Breakfast

Hello family,
Seattle is rainy! Had breakfast at Kim's house and got our veggies in :) Here's a picture of Kim unloading the car...she's officially moved in! We're contemplating driving through Seattle or hanging out for a few hours at the house. We're not really wanting to get back in the car yet!  lol :)

Love,
Shaina

We made it!

We made it to Seattle by 11:30 last night and passed out asleep immediately! Hooray.
We've been up drinking coffee, getting organized. Going to get groceries and make breakfast at Kimmie's house; the breakfast here want healthy, so we're opting for making our own huge yummy celebratory breakfast!
It's rainy here, but no snow yet :)
Love y'all,
Shaina

Oregan!

Hello!!

We have been zooming through Oregon! Great straight-aways for the highway and dry weather in the 40s! Almost missed posting a note about the state, since traveling through here has been so smooth and quick!

We will be in Seattle in about 200 miles ;) will be crossing the Washington/Oregon border any time now.

Im SO excited and I know Zack is too!!

-Kimberly

Redwood Forest! UPDATED***

Hello Family!

We are currently driving through Crescent City, California, and we have just climbed back into our Volvo after looking at the massive trees that live in Redwood Forest!

Michael was driving and took us down a steep winding dirt road, and we immediately felt like we were in a different world. All of the trees were so aged looking and due to a mist of rain earlier, they were all a color of plush green. We ran around taking photos with each other and taking in the beauty! The air had a bit of an icy chill to it, and we noticed how FRESH of a scent the forest gives off. It was such a beautiful sight to see and will definitely be remembered!

The largest redwood on record is 379 feet tall and has been named "Hyperion." The majority of trees that encompass the redwood forest are known to exceed 600 years of age, and the oldest tree known is over 2,200 years old.

"The coastal redwood species is enormous, and the tallest tree species on earth. It is not uncommon to see trees of this type between 200 and 300 feet high, with the bark alone being a foot thick."

Many of our photos are on our camera so we will have to load more later, but here are some that we took with our cell phones! So Check back on this post later to see additional photos :)

We are on route to Oregon and we will ultimately arrive in Bremerton, Seattle by 10:00 this evening! As you all know, Bremerton is our final stop for our trip and we are so very excited to arrive there!

Love you guys!
- Hana Riley

Shaina's Paper

Hello family,
Just got this email from my professor with the grade for my final senior paper. I'm so proud!
Thought you all might like to read the research that absorbed my time and attention for four months.
Wheeew! It's over.

I would love to know which parts you liked, so post a comment if you'd like. Unfortunately, my professor doesn't give more feedback, so it stinks not to know which parts the reader likes best.

Also, it is a slightly earlier draft than the one I turned in, so ignore the little errors that I omitted in my final submitted copy. It didn't save to my online folder for some reason.

Enjoy!
Love y'all,
Shaina

Click on the link to download:
http://db.tt/OFgYFNfN

Heading north, with Karma and God on our side'

Good morning!

I wanted to share with you all the most revealing proof that Karma and God are both on our side during this trip.

As most know, we chose to re-route through California. This is to avoid the snow storm hitting UT/NV/ID, that would have been a dangerous route. As we deided to change direction of driving, we all selected a few sights to see during the travel through California. Among these sites were two specific ones. Hana chose to see the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco, CA. Michael chose to see the Red Wood Forrest near Orick, CA. The route of US-101 would take us from the Golden Gate Bridge through the 37 miles of Red Wood Forrest. Taking this route, we would remain far away from I-5 North until after we crossed out of California. Both paths had near the same travel time, so we went with the scenic US-101.

This route was long, foggy, and windy during our drive last night. Frequently this rout became a two-land road. We wanted to drive on as far as we could, safely and while having energy. The route had low temperatures, but 0% of precipitation. We drove until exhaustion hit, and pulled off at a luxurious hotel in the moutains to sleep. Shaina and I both agreed, it was. an odd route to take, but both felt it was right and that we should stop second guessing ourselves, thinking that we should have taken the I-5 instead.

We woke this morning and turned on the news while we got ready for the day. Here is the reason I feel that Karma and God are on ourselves.

On the news, they described a 60 car pile-up on I-5 North. The route we would have taken if we had not gone towards San Francisco! Apparently they set up hotel rooms for most of the people and shut down the entire highway. WOW!

Here we are, with much relief, continuing on US-101 toward the Red Wood Forrest visitor center. We believe we will reach Seattle, WA, by tonight! :)

Zack said this morning that snow had hit Seattle. Ive been watching the weather, and it appears the snow will only last util 10am this morning, then turn to continuous rain with warmer temperatures.

The route US-101 should remain in hugh 30s-40s for this afternoon. We appear to have a clear shot into Washington. All fingers crossed and prayers said!

Love you all, missin everyone!
-Kimberly

To Seattle or bust

7AM (signal coming in and out here up in the redwood forest)
Hello!
We're awake, clean, packed, fed, and currently getting our coffee fix. We just got on 101 north towards the red wood forest in Orick, CA then driving through Portland, Oregon to see the city. After that, we are traveling through to Seattle. We avoided ALL bad weather with our decision to take 101. The weather in Oregon is going to be great dry driving weather too!!

Everyone be sure to watch Obama's gun control announcements slated for 11:45 am Charleston time!!!!

More soon! Love y'all
Shaina