MeMyself

Sunday, June 28, 2009

I was the first one up on Sunday morning at 7:00 am with visions of Starbuck’s (they have one in the lobby of the building) and waterslides in my head. The waterpark didn’t open until 9 and I wanted to let everyone else sleep in (it IS vacation, after all) so I grabbed the laptop and the card from the digital camera and headed down to the lobby so I could start journaling about the trip while indulging myself with my morning mocha. While I was typing away, a little show started up in the middle of the lobby where they have a “cabin” with animated talking/singing creatures for the younger generation to enjoy. Looked and sounded very Disney’esque…..thought I was in Disney World for a moment. Around 8:30, I went back to the room, where Tom was in the shower, but the kids were still in bed. I woke them up so we could all go to the waterpark again before checking out (I know, I know….it IS vacation, but this place was WAY expensive and I wanted to make sure we got our money’s worth out of it!), only to find out that no one else was really that interested in getting wet. So we discussed our options and decided on breakfast and then hitting the arcade.





We did just that, had some fun, Megan came away with a small wolf purse that she traded all of our collective tickets in for, then we hit the road for the second leg of our trip.
Tucker wanted to get some driving time in so he drove the first hour on our way to Lake Quinault Lodge with a stop in Aberdeen, Washington for a change in driver. Tom handled the second and final hour of driving to get us to our destination for the next 3 days.


Lake Quinault Lodge, I must say, is a TOTALLY different experience from Great Wolf Lodge. Lake Quinault Lodge was built in 1926, while Great Wolf Lodge was built within the past year, I believe. Lake Quinault Lodge has a definite throwback to the 50’s, 60’s kind of feel, while Great Wolf Lodge has a very modern feel. Great Wolf Lodge is about action and adventure, while Lake Quinault Lodge is more about nature and rest and relaxation. It is a beautiful, old lodge that sits right on the gorgeous, glacial Lake Quinault. There is a big, beautiful lawn that stretches out to the lake with a gazebo and lawn chairs and a horseshoe pit. They have canoes, kayaks and paddle boats for rent to take out onto the lake. The Quinault Indians own the lake and set the rules. Only small motor boats are allowed on the lake and cannot go over 24 miles per hour. No water skiers or SkiDos on the lake. It is very placid and peaceful. Our first day here was pretty laid back. Tom and I hung out at the lodge, reading, doing Sodoku puzzles, typing up this very journal and generally just hanging out. Tuck and Meg went and hit the pool for some water, nerf football while Tom & I were relaxing. I must say that it is very nice to have children who are grown enough that we can let them wander off on their own at these types of places rather than having to shepherd them around everywhere. Makes for a MUCH more relaxing vacation.
The kids went back to the room and got into warm, dry clothes, then we had dinner in the restaurant at the lodge, the Roosevelt Room. It is called the Roosevelt Room because FDR (Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt) visited this lodge back in the 1930’s and shortly thereafter declared this area a national park, Olympic National Park to be exact. Dinner was tasty and the chef was kind enough to cook up some of Tucker’s pasta for him with a primavera/marinara sauce. After dinner we hung out in the lodge again for a bit then headed back to the room and called it a night.


Monday, June 29

Monday morning, Tom & I got up before the kids and headed over to the mercantile across the street from the lodge for a cup of coffee, then back to the lodge to read and do sodoku puzzles while waiting for the kids to get up. The mercantile is a little store across the street from the lodge that has a few grocery type items, some fishing gear, books, locally made jewelery and a café. It is quite charming and is owned & run by a family that lives above the store. Michael, the owner, is very knowledgeable about the area and his love of the area just oozes out of him. He is very quick to share his knowledge of the area with you when asked questions; about the trails, the lake and the local sites. In fact, he runs the store until 2 pm daily, then heads across the street to the lodge where he puts on his other hat and does the lake tours for the lodge. I found him to be very helpful and his attitude definitely added to the charm of the place.
Once the kids were up, we decided to go for a short hike (about 1 ½ miles), right from the lodge, through the old growth forest. Lots of photo opportunities with waterfalls and big, mossy trees.


It was a very nice hike that worked up our appetites. We had breakfast/lunch at the café in the mercantile, where Tom & Tucker decided to go into Aberdeen, an hour away, to do a bit of grocery shopping and antiquing. While the guys were gone, Megan & I did some reading, then decided to get some horseshoe practice in, since we were planning on playing a game upon their return. When the guys got back, we did, indeed, get in that game of horseshoes and WE WON!!!! ( I think even we were surprised). Then back to the lodge where we played a game of SET. The lodge is such a wonderful place to hang out. It has a great big rock fireplace, in which a big fire burned, lots of cushy couches and chairs scattered around, along with some tables and chairs, too, where a family could sit and play a game or do a puzzle.





There are always a number of people hanging out in there, reading, playing games or doing stuff on their laptaps. Unfortunately, the wireless internet was not working, which precluded checking e-mails, E-bay, MySpace and Facebook pages but we managed to survive it quite well. After a couple of games of SET, all of us but Tucker, headed back to room for the night. I went out looking for Tucker at 10:45 pm when he hadn’t returned to the room yet to find him sitting out on the lawn talking with someone on his cell phone. Needed to have him back in the room so that I could go to sleep knowing that all my chicks were safe and sound.