La Quinta Inn & Suites Tacoma

... our favorite South End friends. We were only there for a short while before we headed on the road again.<br><br>From there we went to Hood River to watch our friend Leah race. Poor Isa was so sick it turned into a seven day sick and recovery journey. After a brief stay in Eastern Washington we headed over the pass to the North West. Our goal was Gig Harbor which is across the bridge from Tacoma. From there we could easily see and visit all of our family, Aunts ...

... getting late and traffic was getting bad, so we headed on back to the hotel. Strangely enough, downtown Tacoma traffic was rather light today, but the interstate was congested and slow for hours and hours this afternoon. Saturday we are headed north to Port Angeles, where we will visit Olympic National Park and be ready to ferry across to Victoria, British Columbia, on Sunday. The forecast is for rain Saturday - but an improvement to only showers on Sunday!

... of falling asleep until people started to shout "WHALE, IT'S A WHALE!" So by the time I saw it, there was no chance I could get it on camera. But, just trust me, it was a REAL WHALE! Then I met this real estate lady on the boat who was visiting Victoria and she gave us tips about what to see and do while in Seattle, she was very nice, almost ...

... is a starbucks there...some friends insist I bring a phone, others think I shouldn't bring deodorant...packing begins with earnest tomorrow am. Right now I am cherishing the ease of everything- driving around a town I know, in my car, sleeping in my wonderful bed, luxuriating in my hot shower. I am cherishing every moment with my wonderful friends. Lisa helped my inventory my kitchen for my incredible tenants...I leave my house in good hands. Beth stopped ...

... a customer account with them (hello, the reason we're using travelers cheques is 'cos we're from out of the country, thus we're not going to have a local bank account!!!) , one did "helpfully" say that she could sell me some travelers cheques! At the fourth bank I asked if they could cash the cheques and she said YES... After I'd endorsed three $100 cheques she told me that there would be a fee (not unusual) of $10 per cheque (aarrgg!) I was stuck. I couldn't ...

... Worst weather: Salzburg, Austria Best city to navigate in: Krakow, Poland; Prague, Czech Republic; Croatia and Greece Best train station: Salzburg, Austria Worst train station: Krakow, Poland; Prague, Czech Republic and Saarbrucken (no water closet!) Best coffee: Wolf Dietrich - Salzburg, Austria Worst coffee: on the train from Salzburg to Zurich; Greece Best city to meet our expectations: Krakow, Poland; Prague, Czech Republic; Hallstatt, Austria ...

... shock to me on this trip so far. When you think of Washington State (or the "other" Washington to us east coasters), you think lush, green (environmentally aware and rain-foresty) and socially responsible. And so it was that Spokane was such a shock. My sister says that about once a year there's talk about the eastern part of the state seceding from Washington and I guess, becoming part of Idaho. Karin said others want Seattle to Portland ...

... of fame itself, before we delved further - into the areas of some of the favourite sci-fi locations, characters, and conventions. There were many real props, costumes, models and replicas from many famous sci-fi shows, movies and original copies of famous sci-fi books and novels. Mixed in with interacitive elements, movies and mini shows it all made for a very engaging and exciting place to visit, that really got our minds going and thinking "what if?". After a quick ...