From Cyndi Ball:

After a couple of loads of laundry and breakfast with my brother, Trina and I headed out the door for our next great LHG adventure.

We drove down to the Bremerton Ferry Terminal and got in line with all the other cars headed to Seattle. It's been a long time since I've been on the ferries and this was Trina's first time!

The day was gorgeous! Hazy skies, high 70's and a very cool wind that came off the water.

The ferry docked and unloaded people and cars, then it was our turn to load up and head to Seattle! After we parked and put on the emergency brake (as required), Trina and I made our way to the sun deck to watch the scenery as we crossed Puget Sound.

Stunning. Not gonna lie - really made me miss living in the Northwest, being so close to water and mountains.

As we rounded the bend of one of the islands, Seattle came into view in all its splendor. Pretty soon we docked and drove off the ferry.

We had great plans of seeing all kinds of sights in Seattle, but the traffic got the best of me. Well, that and a little less than a quarter of a tank of gas! We tried to get to Pike Place Market and ended up driving through so Trina could at least "see" the Market. We drove down 4th Avenue - an avenue I walked down frequently when I worked in a high rise in Seattle. I filled the tank with a little fuel - at $4.15/gallon, I only needed enough to make it out of the city!

My one request for visiting the city was to eat at an authentic Vietnamese restaurant. Amanda (Communications Director for the National Ladies Homestead Gathering - aka Amazing Researcher!) and I had landed on the same Vietnamese restaurant for lunch - The Tamarind Tree. The restaurant is beautiful, and it's located in Japan Town. The food did not disappoint!

With the satisfaction of a great meal and doggy bag in hand, Trina and I headed for the mountains - the Cascades, to be exact. I drove over the Mercer Island on I-90 and headed for Snoqualmie Pass which would take us to Yakima, our final destination for the day.

I am most definitely a "mountain" person, and the views were incredible. Photos don't do it justice. Over the pass and down the other side into eastern Washington. What a stark contrast in the views!

The lush green of western Washington disappears and gives way to high desert, rolling hills barren of trees. Beautiful in its own right.

The closer we got to Yakima, we began to see patches of green ... amazing expanses of apple trees! A lot of apples distributed around the country originate from this area. While finishing up a conference call (Trina was now driving), we arrived at our beautiful little guest house for the night, right in the middle of apple orchards! There was a chicken tractor with chickens in the front yard, all kinds of herbal plants, and lots of herbal books and jars of dried herbs!

I do believe we are staying in the home of a kindred spirit! 

(Click here for the next post in the series.)