Mangenguey: A Modern Day Dystopia meets The Heartland of America: Goodbye West Coast, Time to Head East to the Heartland! Part 1: Washington, Idaho, Montana and Yellowstone National Park 1

Our last five days in Seattle flew by. Wednesday we gathered at Carmen’s for a quick hello again/goodbye to many of our former Guckenheimer coworkers.

Trevor and Kallie playing the slap game...I passed :)

Me, Edward J. Gallo and Jody

Del, Trevor, Me, Carmen, Edward and Hollis

Trev and I with our Favorite Filipina, Carmen

Thursday my sister came to town to surprise my dad. Monday was his 60th birthday so we thought it would be fun to have the whole family together in one place! We pretended she was only in town Thursday to get fitted for bridesmaid dresses and even had my dad take her to the airport Friday morning. I followed behind to bring her back home. We had told my dad we were taking him to a new restaurant Trevor and I wanted to try for a goodbye lunch. My sister picked up my brother from the airport and met us downtown at Wild Ginger. My mom went to get my dad and we all waited in the booth. He was very surprised and it was a great to all be together before we split again!

My Dad's First Surprise: Made his this cake while they were in Palm Springs!

Happy 60th!!

After lunch Trevor, Davey, Suzy and I headed out on the boat for awhile and after boating, we made delicious BBQ’d hamburgers. After dinner Trevor and I headed over to Jen’s house to watch some of the old footage from the Mercerwood Shore Club Swim Team slide shows.

The next day we got up early, ran a few last minute errands and packed to leave the next day. We still hadn’t gotten to see Trevor’s mom so we headed up to Everett to say goodbye. Sadly we didn’t get home in time to see my friends one last time before they all headed to the 10 year high school reunion. We were leaving pretty early the next day so I passed on attending…I will wait for the 20 year!

Sunday morning Matt and Kel joined us and my parents for breakfast sandwiches before we hit the road.

We had to get a picture after breakfast because we realized we see these people all the time but are always having WAY too much fun and forget to take pictures!

We threw the cats in the car, stopped by Erica’s quickly to say goodbye to her and the bug then we hit the road!

They were not thrilled to be in a moving vehicle!

Bia gripped to the seat like her life depended on it...

But she finally got comfortable :)

Eastern Washington

The Bridge in Vantage

As long as he couldn't see the movement, it must not be happening :)

Eastern Washington:

Our first day on the road we headed to a small town just north of Spokane to see some friends. Jeremy, Beth and their adorable daughter Ava had moved back to Beth’s hometown just before we got back from Mangenguey. After about a 5 hour drive it was nice to relax, have a few beers and see their new place! After a great evening catching up with friends, we woke up early, said our goodbyes and hit the road. The second day we went thru the top tip of Idaho and into beautiful Montana.

A little Idaho...then Montana!! Hard to tell the difference, both very picturesque:

After just over 6 hours of driving we stopped outside Livingston, Montana. Trevor had found some cute, pet friendly cabins to stay in that were about an hour from the North Entrance to Yellowstone.

Pine Creek Lodge:

Our Cabin at the Pine Creek Lodge:

Wall Decor in the Cabin

Across from the Lodge:

The cats were thrilled to get out of the car for a bit. We made ourselves some tasty dinner and called it an early night so we could get up and spend the next day exploring the park!

Taking the Back Roads to the Grocery Store for Dinner Items:

Beautiful Sunset

Doing a little improvising...

But is came out pretty yummy! Gourmet Grilled Cheese on Wheat Sandwich Thins with Havarti, Avocado, Tomato and Red Onion

The third day was all about Yellowstone and it was breathtaking. The pictures speak for themselves!

The Drive to Yellowstone: