Port Angeles & Bellingham, Washington (July 25- August 17, 2021)

The Shores Invade the Pacific Northwest

Kyle's love of the Pacific Northwest runs deep. Many of you know that he is a HUGE Seattle Seahawks fan but how does a boy growing up in Ohio in the 1980's (the days before the internet and cable tv) end up supporting a team over 2000 miles away. It's in his blood. Kyle's dad, Craig, was born and raised in Port Angeles, Washington and throughout his childhood Kyle had visited family around Seattle. They attended Seahawk and Mariner games and even saw Ken Griffey Jr. play in the minor leagues before he became a hall of famer. Fast forward 40+ years and the Shores had a rare opportunity to have the whole family together in one place. Kyle and I headed toward Port Angeles (where Kyle's parents live during the summer) from our Escapees event in Wyoming. His brother (Kurt), sister in law (Shelly) and niece (Madison) flew in from Cleveland. The seven of us spent about two weeks exploring Puget Sound and the Olympic National Park.

Olympic National Park is one of our favorite places in this country. We had a chance to visit Hurricane Ridge, hike the Hall of Mosses and Spruce Trail in the Hoh Rainforest. Then we headed to Sol Duc Hotsprings Water Fall.

We had a chance for a behind the scene tour of the local swimming pool in Port Angeles that is named in honor of Kyle's grandfather, William Shore. Bill Shore was a coach and active member of the PA community for many years. He taught thousands of people how to swim as a swim instructor at the pool in the 1950s. The pool recently went through a 20 million dollar renovation and has been re-branded as The Shore Aquatic Center. The manager took the family on an extensive tour of the new building and the Shores had a chance to swim and enjoy the pool named after their family.

One thing that made this trip unique was that we spent about two weeks at a campground while visiting Port Angeles. We stayed at Dungeness Wildlife Area and took a hike out on the Dungeness Spit to see the Strait of Juan De Fuco.

After two weeks in Port Angeles we headed over to Bellingham, Washington to see the rest of Kyle's family. The whole family came up to Silver Lake Park (where we camped for a few nights) to have a cookout. Nothing better then having everyone together to break bread, swim and share stories.

We had an amazing time visiting family in Port Angeles and Bellingham but after 4 weeks it was time to hit the road. Follow our upcoming adventures as we head toward North Cascades National Park and Mount Rainier National Park.