Summer of the DAYcation!

Many people have said this was the summer of the STAYcation… But at our house, it was the summer of DAYcations or weekend get-aways.

It all started back in May when Awsumb asked if we could go to Mount Rainier. "Jump in the car!" we said and off we went. This was a quick trip, most of the roads were still closed. But it was still a beautiful drive.

In July we took a road trip through the Redwood Forest down the coast and to Southern California.

Then taking off during the big heat wave to cool off and get soaking wet while walking on the Dungeness Spit in Sequim, WA

We spent time in the cheesiest pretend German town you have ever been too, Leavenworth, WA. (Only to be visited once every 10 years! Don’t miss the Nutcracker Museum, Music Box Shop and Clock Repair shop.)

Exploring Awsumb’s favorite place to camp, a decommissioned Army base on Whidbey Island.

And finally making it to Mount Saint Helens, where Awsumb has been begging to visit.



Ending our summer with a final trip to Mount Rainier, the south side this time. Including hike at twilight in The Grove of the Patriarchs. (Barely making it out alive as the flying bats were coming out!)

And there you have it, we have been just about as far North and South as one can get on the west coast

While I love stopping at road side oddities such as all three drive through trees in the Redwood Forest and historical monuments… I have always been aware that many of the stories behind them was a bit sketchy. Lies Across America is a great book that debunks monuments throughout the states. James Loewen tell us that “zamani” monuments tell us more about people who built them and the view they want you to have about history than about the events they are supposed to memorialize. What’s make this a problem is that they can change people’s political views today. Especially if the facts are wrong or just plain false.

The Daughters of the Confederates try to shape our views today by placing confederate monuments in states that were clearly on the Union side or states that did not even exist nor have any lives lost in the Civil War. Or, how about the fact that many of the names we have grown up calling many Native American tribes aren’t even the name they called themselves, but the name their enemies called them. Names like Navajo, Anasazi, and Eskimo - meaning thieves, enemies or eaters of flesh.

I also enjoyed Sara Vowell’s books about American History including the Partly Cloudy Patriot, The Wordy Shipmates and Assassination Vacation. Listening to these books read by Sara in her “Nerd Voice” are hilarious. As she travels around to many historical sites, searching for their meaning or maybe just meaning in her own life and her place in the world she shares about her childhood in these hilarious books. Check them out!

I think we have to beware of what we teach our children… trying to give them the fact from both sides and letting them make up their minds to learn from past mistakes. Why is it important for us to learn about our past? The Truth about Columbus. Lies My Teacher Told Me. The Real history of Thanksgiving and more about the way I think history should be taught next month…

(check back for photos!)