After Kevin and Sarah’s wedding, Sandy and I took a vacation from Seattle. I had planned this part of the trip as a surprise. Sandy didn’t know where we were headed.

Sunday was a day to get people to the airport. Afterwards, we took the train into Seattle for a wet walking tour around Public Market.

We stayed near Anacortes that night to catch the first ferry in the morning. It was a couple hours across the sound to Victoria, BC. On the way over, a whale was spotted near the ferry. It was on the other side, so neither of us got sight of it.

We drove down to Victoria in time to eat lunch overlooking the port. Being the capital of British Columbia, the city is more bustling than I expected with business and government people as well as tourists.

After lunch, we drove out to a historic fort and lighthouse. A thick fog bank rolled in while we were there.

That evening we ate dinner downtown and enjoyed a stroll by the waterfront.

We got up early to get in line for the ferry to Port Angeles. I didn’t make a reservation, so it was nerve wracking to see if there was room for us. We were one of the last on.

Lunch was at a covered sidewalk cafe in the rain. With the clouds, I decided against heading up the mountain. Instead we headed west on the Olympic peninsula and made a short stop at Crescent Lake.

Continuing west toward the ocean, Rialto Beach started as a hike in the rain. But the weather started to clear and we walked as far north on the beach until we were blocked by a stream. The logs were too slippery for us to be comfortable crossing.

Driving south, we hiked out to a sand beach (Rialto is gravel) near La Push in time for sunset. We were lucky to have this view to ourselves!

It was very dark by the time we arrived at Kalaloch Lodge. Our room had logs in the fireplace and made it easy to relax for a good night’s sleep. The next day was clear and we had a walk on the beach after breakfast.

We were a little surprised by how fast the tide came in at this beach. Our hike was around the point and back to this spot. On the way back, we had to scramble on the rocks near the point to avoid the waves.

We took two hikes in the Hoh Rainforest. It was authentic- including rain.

Our flight was the next day and we had 3+ hours to get to our hotel at SeaTac. We did get a last walk on the beach.