Where I've Been...

I spent spring break in the rainforest of Washington state in the cozy Lake Quinault Lodge. It's become our annual tradition to stay here each spring. It reminds of going back into time, the sort of vacation that might happen in the 1950's, like that resort in Dirty Dancing, minus the sleezy dance instructors.

This year, I was surprised to see they've added wi-fi (a complete no-no for years in the lodge) and a few of the Fireplace rooms now have TV. We stay in the boathouse which is just to the left in the photo and closest to the lake, because it's dog friendly. Also, this year, we were shocked to find our cellphones worked. Again, for years, I've used the payphone if I've needed to get in touch with the rest of the world.

(Note: Rebecca Wells wrote The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood here, I'm sure the no phone, TV, internet, was a reason she was able to concentrate.)

I felt a little sad that my lodge without any sort of connections to the outside world was no connected a little more. And maybe this is what people want, they don't want to leave everything behind on vacation anymore. Maybe they can't. I'm not sure.

But the trip was wonderful. We hiked the rainforest--though a huge number of the trails we've hiked before were closed because of that terrible November storm. There was an incredible amount of downed trees!

Our weather was perfection and in the General Store there was a map where you mark where you are from with pins, so while we dined on pizza we added "The State of Confusion" with a red pin.

If you ever get a chance to visit the Northwest and can take some time to disappear, I highly recommend the Lake Quinault Lodge in Washington State's Olympic National Forest.