So, this is how we all felt when we made it back into the United States, so we decided to slow down our pace a bit and spend a few days in Seattle doing laundry, catching up on a bit of school and Sonic drinks, and John and I cooked up this great idea to take the kids to Century Link Field to tour Seahawks country...
...and it was a bust! We kept the trip a secret from the kids until we got to the field and they were so excited! Then the guy told us that they cancelled the tours for that day. So there I am in the pro shop with a seven year old boy crying huge crocodile tears on my Matt Hasselbeck jersey. What's a mom to do? Said boy left the pro shop with a new Russell Wilson jersey and a promise that we would take the tour on our way back to Alaska.
Let us in Pete Carroll!
On the upside, we did get a peek of Sounders practice (that's our soccer team for you non-northwesterners :)) and I got this cute picture. Pretend like you've never seen it when it shows up on your Christmas card.
Obligatory picture in front of Safeco since we were already across the street. Yes, Rogue Scout always makes this face for pictures now.
We took a short drive up to Pike's Market, but the day was getting late and we were all feeling tired and deflated so we headed southeast to Goldendale.
Most of the drive looked like this...
I know that it probably doesn't seem that exciting, but it was actually really beautiful. I love the golden wheat fields of eastern Washington (and Oregon) that seem to go on forever, especially after a few days in Vancouver, BC and Seattle. The kids thought the giant windmills were awesome and John spent a lot of time answering questions about wind power, which I chalked up to science for about a week or so!
Anyway, where exactly is Goldendale? Well, it's right here...
...on the Columbia Gorge across from Biggs, OR. What's that? You've never heard of Biggs either? Well didn't you know...
Okay, enough with the cheesy narration. Seriously, this portion of the Gorge and the high desert is gorgeous.
The highlight of Goldendale is the Maryhill Museum of Fine Art, which I completely failed to take a picture of. But, it overlooks the Columbia River and houses wonderful pieces of art from local artists (one who is related to John, which really thrilled the kids), the Romanian Queen Mary (for whom the museum is named) and an impressive Rodin collection.
The sunshine and breeze on top of the hill were amazing, so we spent a lot of time exploring the grounds, which features lots of sculptures and interesting information about the local area. There was no photography allowed inside the museum, but trust me when I tell you that if you ever find yourself in Goldendale, Washington you must visit the museum.
They recently added a childrens room where Gunnar and John played chess,
Patton made a million Rodin inspired aluminum foil sculptures,
and Sayer walked around generally destroying things.
There's also a winery down the road. Go to the museum first :)
After the museum we headed straight for the reservation and Athena activities, like homecoming at John's high school.
And here is a moment that will likely go down in the annals of McBean family history. Patton has never wanted to go to public school, but the moment she discovered that there is something called homecoming and it has princesses, she began to consider the prospect of High School. This may be the moment we lost her.
(Disclaimer; that is completely sarcastic. The other day John's cousin asked Patton if she was going to go to college and she said "no, my mom said I can only homeschool.")
RS was cold, so she weasled her way into my sweatshirt.
Friday night football in our small towns is in the top five things we miss when we are in Alaska, so we were super excited to make it to homecoming. John spent most of the game explaining to people where he's been for the last couple of decades.
We were glad to be home, so we quickly made our way to the mountains.
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