The Family That Laughs Together...

The bad thing about visiting a volcano on a rainy day is that clouds accompany the rain. And at higher elevations those clouds can be quite thick. So that where you look out hoping to see a volcano, instead all you see is a white blanket of fog.

But we all laughed and joked about it and although we missed seeing Mount St. Helens, we still had fun being together as a family. And maybe the laughs we had together will be a more poignant memory even than seeing the volcano.

The best laugh was after the thrilling movie retelling the eruption of Mount St. Helens at the Johnston Overlook Visitors' Center. At the end of the show the curtains dramatically rise to reveal floor-to-ceiling windows showing nothing on this day but thick, white fog. The whole theater laughed instead of cried. Because what else can you do when you realize you're all suckers who made the trip hoping to see something on a rainy day.

But the homemade cobbler and fish 'n chips at the roadside cafe helped make the trip seem less in vain.

And as if to give us a break, two days later when we ate brunch at the top of the Seattle Space Needle, the sky was as clear as it ever is. We could even see Mt. Rainier in the distance, which our waitress says happens only 65 days a year! It was breathtaking! Seattle is a beautiful city!


Also very cool was the mirror in our hotel. Yes, that is a TV. It was absolutely integrated into the mirror. Technology!