We have a bit of a drive to Olympic National Park so I am hopeful that I'll feel better by then and pop some pain meds. We get to the visitor center and inside I realize the pain is not getting better and it is only getting worse with every step. Gideon and I head back out to the car and once I am seated I sob a bit from the pain. Gideon was very kind and helped me through it. I do not typically cry easily for pain (insert gallbladder attacks for years with no tears, breaking toes without knowing it and etc.) but this pain is different. I think back to when I was pregnant and I had a condition which is common where the legs are loose from the pelvic area to prepare for labor (labor that I never had with either kid). It feels similar to this but times 100. I also can't figure out how I was fine yesterday and just an absolute mess today. Adam and Abby come back from the visitor center with a coaster (I collect them from our trips), a stuffed animal (Gideon collects them), a map and some other small goodies. We move forward into the park. I have about 1.5 hours until the rainforest so I promise myself the painkillers will be working by then and try to sit still with no pressure on my leg.
The park is from a movie. It looks like the hobbit or some sort of fantasy movie where the trees are growing magical, mystery moss that floats down and dances in the streams of sunlight. We stop at a few overlooks and pulloffs and get some amazing pictures. Again, nothing captures the grandeur of these parks, but we try to fit them into the camera anyway. About 45 minutes until the rainforest where there are two small hikes. I bet I can do the .08 one...no problem. Pain seems to be better. We get towards the rainforest entrance and there is a 1.5 hour wait to get in. The bad news? A 1.5 hour wait and us being surrounded in line by cars who know eachother. They keep walking back and forth to eachother and hanging out in the road and just being...human and irritating. The good news? The wait is because they won't let you in the area UNTIL there is a parking spot for you. This is excellent news because we didn't want another Logan Pass situation (remember Glacier?). The line moves much faster than expected which is a combination of people leaving the parking area and people in line giving up on the line. We're not giving up on the rainforest though. I get out of the car to see how my leg is feeling. While sitting it is only a dull pain in my hip. When I stand though? Oh my. It took a lot to not scream out in pain. I get back in the car and remind myself that I have my trusty walking stick now. I'll be FINE.
We get entrance into the rainforest! Now to find that parking spot they promised us, only, there are 2830943 different parking areas and spots along the road. Adam is really kind and tries to find a spot closer to the start of the trails for me (thank you) and he successfully finds one and NAILS a parallel parking spot. I ask the kids for the walking stick and grab my camera and we're on our way. We had to walk through a few picnic areas and a parking lot to get to a bathroom. At this point I can't tell if the pain is from needing to use the bathroom or from my leg. We get to the start and Abby and I get to relieve ourselves. After I was my hands, I am able to refocus on the pain in my leg. It's not good and I'm afraid to keep hurting myself. I take a devasted walk, or should I say, hobble of shame out of the visitor center and back to a bench near the car. Adam and the kids go on the hike to enjoy the rainforest and promise to take lots of pictures for me. I got back to the car, grabbed a book and some water, and sat at the bench...for about 5 minutes, until I couldn't take the pain any longer. I went back to the car and laid down and put my leg up. The pain started to subside and as it did, I fell asleep in the lovely rainforest parking lot. I woke to Adam and the kids tapping on the glass at me like a rainforest zoo animal.
We stopped for some more pictures on the way out of the park and then head back to the hotel. Adam grabs me some other pain meds as well so I can have both types going at once. We start scoping out dinner and Abby hears that there is an Olive Garden on the way back to our hotel. She is more excited than seeing the only rainforest in the continental US so we agree to go. I add us to the waitlist because even in WA, I assume the line will be absurd for no reason. We get there and it is a 40 minute wait, BUT, because I put us on the waitlist we are seated right away. At least I am not totally useless today. Sitting in the chair is the most comfortable I have been all day. I lean forward allowing my knees to be below my hips (dr. google suggested this) and I feel a lot of pain relief. We eat 234 breadsticks and about 3 bites of our meals and head out to the hotel.
The hotel is a fancy hotel that we booked on accident. We didn't need this 24-floor fancy hotel, but here we are paying $25 a night for parking in a lot that is unmarked and 2 streets over. I get to the room and basically pass out on the bed and poor Adam and Abby do almost everything for the room setup including making the aerobed, setting up chargers, taking care of laundry and etc. I feel useless but also exhausted from the pain. I lay with pillows under my legs and say a lot of prayers. I also think about how lucky I am to be where I am and how much I got to enjoy the day with my family. I fall asleep counting blessings as guggie taught me.
Summary: Ouch x2, Rainforest through pictures and Breadsticks heal wounds. Ending the day at the Marriott, Tacoma, WA.