Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Travel by the Book ~ Lake Quinault


Welcome to Travel by the Book. I mentioned on a Bought, Borrowed, & Bagged post one time that many, many of my vacations with Hubs have been inspired by a book. Hubs is kind enough to indulge me and take me to said places. So I got the idea to share those books and vacations with y'all. This will be a monthly feature and I hope y'all enjoy it!



***The Book***


Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
When I first moved to Colorado (1999), I joined a moms group and started a book club. It was for that book club that I read The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. If any of you have read it, you know it's a story about finding out who you are, where you come from, the bonds of friendship, and the difficulties that can strain a mother-daughter relationship. Sidda escaped to Lake Quinault after a falling out with her mother, Vivi. While there, Vivi sends her a scrapbook entitled "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and in it, Sidda discovers a lot about her mother and herself...while sitting on the banks of the lake, hiking the trails around the lake, and swimming in the lake. Despite the fact that the story is really more Vivi's and takes place in the heat and humidity of Louisiana, it was the peace Sidda found at Lake Quinault that struck me. After the location was first introduced, I put the book down and told Hubs, "I want you take me here." We got out maps to figure out the exact location and planned a trip...which was taken several years and a couple of kids later. :)




***The Travel***

In June, 2008, we finally made the trip. I have to tell y'all that the Olympic Peninsula in June is GORGEOUS! We had mostly sunny skies - okay, there was a day where it was mostly cloudy) - and I found Lake Quinault to be just as peaceful as Sidda described it. Lake Quinault is on the Quinault Indian Reservation. It's very remote - no cell service or wifi. It's lush, quiet, and the perfect place to explore the rainforest or just sit by the lake and read.

We stayed in the historic Lake Quinault Lodge. It's rustic, charming, and served wonderful food!


Here is a photo of the back side of the lodge. The lawn gently rolls down toward the lake.



Doesn't this look like the perfect place to relax with a book?



Okay, so we did actually spend a lot of time on the lawn here. We could relax, read, and play bacci ball. :)



But we did take advantage of seeing a few of the sights in the Quinault Rainforest...like seeing the World's Largest Spruce tree.



And these wild blackberry bushes/trees. Y'all these bushes are taller than me! The Lake Quinault Lodge restaurant served a great compote made with these.




Can you believe the size of this tree? Or my incredible display of strength?!? *snickers*



And proof that things in the rain forest just grow to abnormally large sizes...look at this slug! But it is such a pretty shade of green.



So, my hubs and I really enjoyed our trip to the Olympic Peninsula (it wasn't to be our last) and the Lake Quinault Lodge. I absolutely can see what Sidda would want to escape to this peaceful location. And I'm grateful I got to make the journey.


24 comments:

  1. Oh it is gorgeous..yep I could sit in one of those adirondack chairs just looking at the view and reading :)

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  2. Oh I love this feature - how cool that you've visited so many places because of books! I have a list of places I'd like to visit. This place looks so refreshing, can I just live there? I don't think you'd ever get me off that lawn with my books :) thanks for sharing! Can't wait for next month's post!

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  3. That is beautiful! I want to go, can I go? But I have to disagree . . . I don't care what color they are, slugs are blech ;)

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  4. This looks like a beautifull place to spend a vacation. That lodge looks so pretty and all those nature pics have me longing to go on vacation myself. And that pic with the lake indeed looks like the perfect place to settle down with a book. Those trees are massive, I've never seen trees that big before!

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  5. Wow!! The lodge is amazing! That tree is huge... and for a little person, you are freakishly strong!! *wink*
    Great post girl!!

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

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  6. Lake Quinault looks beautiful, Brandee! The lush nature, the silence, and how different it is from what I'm used to! I'm glad you were able to persuade Mr. Hubs to go there with you! And now, I'm going to search for books featuring Geneva, so that you'll have a good excuse to come and visit me ;)
    Have a terrific Thursday, my dear. *BIG HUGS*

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  7. It is sooo beautiful, Lexxie. We actually took the kids with us 2 years ago so they could enjoy. I'm all for books set in Geneva...let me know and I'll get them read and then schedule my travel. ;) I really am lucky that Hubs goes along with my book-related adventures. :)


    I hope you have a wonderful day and a fabulous time visiting your family! **BIG HUGS**

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  8. LOL Hubs was sitting next to me while I read your comment, Naomi. We both got a good giggle...little person. *shakes head* It really is a fabulous spot to vacation.

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  9. It was such a nice place to vacation, Lola. Gorgeous and peaceful. I'd never seen trees that big before either...things grow large in a rainforest though. I guess it must be the ~160 inches of rain a year. ;)

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  10. You can absolutely go, Jessica. And if you give me enough notice, I'll meet you there! ;) If you love my pic of the slug so much (*not*) you should see the one of the spider! It's white!! Beautiful but makes my skin crawl. LOL

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  11. I'm lucky Hubs is such a sport about visiting places I've read about. :) I told him I only have enough places for a year's worth of posts so we have to do some more traveling! *ha* We'd love to move to the Olympic Peninsula once the kids are 'grown'. So if you don't get to live there, you can at least visit me! ;)

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  12. LOL We've already done a return visit with the kids, Kim. And I enjoyed it all over again. :)

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  13. Hehe!! Glad I can get you to smile... all the way from Australia!! *snickers*
    I just saw that pick and I had to write that!!

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  14. So beautiful. I can see why you went back again.I fell in love with the Somewhere in Time movie, and had to visit Mackinaw Island, and i have decided that's my favorite place I have ever visited. Can't wait to hear where you went the next time :)

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  15. Wow, so beautiful! And that lawn seems like the perfect place to soak up some sun while inhaling a couple of books :) It's great that your hubby is "down" with your plans, lol. Looks like a wonderful experience <3

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  16. OOOOOH love this feature!! What a lovely lodge and surroundings. Great travel :)

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  17. Awesome!! I love this. I actually haven't been to Lake Quinalt. I feel a roadtrip sans children and family. I'll take my books, laptop, and camera. I haven't read The Divine Secrets of Ya-Ya Sisterhood, of course I saw the movie. I love the pictures, Brandee. Oh and blackberries taste so good on ice cream. They're everywhere here in the summer.

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  18. One book that's set in Geneva is Paulo Coelho's Eleven Minutes... it does show a much less glamorous side of my home-town, though.

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  19. *ha* I want to visit Mackinaw Island too, Lorna! I read about it in The Hollows - can't remember which book but one where Nick (*spits*) is present. ;)

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  20. I am so lucky Hubs willingly travels to these locales, Ramona. :) We've had some great vacations.

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  21. Yes, it's a perfect getaway, Robyn. I think I may join you! ;) I saw the movie too but the book was better...of course. :) And I'll have to make a point of having blackberries on ice cream when I'm there in the summer. :)

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  22. I've always wanted to read Coelho! :)

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  23. Thanks, Julie! I highly recommend the lodge - it's a great family spot, too, for when your kiddo gets a little older. :)

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  24. You really should! I love his philosophy!

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Now you know what I think...what are your thoughts??