The 4th of July was on a Thursday this year, we thought we will take the Friday off and go to a nearby place. We started making plans as to where we can go and then S told me that we cannot go to any far away place as he is on call the entire week and since one of their software went live the week before, he has to work on the 5th. So, there went our plans of going away for the entire weekend.

We then decided to go on a day trip on the 4th and then S decided to work from home on Friday. So, we went to Crystal Mountain which is around 2 hours away from Seattle and is pretty close to Mount Rainier. It is a ski resort and is probably very busy during the winter. When we went there was not much crowd. They have a Gondola that takes you up the mountain (6,700 ft) and when you get down the Gondola, you are right in front of Mt.Rainier. The view is amazing.

Once you get to the top of the mountain, you can spend as much time as you want. There are benches where we can sit and have lunch while looking at Mt.Rainier. I packed Idli and peanut chutney. We sat there for a while and had lunch and it felt amazing.

There are hiking trails around the mountain which we can explore. S decided to take Sarath hiking to the top of a nearest peak. Sarath did not want to go at first but later went with his dad and was very proud when he came back 🙂 Me and Sanjay stayed there exploring. Sanjay wanted to go up the mountain peak too but, after taking a couple of steps, there were a few rocks. So, he decided that he did not want to go up after all!

By the end of the hike, the kids were tired. So, we came back down the mountain in the Gondola. We then had ice cream, chips and soda and headed back home. We left around 10:00 in the morning and were back by around 5:00 in the evening. It was a perfect day trip and the weather was amazing.

Here is another view from the top.