Mom told me I had to go to the recycle before we left. Ben got here and took a shower while I packed the rest of the stuff we might need into the Escape and helped mom go through the cupboards He got ready and then we went to the recycle to dump off all the stuff we acquired over the course of a week including boxes from the office. We dumped them off and hurried back so we could finish getting ready before it started raining.
We got the rest of the stuff in the car and we decided to grab lunch along the way. Our only stop of our trip was going to be in Federal Way for a couple of caches and food.
We drove towards Yelm and onto Reservation Road towards the Mounts Road on ramp to I-5. A little part of me wondered why I didn't go the other way through Spanaway and Puyallup. Oh well, we committed. Traffic went alright up until the interchange of Hwy 16 in Tacoma. Stop and go until almost Fife. Ugh traffic! Such as waste of time!
We finally got to Federal Way and off at the Hwy 18 exit. I am so glad they changed this junction it is much safer than it used to be. We drove less than a mile to the West Hylebos Wetland Park. We got to the parking lot and a van full of people were getting out and was in our way. I didn't realize they were cachers until they whipped our their camera and took a picture of my trackable. We exchanged light conversation and Ben and I headed out to the earthcache, For the Love of Peat (GC5E5QY). I wanted to get it before it rained. I knew I left this one for a good occasion.
We arrived at the spot, answered the questions, took our photo and left. On the way back we stopped for the traditional in the picnic area, One of My Favorite Parks (GC5XVCA) and we looked for it on the wrong side of the tree at first, when we walked to the other side, Ben found it instantly.
It started sprinkling so we jogged the rest of the trail until we got back to the parking lot. Ben needed a picture in front of the cabin. We got back to the Escape and I plugged in the coordinates to the next cache we needed. The the sky opened up and all hell broke loose.
The puzzle cache, Tacky 1: Map Quiz Revenge (GC1XBZW) was solved the night before we left. I figured if we were stopping in Federal Way I should see if there were any near the earthcache we could go get. On the way there it thundered, there was lightening and lots and lots of rain! Crap, we're gonna get soaked. I was wearing flip flops and shorts. We found a lot next to the cache and parked. I grabbed my jacket, zipped it up and ran out with Ben. He found the tree it was hanging in. We hid under the tree, signed the log and put it back. I ran back and hopped in the car. Ben said he had trouble hanging it back on the tree.
I was now officially done with the geocaching road trip challenge for the summer. Ben still had a couple to get before he was finished.
Now came the hard part...finding something to eat with all the traffic and rain around us. I pulled into a complex and saw the Taco Del Mar sign and asked Ben if he wanted a burrito for lunch. He said sure, we haven't been there in a while. We both ordered mondo burritos and Ben got a side of chips and cheese. They hit the spot. Ben was no longer tempted to eat my arm.
We got into the wrong lane and had to do some creative driving to get back to the main drag to get us back on the freeway. The rain had become heavy. Once we got back on and traveled a little ways, there were actual ponds on I-5 and if a car hit one just right, you got a free car wash. We had a car slosh us and I couldn't see for a few seconds. Yikes! Traffic surprisingly wasn't too bad until we got past Burien. It was slow very slow.
We got into Seattle and inched our way through downtown. I could not wait to be in Mountlake Terrace. I just wanted off I-5 and wanted out of the down pour. We tried calling Jen along the way because she did not give us the address of the apartment complex or the name of it, she didn't answer. Luckily Doug called us and he gave us the necessary information to get us there. We got to the complex around 3 and meandered our way through the apartments trying to find the K building. We finally found it and then called Jen. She had just gotten up from a nap and showed us where we could park. It was still pouring down rain.
We went upstairs and she gave us the grand tour of the place. Because Doug's car wasn't working she had to go pick him up from work. She gave us the WiFi password and we had a heck of a time trying to get it to work. Later we found out the internet was turned off due to the thunderstorms by her roommate Ian. While she was getting Doug, Ben fell asleep and I took an hour to go to Fred Meyer down the road to pick up some food and beer for the Seahawk game.
I got back just before Doug and Jen walked through the door. They brought home beer and chicken from Ezell's. I've never had chicken from there and it was tasty. Between the four of us we had plenty of food for the game. I heard that the GIFF (Geocaching International Film Festival) event for tonight was canceled due to the weather. Around 6:30 I started the pizza. An hour into the game Doug pretty much checked out and fell asleep on the couch for the remainder of the evening. Jen hung out with us and watched the game. Seahawks ended up losing by 2 to the Broncos. Disappointing, but it was just a pre-season game. We played with her cat piano and watched Pitch Perfect 2. We turned the couch into a sleeping area and fell asleep around 2. We had to get some sleep to get up for our long day in Fremont.
Next Adventure: The Last Geocaching Block Party #GBP2015
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