. Louis in March 1806.  The current structure is the third incarnation, the first having decayed due to the climate and the second being lost to fire in 2005.  After visiting the fort, we journeyed down a path to the area where the party put in their canoes.

Leaving the fort, we headed southwest to Sunset Beach.  This was yet another location on which you just drive out onto the beach, park, and then get out and walk around.  This beach was sandy and flat so the waves looked as if they were coming straight at you.  We then headed further south to Seaside to get lunch.

Our next stop was Cannon Beach where the Haystack Rock and the Needles are located.  Goonies fans will recognize this feature from the beginning of the movie.  The beach was full of folks and dogs out enjoying the sun and heavy wind coming in from the Pacific.  Carolyn is at home at the beach.  In fact, I've never seen her move as fast as she did when we parked here!  Off she went!

We backtracked a bit to get up to Highway 26 which took us into the Portland metro area.  We timed it just perfectly and arrived shortly after 4:00 when the peak rush hour hit (sigh).  We were in traffic for about 90 minutes as we traversed the city from west to east.  We did have great views of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood, however.  Once we hit Troutdale, we exited and got onto the Historic Columbia River Highway, the first planned scenic highway in America.  We soon arrived at Crown Point and the Vista House.  The views of the Columbia River Gorge from here were stunning.  The sun was in the perfect location too to add some shadows to the hills and valleys.

Unfortunately much of the Columbia Highway is closed due to the 2017 Eagle Creek fire which raged through the area, burning more than 48,000 acres.  The evidence remains all around on the Oregon side of the river.  Trees are black and brown from the river level all the way up to the highest points.  The good news is that there are signs of regrowth, even on some of the trees that got crispy last fall.  The fire was started by a teenager playing with fireworks in the forest.

After backtracking slightly, we got onto I-84 and headed to Multnomah Falls.  This is THE iconic waterfall for Oregon as it's a tiered 627 foot impressive water feature.  It can even be seen from the Washington side of the river.  The Corps of Discovery also noted its existence in 1805.  Nearby is the Multnomah Falls Lodge which was constructed in 1925.  It was saved from the Eagle Creek fire thanks to countless firefighters and volunteers.  The falls were gorgeous and our timing was just perfect as the sun was getting low in the sky.  The two tiers with a footbridge spanning the middle add to the beauty.

Our final destination was Hood River, where we had a great dinner and fell fast asleep.  Tomorrow is our last travel day as we'll be heading back to Seattle, but by now you KNOW the route will be an interesting one!