Family Travel: Olympic National Park Part 3: Kalaloch Beaches and Quinault Rainforest

** Update Jan 2018:  Hello there, and Happy New Year! I just realized I never completed my 3 part series/ summary of our June 2017 trip to Olympic national park.  I had part 3 in drafts, but am sharing now so that some of you might be able to reference it for your summer 2018 vacation planning!  I've created a label "ONP" to make it easier to search for all the related posts.

*Back in June 2017, we visited Olympic National Park as a family of 10 (2 grandparents in late 60's and children as young as 2).  All of the activities mentioned are suitable for a healthy, average fitness, family - though, we did carry the 2 year old at times.

Day 5: Ruby Beach & Beach 4

On day 5, we visited the coastal portion of Olympic National Park.  We live by the pacific coast in Southern California, so I wasn't sure what to expect but I was sure blown away with the beauty and bounty of the tide pools in the Pacific Northwest.  We visited Ruby Beach and Beach 4.  We checked the tide schedule and planned our visit to Ruby Beach around low tide.  To get to Ruby beach, you do need to climb over some large driftwood.  Our 4 year old enjoyed this quite a bit, and our 2 year old was comfortably carried by myself or daddy. We did not find the path to the beach difficult, but do recommend taking your time on the driftwood if you are elderly or with younger children.

Family Travel: Olympic National Park Part 2: Hoh Rainforest

*Activities in this post are suitable for healthy individuals from 2 years old to 70 years old.  We did backpack carry our 2 year old in a Tula carrier at times on the hikes. 

On day 4, we moved rental homes from the east side of Olympic National Park (Lake Sutherland) to southwest Quinault Rainforest (Amanda Park/ Lake Quinault) area.  On our drive over, we stopped for lunch and some groceries at Forks (biggest town on the way to Lake Quinault), and visited the awesome Hoh Rainforest. 

When people think of Olympic National Park, Hoh Rainforest comes up as one of the top highlights.  I'll let the pictures do the talking :) 

Family Travel: Olympic National Park Part 1: Hurricane Ridge, Sol Duc Valley

*Activities in this post are suitable for healthy individuals from 2 years old to 70 years old.  We did backpack carry our 2 year old in a Tula carrier at times on the hikes.  We travelled from our rental home on Lake Sutherland. 

Day 2:  Exploring Lake Crescent & Hurricane Ridge, 

Our little hikers - Brian (2) and Alex (2) 

Cousins enjoying the Lake Pleasant area

We began our day with a hike to Marymere Falls, near Lake Crescent  This was a 1.8 mile out and back trail through the forest to a waterfall, which our family greatly enjoyed.  It is mostly flat,  except the final part where you climb some steep steps to view the waterfall. Our 2 year old walked most of the first half himself (0.8miles), and then we put him in the backpack carrier before climbing up the steps.  The other kids (4,5,10) and the grandparents had no problem hiking this. 

After our hike, we went to the Lake Crescent lodge where we enjoyed a nice lunch. The view from the restaurant was beautiful, though I did not get a picture of it :).  The service was a bit slow - but the kids were entertained with coloring pages and crayons. We enjoyed our fish and chips and salmon. 

Family Travel: En route to Olympic National Park: Strawberries, Lavender and Ice Cream in Sequim

PNW Summer 2017 Trip:  Day 1:  Strawberries, Lavender and Ice Cream in Sequim

In late June, we travelled as family of 10 to the Pacific Northwest, in order to visit Olympic National Park. Our group included 2 grandparents (healthy, in their late 60's), my family 2 boys - ages 2 and 4), and my brother's family (their kids -10 year old boy and 5 year old girl).  I planned this trip to include a combination of fun activities, suitable for all ages. We visited the Olympic Peninsula for 5 days, described in the next few posts. You can also find all of our ONP posts under the label "Travel-with Kids"

Since we were arriving from Arizona and California, our family met up at the Seattle Airport - SeaTac. After renting our cars (we booked through Costco), it was already around noon. We decided to grab a quick bite on the road and headed towards our first rental home in the Port Angeles area. For family travel, I like to find houses from airBNB, homeaway/ VBRO because there is more room for the kids, kitchen and laundry access -more on this in the next post.  

We took the route using the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and stopped in Sequim (pronounced "Skwim") on our way, as it seemed like a charming place full of lavender fields and farms.  Since it took us about 3 hours to get there from the airport (with a short lunch & bathroom break), we didn't arrive until 3:40pm. This limited what we could do, since most of the farms close around 4 or 5pm. We were able to squeeze in strawberry picking, a lavender field and ice cream!

Our boys love U-pick, so our first stop was Graymarsh Farm U-Pick, where they happily (and quickly) picked strawberries until closing time 4pm.  

Must Eat: Shrimp Trucks in Oahu

We're back from Hawaii, but I still have so many great eats and things to do from our trip to share! For the rest of the week, I'm going to continue to post some of our Hawaii highlights, before switching the focus back to local LA :)

The North Shore of Oahu is famous for its shrimp trucks near the town of Kahuku, an area known for shrimp aquaculture.  Giovanni's Shrimp Truck is one of the most popular trucks with 773 reviews on yelp with an average of 4 stars.  We opted to try the less popular (67 reviews) but 4.5 star rated "Famous Kahuku Shrimp Truck" . As you can see from the photos, the shrimp was juicy and packed with flavor. They are shelled so the best way (in my opinion) to eat them is to suck the marinade off the shells, peel, then dip again in sauce and eat. It's messy, but worth it!

Must Eat: Shave Ice in Hawaii - feat. Matsumoto's in Oahu

Aloha!  Over the next week, I'll continue to share some of the highlights from our Hawaii vacation (Oahu and Kauai). When possible, I'll suggest some equivalent food or activity options in the LA area. :)  

"Shave Ice" is a must eat when you are in Hawaii.  This refreshing and thirst quenching treat can be found everywhere- in coffee shops, mom and pop stores, stands, etc.  Hawaiian shave ice is sort of like what we call "snow cones". However, unlike snow cones, shave ice is not ground ice, but is very finely shaved ice so that the flavors are completely and evenly absorbed.  In Hawaiian, you can find dozens of flavors, many of them unique and tropical - such as pineapple, lychee, passionfruit...with ice cream or other toppings such as red bean or condensed milk.

Must Eat: Roy's in Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii (branches also in LA!)

Yes, FJLA is in HAWAII!!! :) One of the (many) perks of living in Los Angeles, is how easy it is to vacation in Hawaii.  In less than 6 hours, we made it to Oahu on a non-stop flight. We are here to relax, and of course, to take in some good eats and sights while we're here! 

Must Eat: Smitty's BBQ, Lockhart, Texas

OMG - we had the best BBQ pork ribs either of us had ever eaten at this unassuming little joint in Lockhart Texas this past Sunday morning. We were driving from San Antonio where we were for a wedding Saturday night to Houston to visit some other friends and J insisted we make a detour to hit up this joint.

"Are you crazy? We're going to eat BBQ at 9am?" I asked J. He told me that it was rated as one of the top 5 BBQ in Texas and even Golf magazine had recommended it. He assured me it would be worth it. I was skeptical.

J was right. The ribs were perfectly smoked, and the meat fell off the bone. With each bite, I was transported to foodie paradise. It was, as they say, "finger lickin good."

We got the brisket as well and thought that was okay. For $9.50 per pound of meat, it was a pretty sweet deal.

Smitty's Market

208 South Commerce Street

Lockhart, Texas. 78644

(512) 398-9344

www.smittysmarket.com

How to get a passport in one day!

Last week, we learned that J's grandma had a heart attack and was hospitalized. We scrambled and bought last minute airfare tickets from United Airlines using their "compassion fares". We were all packed and ready to go when realized that I had no idea where my passport was!

Frantically, I searched online and to my surprise and relief, I learned that you CAN get a passport in ONE day if you are lucky enough to live close to one of 14 regional centers.

Thankfully, we live in LA so I was able to go to the Federal Buildling @ 13000 Wilshire Blvd and successfully get a passport on Wednesday. We were on our way to Canada Thursday at 7am.

Here are some links that I found helpful:

• Getting a same day passport
• How to get a passport in Los Angeles

Good news! Grandma is on the road to recovery!

Must Eat: The Viking Yurt, Park City, UT

At the top of the mountain at the Park City Ski Resort, we were looking for hot chocolate, and per chance, stumbled upon the most charming yurt! Since we were only looking for a snack, we didn't get a chance to sample all of the menu - however, what we ate was ab fab.

super tasty sausage sandwich!

delicious onion relish

apple strudel - the best since I've had since I was in Germany!

This is another FJ "Must Eat" in Park City - The Viking Yurt. Apparently we aren't the only ones who think so. According to the Today Show, NBC - it is one of the "Most Romantic Places to Propose in America."

The Viking Yurt

2065 Mahre Drive

Park City, UT 84098

(435) 615-9878

www.thevikingyurt.com

Must Eat: Goldener Hirsch Inn, Park City, UT

The food in Park City was fantastic! One of the highlights was the Cheese Fondue @ the Goldener Hirsch Inn. It was a charming and cozy restaurant with a fireplace and romantic atmosphere. We recommend this place as a "Must Eat" in Park City, Utah!

Goldener Hirsch fondue: gruyere, emmentaller, appenzeller & vacherin with green apples & crunchy baguette

Goldener Hirsch wiener schnitzel:

herb spaetzle, caper vinaigrette, caraway glazed carrots, charred lemon & thyme beurre blanc

Goldener Hirsch Inn Restaurant

http://www.goldenerhirschinn.com

7570 Royal Street
Park City, UT 84060-5111, United States
(435) 649-7770

Skiing and Sundancing in Park CIty, Utah

J - loves to ski. Me (F) - not so much.

Afterall, I moved all the way from Boston with the main purpose to escape the snow and the winter! So we compromised by planning a weekend getaway Park City during the Sundance Film Festival where J could ski/snowboard and I could watch films, eat and shop!

Where we stayed: Best Western Landmark Inn

Where we skiied: Deer Valley and Park City

Where we ate: Goldener Hirsch Inn

Some Tips:

• Hotel prices are inflated for the Sundance Film Festival so plan ahead, and book early! We booked our room in August under AAA rate for $99 a night. By Jan, that rate had gone up to $400 a night!
• The first weekend of the festival is more chaotic than the second so if you want to see celebrities then this is your best bet. However, if you want to see films, I recommend planning your trip around the second weekend.