Northwest Trip (Part 2: Washington)

After our fun time in Oregon, we continued up the coast of Washington to the Olympic National Park area. It amazed me how non-populated it was; I almost felt like I was in a different country because of the rarity of commercialization. Here's a recap in pictures (because, let's be honest, I am wanting to blog about other things than travel, but I am so far behind I'm going to make these travel-logs short and sweet--hopefully.)

We drove through blankets of trees on the way to Port Angeles until we arrived at our next stop: the one I was the most anxious to see in person. Our romantic cottage outside of Olympic National Park near Lake Crescent. 

Can I just say, adorable!? There are about eight cottages owned by a cute old couple--all are meticulously maintained and offered everything you could ever dream of needing. Even though the decorations were a bit old ladyish, the scenery was exquisite. It really was a cottage in the middle of a forest. 

One of my favorite things was looking up at the trees in the skylight from our bed!

That vivid green through the window was seriously that green in real life: no joke!

I had found this place by chance and even though it took us off the path we had originally decided on, it was so worth it. 

To make it even better, the grounds of this Hidden Haven (its name) had a pond and beautifully landscaped flowers, and you could feed the fish. 

Okay, it gets even better. You could feed reindeer and deer that the cottage owner has!! Dream come true. 

This is my friend--Sven. 

I seriously loved that you could meet a reindeer and stay in a cottage. 

At Hidden Haven, there are trails that take you through Olympic National Park-like trails. 

And the owners' kids' tree-house....which looks like it's out of a fairy tale! 

You can also feed the turtles! 

Ben and I spent a relaxing night in our little cottage, perusing the grounds, and watching movies from the owners' video library. Then it was rise and shine to explore Olympic National Park!

We started our exploration by going to Lake Crescent--absolutely stunning. The water was a clear turquoise, and it felt like we were the only ones there. In fact, the only hard part about this part of the trip was finding somewhere to eat! It felt like we were a million miles away from all food!

Another beautiful view of Lake Crescent

Did you know there's a Rain Forest in Washington? Well, it's true! The Hoh Rain Forest is a part of Olympic National Park and looks like scenery from a movie. 

The trees' trunks are mammoth and the leaves touch the sky. You can tell how big the trees are by looking at how small Ben is in comparison!

A natural tree arch :) 

Then it was onto Ruby Beach, which looks like it's out of The Swiss Family Robinson! 

Olympic National Park was breathtaking; we only wish we had planned on spending more time there, two days at least, to not feel like we were rushing! 

Next stop--Seattle! 

We hit Pike's market place, the Underground Tour, a little shopping, the Space Needle, and the wharf. So much to do, so little time! Ben and I both agreed that Seattle has a fun vibe, and we enjoyed walking around the streets and taking it all in. 

Ben and I ended our trip with a yummy, scenic lunch at Ray's Boathouse. A great way to end the trip. And it finally rained! Just for me :) 

Overall, it was an amazing trip. And like I said in Part 1, it was a TON to do in one week, and I would recommend only doing half of what we did in one week next time since it felt like we were always on the go, but it was so fun to scout out areas we loved for future trips! 

We then headed home, knowing we were about to go on a cross-country road trip exactly four weeks  later.