Kevin and Janet's visit to Seattle (Kent actually!)

Yup, twas a full day Saturday the 19th...

Picked Kevin (Cheryl's brother) and Janet up at the airport at 9:00 AM. Then went back to Kent for breakfast at the Golden Steer - yummers.

Then over to the lightrail station for the ride to Seattle. We got off at the Pioneer Square where a short walk took us to Seattle's Underground Tour.

The tour takes 90 minutes including "setting the stage" in the Doc Maynard's Bar (the bar is no longer open. It's a good basic introduction to Seattle's history and very interesting to learn about how the "underground" came to be.

Afterwards we went over to Starbucks where we had coffee and planned our next moves...

From there we caught a city bus and rode to Pike Place Market. We'd just crossed the street to get to the market entrance, when a man came darting out of a store with a clerk behind him yelling, "Stop that man!" So I chased him... We darted in between cars crossing 1st Ave (one who wasn't so inclined to stop until I slapped his left front fender), through a parking lot and down an alley before I caught up with him... It was at that point that two things happened...

• First, I didn't even know what he'd done or what he took - so what do I say? I said, "Just drop it!" Whatever "it" was!
  
• Secondly, he all of the sudden had two accomplices... Kind of changed the odds... As we came to a stop, he wouldn't respond to me, but told one of his buddies, "Get this guy off my back man!" His buddy came over and chest bumped me telling me to "Get lost bro".
  

Well, to this point, no one else was coming to help, it was three against one and to top it off I have no idea what to ask him to give back... It was very frustrating to watch them walk down the alley... All I could do was yell "THIEF". One of the accomplices turned around at that point and looked at me like I was off my rocker or something. Or maybe he just didn't like being called what he was! At least I tried... (It did feel food to run though, albeit in cargo pants, boots and carrying a back-back! haha)

So, back to Pike Place Market where Cheryl, Janet and Kevin were wondering where I'd gone... Kevin actually was on his way to help, but didn't know where we'd gone. It was that run down the alley where everyone lost us... At the market we looked at all of the beautiful fresh flowers - Janet was so amazed a big bouquet would cost only $10 - and frustrated that she couldn't buy any (as how would she get them home?). We went by the fish market, into a couple of t-shirt/sweatshirt stores, a toy store, and tea store and just wandered around the Market - always, always an interesting experience.

Our last stop before getting back on the bus was at Beecher's Handmade Cheese. They make wonderful artisan cheeses! Janet bought some Sharp Gouda and I bought some No Woman and some Marco Polo.

The we boarded the bus again for a ride to Safeco Field to watch the Seattle Mariners play the New York Yankees.

Well, the seats were good, the sausages from the outside vendors were good and the online replays of the Husky football game were good... Mariners lost 10 to 1.

And how about those Huskies! Here’s an excerpt from a blog I read – “I am not predicting a certain upset on Saturday however this game is on every experts upset watch list. Washington has a 25-30 percent chance of beating these guys at home this week.” UW Dawg Pound. Well upset the number 3 USC Trojans they did - 16 to 13 with a well orchestrated drive and game ending field goal!

Took the light rail system home from Safeco Field, catching it at the Stadium Station.

Got home around midnight. A fun full day…


Sunday saw a very, very lazy start to the day...

Cheryl made waffles and eggs for breakfast. We got up at various times from 7:30 to 10:00! haha

We finally left home at nearly 12:00 and headed for my office for a panoramic view of the Puget Sound area. It's amazing what you can see from 49 floors up!

Then we headed for Deception Pass.

But of course we couldn't take the direct route...

We headed north on I-5 and then east on the 520 bridge. This is a floating bridge that crosses Lake Washington. From the bridge deck you have a view north to Mt. Baker and a view south to Mount Rainier. Can't figure out what the all commotion was about. We just stopped to get some nice pictures...

From there we intersected with and headed north on I-405.

Eventually we re-intersected with I-5 and headed north.

By now it was nearly 2:30 in the afternoon and we were all ready for lunch. We headed for the Skagit River Brewery for a very tasty meal. Afterwards we found a nearby cache enduring the scrutiny of an over-ambitious security guard. LOL

So now back on to Hwy 536 which took us northeast to Hwy 20 and on to Fidalgo Island.

Our destination was the Deception Pass Bridge that spans the strait separating Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island. We passed over the nearly 200 foot tall bridge and pulled off in to a rest area. From there we were able to walk back over the bridge and look down on to the strait. Water runs through this strait at a rate of 5 to 8 knots (about 6 to 9 mph) and can literally take control of a boat if it's not careful as it passes through the strait. Beautiful scenery and views. We are pretty confident we could see some thirty miles west where Canada (the southern tip of Vancouver Island) and the north end of the Olympic Peninsula (maybe the Dungeness area?) could be seen. And we discovered an Earthcache.

We found another cache along the way at a Veteran's display in front of a small restaurant right off the highway.

Back in the car and back on Hwy 20 and in to Oak Harbor, home to the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. (AND my cousin Jenny and her family - Hi Jenny!) Here we found one more cache, but alas, no Seattle sweatshirt for Janet...

From here we headed to Clinton where we boarded the ferry for a short 20 minute ride to Mukilteo.

Once in Mukilteo we decided we were hungry again and headed for Ivar's Mukilteo Landing Restaurant where we were lucky enough to get a window table overlooking Puget Sound!

After a scrumptous meal we headed home arriving there at about 10:00 PM. We were all in bed by 10:05! haha Afterall, 4:30 this morning came very early!

It was a fun visit with Cheryl's brother Kevin and his wife Janet and we look forward to future time with them!

Darrington Reunion 2009

Not a lot to say ... just want to share some pictures - Check 'em out here!

Ride to Artist Point - Mt Baker

Well, Saturday found both of us headed for the office… So much to do! But then…

It was time to play!!

We left Bellevue about 6:00 PM and headed for Mount Vernon where we spent the night before a day of riding on Sunday with Cheryl’s cousin Keith.

Along the way we called my daughter Marissa who lives in Oso, between Arlington and Darrington. They often go to Mount Vernon and surrounding towns like Conway and La Conner. We thought maybe she could refer us to a good place to eat near our motel.

Well, she came through with a recommendation of Skagit River Brewery. Great setting in an old building right next to an active railroad track, where freight and Amtrak trains rumble by…mere feet from our table in fact! Have you ever noticed how BIG locomotives are??? Service was great, food was delicious and the prices were good. Oh, and the beer wasn’t bad either! Haha I had the Skagit River "Steelie" Brown Ale – “Favored for its luscious malt character and smooth finish. The Brown Ale's caramel, roast and chocolate flavors go well with many foods.” We both had hamburgers and waffle fries while we played Five Crowns. Cheryl had a cheddar cheeseburger, and I had a blue cheese burger with bacon added. Yummers.

We slept in Sunday morning – oh yeah… Then about 10:00 we headed out to the next exit north on I-5 where we were to meet Cheryl’s cousin Keith. After meeting up with him we rode Chuckanut Dr to Fairhaven, where Keith’s wife Jane met us for breakfast.

The drive along Chuckabut Drive was beautiful and fun. Hwy 11 travels along Samish Bay and then Bellingham Bay, passing through Larrabee State Park along the way to Fairhaven. (Fairhaven is actually part of Bellingham, but shhhhh… Don’t tell the status conscience people of Fairhaven…). Here’s another site with pictures of the beauty of Chuckanut Drive.

We met Jane at the Harris Ave Café, on yes you guessed it, Harris Avenue. (Thanks for the material Jane!) “The Harris Avenue Café is the kind of place that instantly invites you off the street and into its cozy bosom. Located at street level in a vintage downtown Fairhaven building, this café’s warm and earthy yellow and orange walls at once put you in the mood to just relax and gaze at the world going by.” After waiting for about 25 minutes on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, petting the dogs that sauntered by, we ended up in the patio area – beautiful setting. I had Texas Taters – a scramble with potatoes, chorizo, serrano chiles, a couple different kinds of cheese, and topped, by me, with a healthy douse of Tobasco sauce! Yummers…

After breakfast, Jane headed off to school… She is a principal and getting ready for the new school year requires some extra hours! Keith, Cheryl and I headed for Keith and Jane’s house in Lynden…via backroads of course!

Once to their house, Keith realized we were locked out…but ahhh, there was one small window open. Oh, sometimes it’s not good to be 6’ 5”! haha Anyway, we got in and were able to see the house and meet Sasha and Buddy, their very friendly dogs!

And now… On to Artist Point at Mt. Baker. What a ride! Artist Point – “There may be gold at the end of a rainbow, but that would pale with the reward of reaching the end of the Mt. Baker Highway at Artist Point – a breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view of lakes, meadows, snow and steep mountains. This area is open for only a short time in the summer.”

We wound our way UP Hwy 542 where there were numerous 15-mph switchbacks…and I MEAN 15 mph! The scenery was beautiful – well, at least what I dared take my eyes off the road to view that is! Cheryl actually had the camera out and was taking pictures from the back seat of the motorcycle! She did a great job.

We reached the top where there were still patches of snow! We walked a bit, took some pics, hit the pit-toilets and then headed down. And on the way down we did a lot more scraping of the kickstand and running boards on the way up! Woohoo. Good thing my wife loves and trusts me! Haha



Then we headed for the Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro in Bellingham to meet Jane for dinner. “A no smoking, all ages establishment, The Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro has been in business since 1995, catering to locals and out-of-towners alike. While our beer has won award after award, it is balanced by a selection of food that will bring you back all on its own. All presented to you in a unique atmosphere of energy, artistry, community and hospitality.” Cheryl had the Yam Alechiladas and I had chicken enchiladas accompanied by a “Scotch” - With a similar malt profile to its more famous cousin Scotch whisky, this smooth, strong beer is complex with a lingering hop finish. Original Gravity 1.064

After eating and visiting, Cheryl and I began our 110-mile ride home. We got home at about 10:30 PM, tummies full of good food, lungs full of fresh air and smiles on our faces. And went straight to bed…

All of the pictures from our trip can be seen HERE.

Greg and Megan's Visit - August 2009

Greg, Cheryl’s son, his wife Megan and their three children - Makenah, Ella and Josiah - (representing 27% of our grandkids!) flew in to Seattle the evening of Thursday, August 13th.

In preparation for the visit we realized our Mazda wouldn’t be sufficient for transporting seven people. It was either go everywhere using both the Mazda and the Gold Wing (my choice – haha) or rent a van/SUV (Cheryl’s choice). We decided to rent and found an incredible deal through Budget for a 7-passenger SUV.

Cheryl shows up Thursday afternoon to pick up the car and they have a small 5-passenger rig ready for her. She calmly explains we reserved a 7-passenger rig and shows them our reservation confirmation. They respond with, “Well we told corporate to take that special off of the web site. Why that vehicle rents for $108 a day, not $144 total.” Cheryl responded with, “That’s not our problem. We asked for and need a 7-passenger van.” They said they might have something… Oh yeah, we have a van that just came in but will need to clean it. A minute later they pull in with a new GMC Yukon (4500 miles on it) saying they just “found this one”. It was a nice ride – leather, power everything, xm satellite radio and plenty of room for seven people. Not bad for about $40 a day. :)

We all enjoyed a quiet evening Thursday just catching up on life.

While Doug worked Friday, Cheryl took the gang to the Seattle Aquarium. One of the highlights for the grandkids was the Life on the Edge display. This tidepool allowed the kids to actually touch the sea life, or more appropriately gave them permission to play in the water! Haha After visiting the Aquarium, they toured the Seattle waterfront for a bit before coming up to Doug’s office.

Doug works on the 49th floor of the Two Union Square building where he is the office manager for the law firm of Ellis Li & McKinstry. The highlight of the visit for the grandkids? Feeding paper in to the paper shredder! haha After enjoying the incredible views of Seattle from the 49th floor, we headed off to the Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner. Doug’s fav – the Brown Bear Brown.

Saturday found us headed to the Tukwila station of Seattle’s new LINK Light Rail system. The grandkids all got window seats for the 36 minute ride to Seattle. We passed through a number of Seattle neighborhoods – Rainier Beach, Columbia City, SODO. There was even a long tunnel along the way, somewhere near the Mount Baker station, where the kid's eyes lit up as they realized we were in a dark tunnel. We arrived in Seattle inside the Seattle Bus Tunnel, the only joint bus-rail tunnel in the United States. Well, that is except for the one in Pittsburgh ... but it doesn’t have stations. Read more here.

From the tunnel we went up to ground level and caught a Metro bus to Ballard, where we visited a Cupcake Royale location. Amazingly, there is frequently a line all the way out the door – for cupcakes. Greg and Megan bought “cute” little travel coffee mugs. We visited here with Greg & Megan’s friends from Germany Michael and Marit in January. They bought similar cups and it was fun for Greg and Megan to now visit this store and buy the same cups! After our cupcakes and some coffee (it is Seattle afterall…) we were back on the bus to the Ballard Locks.

The Ballard Locks, officially the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks were a fun time. We watched boats enter and leave the locks, even a boat where a group was gathered on the deck and singing as an accordion player played to the delight of the crowd along the lock. Watching the boats rise from below us to over us as the lock filled up was amazing. The Fish Ladder was a real hit with the kids! HERE are someone else’s pictures of the locks.

When we were done watching boats, salmon and a few seals…we headed for the Lockspot Cafe for dinner. This appears to be a famous diner… After the Catch and After the Catch (episode 2 season 1). They had great clam AND salmon chowder, seafood platters and beer! There was a carved seaman in the restaurant and Josiah would go NOWHERE near him! We tried showing him it was just wood but for some reason it was really scary to him…

After dinner we caught a couple of buses that were to get us back to the bus tunnel, but… There was a festival in town, the Seattle Hempfest where thousands and thousands had gathered and the crowd over-loaded the buses and jammed the downtown Seattle streets. We finally got off the bus and walked to the tunnel!

After getting home, Greg and Doug headed for the RAM Restaurant and Brewery. They have a Saturday special where you can fill your growler (a 64-ounce bottle) for half price - $4.99 rather than $9.99. We refilled the one I had with Buttface Amber Ale and purchased a second one filled with Barefoot Wit White Belgian. Yummers.

Sunday found us on I-5 headed North for the Puget Park Drive-In Swap Meet. For $1 per adult, you can roam the Drive-in lot exploring the wonders people brought to sell. As soon as we parked and got out of the car, Ella sat down to play in the dirt. You know, the dusty, stick to everything kind of dirt. And she was wearing black pants… Oh yeah. Haha We wandered around for awhile and came away with some great deals – a pair of work gloves for $2, 6 CDs for $5, 2# of Malaysian dark roasted coffee beans for $4 and finally a folding cribbage board that holds the cards and pegs inside - $5. Score.

Afterwards we headed for the Taste of Edmonds, but decided we needed a snack on the way. The snack turned in to a full-fledged meal at La Palmera Family Mexican Restaurant in south Everett. Their food is delicious! But then we thought…eating before going to a Taste?!?!?!?!? LOL But really, eating at the restaurant saved us big bucks over eating at this booth and that booth at the Taste…

The Taste of Edmonds featured crafts for kids, rides, craft booths, retailers, roaming artists, wine and beer gardens, live music (at least three stages) and of course booths featuring food from local restaurants. We started at the port-a-pots… LOL Then moved on to bracelet making and crown making. From there we went to the pony rides followed by time on the inflatable toys – the kids (and Megan ;)) really liked these! Then Greg tried the rock wall climb. There was $100 cash waiting to be plucked at the top. But alas, it was rigged… Or at least seemed that way. A little over half way up, the wall juts out a bit. I think that, along with the position of the auto-repeller and limited foot/hand holds, made it nearly impossible. But Greg made it higher than anyone else we saw try! Now on to the desserts… HUGE vanilla, soft-serve ice cream cones for the grandkids and strawberry shortcake for Grandma and Grandpa.
We found a vendor we plan on going back to that manufactures firepits - Outdoor Living Concepts. Very attractive and beats burning wood on the deck in a metal firepit!

As we headed home, all of the kids fell asleep and were put in bed as soon as we got home. Us adults bought Papa Murphy’s pizza which Megan, Greg and Doug enjoyed with some of their RAM brewed beer.

Morning came early as the trip to the airport was at 6:00 AM. Greg and Megan made it back to Boise in time to get to work… Cheryl and Doug went to work, exhausted from a busy weekend, but with a smile on their face.

It’s always strange though to come home in to a quiet and empty house after a visit from family… Seems sad…but quickly we turn our thoughts to the next visit, hanging on to memories of the fun we had during this last visit.


~~~ More pictures here. ~~~

Obama's Health Plan (Post 002)

Here's a post from a member of Cheryl's family on Facebook:

In reading some articles about Obama care, the death preperation councilling certification seems very interresting to me. If you are 65 or older you must be councilled and make preps for impending death and register those plans with the feds. Anyone seen soylent green, read 1984. I guess Obama did.

Soylent Green is a 1973 dystopian science fiction movie depicting a future in which overpopulation leads to depleted resources, which in turn leads to widespread unemployment and poverty. Real fruit, vegetables and meat are rare, expensive commodities, and much of the population survives on processed food rations, including "soylent green" wafers.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (sometimes abbreviated to 1984) is a classic dystopian novel by English author George Orwell. Published in 1949, it is set in the eponymous year and focuses on a repressive, totalitarian regime.