Day 15 2016

It is so hard to believe that today is our final day.  This has truly been a great trip. After eating breakfast in the hotel, we requested an extended check out and then got to work!  We had to clean out the rental van (which we have really enjoyed I have to say ;) and then re-pack everything to make it fit.  We switched around clothes, shoes, toiletries, & a few souvenirs.  It was quite an undertaking, but we finally finished. We then headed back to the market.  Trey and I did a little shopping while Harvey and the other kids went to Ballard Locks & Fish Ladder.  

If you want an explanation of the Lock System, please ask Harvey because he explains it way better than I ever could :).

Here is a salmon ladder, but none were visible while our kids were there.

After picking us up, we drove around some more, visited Theo's (the first fair trade & organic chocolatier in North America, now ten years old) & sampled some yummy chocolates.  We were going to book a tour but they were not prepared for a "group" as large as ours at the last minute.  It has made us laugh how many people get flustered when we tell them we are a family of seven, because to us it does not seem like that many!

By the way, would you like to know how this guy saved us close to $50 on this trip?  The National Parks have a deal this year for fourth graders and their families.  Families get in free if they have a fourth grader!  So that was a fun perk thanks to this special guy :).

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We then stopped for one last bowl of chowder for dinner before heading to the airport.  By this point, we are all feeling grateful for our trip memories, but also very tired!  We are looking forward to getting home to our own beds, but will definitely miss this time together.

Minivan drop-off, next stop...the airport!

In the D.C. airport we ran into some friends from Charlotte!  This is our last family photo of our adventure & in case you can't tell, we are ready to go home!