Where Ever I May Roam

Adam knows every single word to the Nevada state song (doesn't everybody?) but he knows two lines of the Washington state song.

Washington, my home
Where ever I may roam

It's a lame song as far as I can tell.

Nevada's song has scintillating phrases like, "the land of the setting sun" and "a place of a thousand thrills."  (Give or take.)

But Washington, my home, where ever I may roam???

Really, the song needs work.  But the state?  What a place!  We saw parts of it yesterday that we'd never seen.  It's beautiful.  (Today I wonder why my home in Washington has to be under permanently gray skies.)

We took a circuitous way home, down the Columbia River for a while.

I think I'm in love with the Columbia River.

Really.

We saw scores of windmills moving in their mesmerizing, other worldly way.

I love wind energy. 

I want a windmill in my backyard. (Except my backyard is in no way big enough.  Or windy enough.  Still.)

We stopped at a World War I memorial which is a replica of Stone Henge.  The creator of the monument thought the real Stone Henge was built as a place to sacrifice and thought it was fitting to memorialize the young men who had sacrificed their lives. 

So now I've seen Stone Henge and don't need to go back to England (not really, Adam...I still think I need to go back).

We could never have expected our kids to see all the water of the Columbia and not take a swim.  We went to a state park with a swim beach.

The water was coooooold so we resorted to bribes incentives to psychologically torture encourage them.

Hot fudge sundaes were in order for Mark if he got his entire swimsuit wet (Braeden and Emma had to be completely submerged because they're tough like that).

The hot fudge sundaes were well deserved.

Mark was asleep under his fuzzy blanket about 10 minutes after the sundae was consumed.

I love the variety of Washington.  I love the dry rocky vistas (the sagebrush!), the verdant farms, vineyards and orchards, the mountains, the misty evergreens.

It's a beautiful state.

Even though home is where the clouds are.

(Sorry, I'm always a little bitter about the weather in June.  In July, I'll be as sunny as the sky.)