4th favorites

the 4th of july is a fabulous holiday.

and i've had many a great 4th of july's.

but i wanted to blog about my favorite 4th of july.

it was july 2009.

i was back for the summer from college.

didn't have a job yet {who am i kidding...i didn't get a job that whole summer}

and i'm so glad i didn't.

july 3rd my mom comes into my room and wakes me up with a:

"morgan, dad and i decided that we're driving to the redwood forest. we're leaving in 3 hours. if you want to come you'd better get up and start moving."

uh.....say what?

now, if any of you know my mom well....you know this is very our of character for her. 

{well...not the whole being bossy part....but the whole spontaneous part}.

my mom is a planner.

it's not a bad thing.

in fact it turned out to be quite handy in multiple ways growing up.

she was always on top of everything. could always count on her for anything.

and trips especially.....always planned out to a T.

so this was weird.....

but of course i said yes! i hopped out of bed...showered...through some stuff in a duffle...and we hit the road. just me. my mom. my dad.

so to the redwood forest we went:

 and guys, it's beautiful.

if you ever get the chance....go.

so after we went through the redwood forest and right around the time this pictures was taken,

my mom and i convinced my dad that we should continue driving north up the coast....and what just happens to be at the very top of highway 101? 

 

 

 yes, you twilight lovers, we went to forks and la push, washington.

it was so fun. and totally touristy. but we loved it.

{except for the part where we stopped in some shady town on the washington coast where we stayed in some super shady hotel were i'm positive multiple people have been murdered....we didn't sleep well that night...but it was hilarious at the same time}.

we were in forks on the 4th of july and i think the best part of my 4th was the night before driving along the oregon and washington coast....passing all sorts of little tiny coast towns having fireworks and celebrations. we got to see so many firework shows that night driving through those little towns. i just sat in the back of the car...watching different firework shows out the window thinking how lucky i was to be celebrating the birth of america by driving through new places in our country that i've never seen. and how lucky we are to live here.

    

 after forks...we drove and stayed in Olympia. then we decided to head to seattle the next morning and then head home.

and this is where my obsession with seattle began.

 i mean i was already a little obsessed because of my grey's anatomy addiction i've had for years. but this trip just sealed the deal for me.

{this helicopter pad is the one they use to film the "roof shots" on greys anatomy. i was in heaven. i pushed someone out of my way on the elevator of the space needle to get this picture.....she understood.}

i remember driving around seattle and texting my cousin, mekelle, to tell her that this is where we were gonna live. i absolutely loved it.

anywho...it was a fabulous trip. loved every spontaneous second. and i love the memories it gave my parents and i. we had so much fun and i love them so much. 

so although this 4th of july didn't include yearly parades, crowded firework shows, and barbeque's, it was most definitely my favorite one. :)

happy birthday america!!!

***what was your favorite 4th of july and whY?