Day 10 - The great Jubilee/Benedictine/48-state Pilgrimage of 2025!

 Blessed Feast of the Assumption! There would be much to give thanks for today, not just because we were nearing the end of our trip.

We woke up early, had some breakfast, packed the car, and said goodbye to our four-legged (and two-legged) friends. You know it's a good time when the city boy gets in (or close to at least) on the action.

That's as close as he gets...

Somewhere between the Hillsboro stadium and the RV, we had crossed the river into Washington state, our 48th state! It doesn't appear that there is any photographic evidence to speak of so, you'll have to take our word for it. Not too long into today, we would be at several notable WA sites.

First things first. We decided to celebrate the Holy Day with the Benedictines (seemed appropriate) so we headed off to St. Martin's Abbey, a unique little space in the middle of St. Martin's University. It took a while to find (GPS failed) but eventually we made our way in and were rewarded with, not only a Blessed Mother feast with the Benedictines, but the Abbot himself presiding. Here are some photos from the website. It was a bit dark for my taste but they chanted and there was a nice variety of people in attendance. 

St. Martin

Not quite that full in the Summer...

The ambo was a flying eagle...that was cool

When we had spoken to the Abbot and headed out, we set off for our next stop. It seems, every trip like this, I try to do something nice for DH and plan a stop just for him. Then, when we actually get there, I act like a baby because it is the last thing I wanted to do. I must work on that. Or, perhaps, move his stops to the beginning of the trip when I'm not completely spent.

Happy or not, we headed through the rain (yes, this is Washington!) to the Museum of Flight. One saving grace...instead of paying almost $30/person to walk around looking at airplanes, we used our Carnegie Museum membership and got reciprocal privileges so we got in FREE. If I'm bored, at least I didn't pay for it. Lol, I wonder how many times/places DH thinks the same thing???

Here are some pictures. I wish I could narrate but, truthfully, other than the Concorde and Air Force One (the old one) I was totally lost. 

I made sure to take enough pictures to count it as history/geography

It was cool to show the kids the way things used to be. Guessing the Trump plane is a bit nicer...

and without so many knobs

Here he is, in his element, passing on the magic to the next generation

so happy...

The Concorde was tighter than I would have imagined.

It wouldn't be the most crowded place we'd be that day...

DH was kind and limited our time to the "must sees" and after about an hour we were back on the road. That was a good decision because we seem to have visited Seattle at the worst possible time- major road construction everywhere. It was ok, though. We were together and there would be lunch at the end of this...along with the most congested (people) two blocks I've ever witnessed. 

Welcome to Pike Place Market.

This was actually at the end, when we had sort of adjusted to the place.

This was the beginning...when we were waiting in line for lunch. Can you guess which child shares in his mother's extreme agoraphobia?

Luckily we persevered and got some yummy chowder to boot.

In the end, it was a pretty interesting place...like the Strip District by the water on a steep hill and about ten times the size. We did get some pretty excellent pastries at Piroshky Piroshky 

If you are a Seinfeld fan...the vibe is totally Soup Nazi. Very long line, very short time to order and make sure you get it right! I was pleased to head out after this adventure. My boy and I had reached our people limit.

Back on the road, full of other people with the same idea. Luckily we were heading North to our home for TWO nights and would have time to rest and recharge once we had arrived. Two stops to go...First, and most important...

When you find out there is a city that shares your name, you need to make the stop...
even if it is pouring rain!

Then, of course, supplies were needed for our two days in Washington. We couldn't very well subsist on pastries. Here are the random photos that came up from the kids' phones on our Safeway visit. Why? No idea. I think they were delirious at this point.

They were impressed that WSU has it's own brand of cheese

It was an interesting store...

Filled up with fuel and food, we headed to our home for the night (and the next night!). It had been a long day of traffic and we were happy to be in our nest. We would close out our (international) Jubilee tour tomorrow with a visit to our Northern Neighbors. We are blessed!