Mt. Rainier

I woke up this morning with the mere anticipation of going for a morning walk on my new and usual route around the neighborhood....but when my mom mentioned she was thinking about going to Mt. Rainier on this beautifully sunny day, there was no hesitation: Sunday afternoon road trip with my mom!!! With a map, some generic directions on how to get there, some of my mixed cds, and our sense of adventure...we were off! Today was the kind of day that everyone seemed to agree upon because ALL day I saw people riding their motorcycles along the highway and green, winding roads. I must admit I was a bit jealous. As much as the idea scares the hell outta me, what an experience it would be to see mountains, inhale fresh air and feel the wind whipping against your face on a Harley...at least once in life!

It took about 2 hours to get to the national park. We stopped at a quaint little cabin type restaurant in the wilderness for a light lunch, then paid the $15 fee to enter Mt. Rainier National Park. We found out it only costs $30 for an annual pass. "Hmmm," we thought. I took numerous photos and while they turned out pretty good, I can't even describe to you how magnifcent and overwhelmingly phenomenal it was to be surrounded by such beauty. And they are HUGE. There's one picture my mom took of me late in our ascent....my height juxtaposed with the backdrop of the gigantic mountains is quite significant! Ha! It was also bizarre to be surrounded by tall blocks of snow that appeared to swallow our tiny car as we zigzagged along the endless road to the top of the mountain: aka what is literally called "Paradise." Yes, we can now say we've "been to paradise!"

I'm officially in love with Mt. Rainier.