Dateline: July 30, 2011 - Olympia, WA

Picked up our Dodge Caravan at the Budget counter at SeaTac airport at noon - looks roomy and drives great. Back in Olympia, we figure out how to make the back row of seats disappear - way cool - and fold the middle seats up for maximum volume. Box after box after giant 10 gallon baggie full of clothes later, there's too much stuff even for a good sized minivan. So, Stella's delightful friend Abbey is the happy recipient of more than she expected. A heavy van pulled out of Oly at 5:00 pm, headed for Yakima, WA, center of the great cherry-growing region on the east of the Cascades.

Goodbye Oly, Goodbye I-5, Goodbye Fort Lewis. On through the Snoqualmie Pass - It happened to be a spectacular day in Puget Sound area - nary a cloud in the sky and Mt Rainier never looked more sparkling. It's a captivating mountain in any weather; on this day it was mesmerizing. The pass took us north of the mountain through a valley with almost the full 14,410 ft height visible and much of it still sheathed in snow. I-90 through steep passes and on to I-82 and Yakima. And, for a perfect Goodbye: Rainer silhouetted by the setting sun on the other side of the mountain.