Yeah...I am crazy enough to get home from one major trip and then head out for another one! With the five children in tow, we made our way north to Washington to be with Christina, Shane and baby Madison to celebrate the last of the Christmas days with them.
We made our way north and even though we planned to just find the hotel with few stops, I just felt the Lava Beds National Monument calling us. We called and found out that the park was open and the roads were in good condition. As we made our way through the country roads we were amazed by the wildlife we were able to see. We also saw A LOT of snow. I guess some would say that since we could not have a white Christmas in Monterey, we found a way to get our white Christmas on the road...they would not know me very well. I am not big on an thing icy or white for Christmas or any other time. However, I must say that coming to the West Coast has definitely gotten me out of my comfort zone. 
We were able to make it to the visitor center in time to grab some flashlights and explore two of the MANY lava tube caves in the area. We chose the Mushpot Cave (an easy introductory cave that was lit throughout as well as an easy path in and out. Then we chose the Skull Cave which just about did me in...first we took the wrong path (1 mile into the trail I knew it was wrong so we turned back) and trudged through the snow....then I slipped on the icy steps leading into the cave. The big joke was that you should be careful while geocaching (yes there was a virtual in the cave!) or you might break/hurt your thumb. I was thankful that it was just my thumb as I thought for sure I was a goner on the way down the steps. No real damage done and we returned to the center for the children to earn their Junior Ranger badges. 
Because of this spontaneous stop...I found myself driving on a mountain road after dark and was a little worried with the black ice forming up on the road. I just took it slow and arrived about two hours later at our hotel and ready for bed. The second day of travel proved to be just as exciting. We had heard the very first geocache was a special trek for all cachers and it was along our path (give or take a few miles). We made the stop and the find with joy...there were also several other caches of interest in the area so we spent a little longer than planned enjoying the finds.
We eventually arrived at their home the evening of the 12th day of Christmas. Hugs all around and a very excited baby...I think she might have remembered us! 
The next day...Epiphany...we enjoyed the day watching Madison play. We shared one of our peg doll nativities with them with the wise men arriving last at the scene as is our tradition. Then we prepared a simple but yummy meal...chicken lasagna and salad followed by a few home-made treats we brought along. Then we shared our simple gifts of books and essential oils for all of them to enjoy together.
The next day, I won a bet for Christina...she had asked me what our plans were for our visit. I told her we just wanted to enjoy our time with them and not plan anything away from their house. Shane said he would give me two days to go stir crazy and plan an outing...Christina gave me a day...she was right. 
I woke up the next morning before anyone else and began planning a day trip to Everett. My thought was that I would make the plan and let Christina decide if she wanted to follow through with the idea. Eager to enjoy the nice weather, we got everyone out the door and on the road in record time. We arrived at the Boeing Factory & Museum in Everett just in time to arrange a tour of the factory. The only problem was the younger ones would not be able to go because the rule was only those over 4 feet could go on the tour. I decided to stay back with the younger crew and let Christina enjoy the tour. This gave me a chance to play with Madison in the science area and watch my two little ones discover ideas as well. SO much fun! The tour lasted almost two hours and although they could not take pictures, they have lasting memories of the experience. So glad we made the trip.
The next day, we really did stay close by the house. We shared a meal with some of their new friends (cute couple expecting their first little one soon) who had to hear all about our geocaching adventures. It intrigued them enough to want to give it a try, so we left most of the crew behind and made our way on a night caching adventure. We found three caches...one of each type...mystery, traditional and virtual. A lot of fun and they might have even found a new hobby.
So...all of this excitement about caching...we convinced Shane that spending all day Saturday looking for caches would be fun. There is a special area within the Seattle museum district that has lab caches. These caches are set out as prototypes for possible future caches. We thought this would be fun, and I suppose it was interesting to participate but we had bigger plans for Shane's first real geocaching adventure. We took him back to Fremont to discover some of the caches we found two days before, along with some new ones for all of us. With HQ so close, these caches were definitely more fun to find. We would have spent more time with this adventure but two of the crew were back at the house sleeping...what would turn out to be a nasty 24-hour bug that went through all of us in short time. 
Our last day of the trip, and we filled it with cleaning and shopping....and a few more fun caches for Christina and I. That was not part of the plan originally but Michael challenged us from back in California when he told us he had found six...we bested him by one! LOL!Sadly, we had to say good-bye and head back to California. The first day was a long quiet trip as most of the crew slept...not feeling well and tired from the last week's adventure.
We arrived home late this afternoon after a fun day of caching in Redding and a stop to buy groceries. Michael (and all of us!) was glad we made it home safely.
Back to the grind tomorrow but a trip well worth taking and enjoying....so glad I stepped out of that comfort zone to brave the icy roads (that turned out to not be that bad after all). So blessed to have that visit and already planning for their trip down to California soon.
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