We decided to have a day apart since I wanted to just relax, so I took Joanna back to Dash Point State Park where we tried to camp last night. She took her gear for hiking and I headed back into town to find something to eat and then found a Starbucks to plant myself for the majority of the day. I watched Orange is the New Black and have been really enjoying it. My chair felt like a little apartment after a while since I spent so much time there. I feel obligated to buy something every so often when I stay for that long.
After a long day of doing nothing I picked up Joanna at the park, talking my way through the previously unmanned gate at the entrance when I convinced them I was picking someone up and not trying to avoid the fee. She had a good day hiking the trails and making a fire on the beach. We decided to go get some good food at Quickie Too, a vegan cafe in Tacoma. We got the Crazy Jamaican Burger and an amazing peanut butter chocolate shake. The food was far too expensive, especially for how small the burger was, but it was all very good.
We drove northwest through Bremerton (yay, MxPx!) to Olympic National Park to find a campsite for the night. The drive into the park was pretty awesome, seeing snow-capped mountains cutting into the sky in the distance. We found a great campsite amid huge trees and lush greenery. We got set up and then checked out the map for programs the park offered. There was a stargazing program nearby so we got excited for that.
Up a long, winding road we drove to the top parking lot where it was all dark except for a small flashlight in the distance. We assumed it was the stargazers so we shut off the headlights and parked farther away than we probably had to. We walked over to find our astronomy guide and another couple there. It was extremely cold, but we got into the program looking at a few stars, then star clusters, and galaxies. It was really amazing what we could see. Our guide was amazingly knowledgeable and taught us a lot. Since it was a small group, he showed us a few things he doesn't usually include.
It was a cold night for sure, but I was happy to stick it out to see so many amazing things. I would love to do more night sky programs like this and learn more about astronomy. I always think that when I look but I never put in extra time to learn. We drove back down the winding road with the heat on and got ourselves back to the campground for some late night hanging before bed.
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