Doubled Up | Olympic Peninsula Adventures

It's not up for debate, the Pacific Northwest is beautiful. With a plethora of geological beauty and unique destinations, we may never leave Washington. There's just too much to explore! Having never been to the Olympic Peninsula together, we road tripped out west in July... twice. Mr. Fleece and I planned our own family trip for the long 4th of July weekend and then we ventured out again with my parents during their visit, adding in a pit stop to Victoria, B.C. Given that Mr. Fleece fell ill on the first excursion, it was nice to get a second chance so close together!

The Peninsula is a bit sprawling, and hot destinations aren't close together. Here's some of the ground we covered:

- Purple Haze Lavendar Farm (great for pictures)

- Hurricane Ridge/Olympic National Park (amazing views, easy hikes)

- Lake Crescent (breakfast at the lodge, enjoy lake views)

- Rialto Beach (sandy Pacific Ocean beach)

- Ediz Hook (rocky beach)

- Elwha River (adjacent to Madison Falls Trail, a tinsy .3 mile walk to a rewarding waterfall)

I discovered I'm all about that lakehouse lifestyle. The first trip, we stayed on Lake Sutherland in this air bnb which provided access to a community dock for swimming along with kayaks and stand up paddleboards to borrow. We also had out own hot tub to retreat to, a great front-row "seat" for 4th of July fireworks. Other lakes I want to visit: Ozette and Cushman.

Victoria was also lovely! A beautifully clean city with gorgeous flowers, gardens, parks, and playgrounds around every bend. We explored the harbor area and our neighborhood beach, Gonzales Beach, along with Pebbles Beach, Clover Point Park, and the world-famous Butchart Gardens. Some of the best food of our trip:

- Red Fish Blue Fish (salmon talcones are yum if you don't want fish & chips)

- The Hive Eatery (amazingly delicious sweet & sour asian-syle pork burger!)

- Kid Sister Ice Cream (located in a cool back alley in Chinatown) 

Water, Bridges, Ferries, oh my,

- SJW