It always a challenge to decide on a babymoon location. Cant go anywhere because of zika, don’t want to go anywhere like Napa or Sonoma, or anywhere where I would want to save for a vacation when I could partake. Also cant go anywhere we would be too active because at 30+ weeks, that’s not happening. So we decided on Washington, the Pacific Northwest, because I am a sucker for National Parks and cool climate sounded delightful.
A week before our trip we realized that our good friends would be ending their honeymoon in Seattle when we were arriving. So we diverted our plans and stayed in Seattle for a night so we could spend some time with our friends in the city and go salmon fishing with them the next morning.
After our quick jaunt in Seattle, we drove to the coast of Oylmpic National Park and stayed at Kalaloch Lodge which is inside the park. I had a lot trouble figuring out where to stay on this trip. everything seemed so far away from other towns and attractions so I was unsure about the places I booked but luckily this one, we hit the jackpot. The property and views were just stunning and the lodge had a delish restaurant that we went to for all of our meals. Because there also weren’t a lot of other meal options close by.
But we were close to many of the Olympic National Park attractions including the Hoh Rainforest, Ruby Beach, La Push, and Rialto Beach.
Our next stop was Mount Rainier National Park which was a bit of a disappointment. It was a beautiful drive but when we got there we realized that the park was closed due to high likelihood of avalanches (eyes rolling). It was definitely a little disappointing that we couldn’t see much of the park but we made the best of it. Our cabin was close to Crystal Mountain Ski Resort which was still open for the season. We road the gondola up to the top of the mountain and had a wonderful lunch. The view was incredible but the peak of Mount Rainier was mostly covered by clouds. After a few more road side stops to play in the snow, we were on to our next location!
Hands down my favorite part of our trip was the TULIPS!!!!! I was so excited to be there for the very beginning of the tulip bloom and explore the never ending tulip fields. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is a very popular tourist attraction and it was easy to see why. The weather is incredible, the views are spectacular and there are all kinds of fun attractions. We spent much of our time in the cutest town of La Conner. They had some amazing shops and restaurants that kept us coming back for more.
Once we had seen enough tulips, I made a reservation for us to have tea at a beautiful home in the valley. A lovely woman opens her house for 4 weekends during the tulip festival for high tea. And it was delish! When we were finished we were somewhat close to North Cascades National Park and I am a SUCKER for national parks. We made our way there knowing that roads could be closed and we may not see much but we were pleasantly surprised to see that we could get through most of the park. It was also completely empty. I think we saw one other car the entire time we were there. Snow was melting so there were waterfalls and rapids everywhere. It was just gorgeous every where we looked.
Our last night we wanted to eat somewhere closer to our hotel so we stopped at a place we had been eyeing in a super small town called Stanwood. It was an old town that was somewhat deserted but we could see the charm and glimpses of what it must have been. And a restaurant called Crow Island Farms was just what we were looking for! It was the best meal of our trip. I think we maybe ordered 2/3 of the menu and every single dish was fantastic. We sat at the bar (after begging for seats because the place was packed) and watched the chefs make everything with fresh local ingredients. We talk about this meal all the time and what fond memories it brings us.
