After Vegas, I flew to Seattle, where the big Turner family was waiting for me again. Remember them? The ones with the 3 sisters I worked with last season (Read here). In 2016, by the time I arrived, Kelsey (the one I lived with last year in Seattle, and traveled there from Montana) had finished college and left for Minnesota for a couple of weeks. And Annika (the one with whom we constantly had sweet and deep conversations) and Megan (the youngest of the sisters) stayed at home in Bremerton. Also, they have an older sister who already lives with her husband somewhere in Seattle, and a brother who lives in Texas, if I'm not mistaken. Meeting this family, you will immediately understand that they don't even need a DNA test. Not one of the 5 children. Honestly. Carbon copies.

So. Annika picked me up from the airport, as she happened to have a few days off for the 2 nights of my arrival in Seattle. (You say Seattle, but it's actually Bremerton. For those who didn't understand - Bremerton is a suburb of Seattle where the Turners live. I previously talked about Kirkland - that's where Kelsey lived, and Poulsbo - that's where their parents work. I know it can be confusing.)

Annika was working as a waitress at a local cafe at the time, but as it turned out, she was already planning to quit temporarily. And unfortunately, she wasn't planning on going to Glacier either. I mentioned before that she is quite an extreme girl who loves adventures, as well as trying new things like hiking, etc. So this year, she and her friend Abby, who visited us once last year, decided to do a huge hike - the Pacific Crest Trail (Google it. It's interesting). This trail runs from the border of Mexico to Canada and totals about 4,279 kilometers. Accordingly, you need to have a good reserve of strength, experience, and simply the ability for any kind of hiking and camping, as this is one of the most difficult trails due to its length. Of course, there are places for stops and overnight stays, but it is mostly done in tents. Along the way, Kelsey joined them, and then Annika's parents. And so her Facebook was incredibly interesting all summer thanks to fantastic photos and stories from different parts of America that she walked through. I would have done it myself with pleasure.

In the sisters' parents' house, they gave me a separate room and fed me a delicious dinner. And then their parents came home from work and Annika demanded that I connect my phone to the TV and show the photos I had collected over the year, and tell them what had been happening to me all this time. That's how we sat with their family while I told and showed them everything.

I really love their family, they accept all of us as their own. I'm not the first one to come stay with them, and they have this approach with everyone. It's always pleasant and warms the soul. Especially when you are treated like family far from home.

In the morning, we made cool waffles with fruit and maple syrup. Yes, friends, American pancakes and waffles are practically tasteless until you add fruit or maple syrup (Syrup, of course, is better. I even bought a jar to take home).

I tell you about the lack of taste as someone who has made hundreds of pancakes and knows it from the inside. There is nothing special about them. The point is still what you add on top.

A little later, that same Abby arrived, and together with her and Annika, we first went to Megan's work to get coffee. Yes, Megan works at a local coffee shop:

And then we had an idea: gather many friends together and go on a big camping trip to the Ocean. Why not? And there were 7 of us: Me, Megan, Annika, Abby, Lirio - a friend of the sisters or someone from the company (it's hard to tell), Michael - Megan's boyfriend (we've known each other since last year, but he wasn't her boyfriend then. Cute), and another guy whose name I don't remember.

In short, we gathered, bought a lot of groceries, and then drove about 300km from Seattle right to the ocean shore. The road was unique in its views, and I will say a little more about it later. On another page.

Overall, the journey took us about 2-3 hours. Decent, right? At the destination, we found a great spot and settled in. For those who don't know - in camping areas, you sometimes have to pay for the spots you occupy.

But for such views, it's worth it:

We walked along the shore and looked at the horizon. The beauty is incredible. Considering that we arrived at the most opportune moment, just when it was cloudy and the sun was setting, so a beautiful view was obtained in the distance.

Returning, we lit a fire and started cooking. Well, when you go hiking, you have to cook whatever you can. Although we are all more or less experienced here, so we prepared a good dinner for ourselves.

In the evening, we returned to the water. Someone said that you can track fireflies or something like that there. And it's true. At night, in complete darkness, the water seemed to glow when we scooped it up or dug in the sand. It looked like there were millimeter-sized glowing bugs in the sand, and then they disappeared after a few seconds. Unfortunately, a phone camera can't capture that :) So I can't show it.

In the morning, we prepared breakfast. And this, to be honest, is the best part of any camping trip. Well, in my personal opinion. I love waking up early in the morning, with that incredibly fresh air, and eating something "from what we have" with friends. Some indescribable sensations.

After that, we packed up and went home. Another long road, after which I already had to slowly pack up to go to the train station. Finally, I left a small souvenir for the Turner family, and Megan dropped me off at the Ferry that carries people across the river to Seattle. The thing is, the city is divided by a large river and bridges, and to avoid driving a long distance and sitting in traffic, they drive onto a special ferry and cross using it. I think I already talked about this last year. You can even rest or sleep on it for 1.5 hours, and then calmly go further. And for pedestrians, it's an ideal option - to get from city to city for free. So, I got on the ferry, and it delivers almost directly to the train station, or rather, it's literally a 5-7 minute walk.

Reaching the station, I registered the station (yes, it turns out that now you have to. I didn't pay for it in Amtrak before), and then I felt that home was already so close.

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