Seattle Vacation

Anne invited me to spend a week with her and Colin in Seattle while he attended the Digital Media Camp at UW.  I did a little research and learned about some great biking Rails to Trails in Seattle, so I begged Anne to haul our bikes with us.  I loved my time in Seattle, not because of the traffic of course, but because of the Burke-Gilman Bike Trail, the views of Mt. Rainier, and special time spent with family.

The camp started on Monday at 9 and Colin was all set in his favorite Minecraft T-Shirt.  The orange shirts would be his uniform for the rest of the week.  Once we got Colin all settled in and calmed our own nerves at leaving him in the hands of those young college students, we headed for the Burke-Gilman Multi-Use Trail.  

We picked up a great Map at a local bike shop and a young man encouraged us to head up towards Ballard to avoid all the construction around the University.  This part of the trail took us through an industrial area around Ballard.  I did find a few great views, particularly of the Space Needle and the George Washington Memorial (Aurora) Bridge.   We got excited to see the signs for Golden Gardens, but were disappointed when we got there - no gardens!  We sat on the beach for awhile and then started back, looking for a quaint place for lunch.  

We took a break from cycling and walked through a park to see the Ballard Locks and Fish Ladder. 

Tuesday we got back on the trail after parking at Matthews Beach Park.  This glorious ride took us along Lake Washington.  We saw gorgeous homes, the beautiful lake and sights of Mt. Rainier.  We rode all the way to Kenmore, which is about 7 miles from Matthews Park.  We gradually moved away from the lovely homes and into the shopping areas.  Starbucks welcomed us with cold tea and frappacinos.  Someday I hope to ride from Bothellalong the Sammamish River Trail to Marymoor Park all the way to Issaquah.  I told Anne I might be able to endure the car traffic if I could live on Lake Washington and continue to enjoy this great Rails to Trails in Seattle. 

On Thursday we paid (way too much) to park the car and walk onto the ferry to Bainbridge Island.  The views from the ferry delighted me and I took lots of pictures of the Seattle Skyline, Alki Beach, and Mt. Rainier.  

We met Anne's high school classmate, Heidi, for lunch at Harbor Public House near the water.  Anne and Heidi have not visited face to face for almost 30 years, but stay in touch through the magic of Facebook.  I giggled listening to their Catholic school stories.  Heidi thought we could walk along the water to catch our ferry, but we had to weave through some streets, a park, and barely made it for the 2:55 trip back to Seattle.  

On Sunday we had lunch at Ivars..Grandpa Roy joined us.  Duane thought we could all ride a Segway around the waterfront area, but we couldn't even find the place...plus Colin was too young and too short.  So we headed toward Seattle Center to ride the Monorail.  Colin and Duane stood in line for the Space Needle.  Anne, Roy, and I visited the Dale Chihuly exhibit.  My friend, Eloise, asked me to join her family in 1962 to see the Seattle World's Fair.  I remember little about the trip, except the Space Needle and an exhibit that promised one day we could see the person we were talking to on the telephone.  Fifty two years ago that seemed impossible!

We took a big respite by this lovely fountain....Colin ran through the water for 30 minutes and the rest of us sat on a bench in the shade.  The best things are free!!  We could hear music that seemed to be in sync with the fountain.  

Friday, after another bike ride, I met Anne at University Village, near UW, for lunch.  We had a great meal at Liams and I couldn't resist taking a few photos of the hanging flower baskets!  We spent a little time wandering around the Village before we attended the reception to end the Digital Media Camp.

Every student had the opportunity to show Mom and Dad the projects they'd worked on all week.

One of Colin's TA's told me he thought Colin excelled at Minecraft, maybe because his Dad had helped him get set up.  I think he called it "cheating."  

This is Anne trying to stay cool as we traveled back to Moscow in 100 degree heat with no air conditioning.  We bought some ice and an insulated bag and survived by getting our faces wet and sucking on ice chips.  I sometimes wonder how we ever survived without our modern conveniences, such as cell phones, air conditioning, ATMs, computers, GPS, smart phones etc....

Life is so good now!

Don and Charlene Bunch Day

My oblate friend, Charlene Bunch, slipped on wet grass recently, and broke her right ankle.  Her husband, Don, has his own health issues and Charlene's accident put them in quite a predicament because neither can drive a car right now.   Charlene has another three weeks of non-weight bearing status and some anxiety about being ready for a visit from the kids in a few days.

We Oblate sisters are always up for a get away so we roped some husbands into driving up into the hills above Lenore with us today.  When we told Charlene we were coming out to visit and bringing lunch she asked if we might spend a little time weeding her garden.  Don and Charlene have an enormous garden and although, I didn't get a before picture, I understand no black dirt could be seen for the invasion of pigweed.  It's some nasty stuff and I tried to dig it out around the stalks of corn.... it was everywhere!

The expert gardeners got busy and had the compost bin full of weeds by noon.  Gratefully the temperature was ten degrees cooler than Lewiston!

Regina raked up the pig weed and Kathy got lost in the asparagus patch!

This woman is gorgeous even after spending hours in the garden!

Not so sure about Tom and Jack

Look at those dirty knees!  Getting rid of the pigweed meant crawling in the dirt attacking the darn things by hand!  Our bounty for the day - each of us had a bag of new red potatoes to take home with us!

We can't have a work party without a home made meal - fresh nectarines, Costco chicken, Couscous Vegetable Salad, fresh lettuce from Charlene's garden, and raspberry-apricot bars.  Yummy!

Kathy brought fresh raspberries from her garden for our dessert.

 Charlene and Don have lived with this beautiful view for 30 years!

The old lambing Shed

The Work Crew!  It's what retirement is all about.  God blessed our day and each other.

David and Tai's Wedding Shower

Dena decorated the house, the yard, the tables, the window sills!  Every flat space had a gorgeous bouquet of flowers!  

The iffy June weather didn't phase us one bit.  The warm sunshine enhanced all the warm and love floating from the upper deck to the lower tent.  

I love being with young people!  My nieces and nephews are the best..they smile a lot, giggle a little, and give the best hugs in the world.  And, they've traveled all over the continent, so I listen in and feel like I've been around the world.

Shea (sister), Tai, and Kyra (soon to be sister in law)!  All Gorgeous!

Here's a picture of my favorite   -  Tai and Dave are both WSU Grads - what a perfect gift.

The Caterer labelled every cracker and plate of yummy food!

Anne won a prize for having the most items on this list in her purse!  We played another game that helped us get to know Tai!  She and Dave met at a frat party at WSU.  

This lovely cookie jar gets passed around to each new bride.  Krya and Brad enjoyed it for years and now Joe and Jill relinquished the gift so it can be the center of attention on Tai's kitchen counter.  

My sister, Joan, gave her the Shark.  Tai had just told us about their new home and 2000 sq ft of hardwood floors.  She said, "We'll definitely be using this gift and soon!"

Aunt Frances and Uncle Larry.  

Pictures of lovely guests

 Mom-to-be, Jamie, expecting her third son in August.

Anne expressing best wishes....

Kaitlyn and Frances found the perfect "words" for the picture.

 Tai's step mom, Betty

And Betty's friend who looks like her sister!

The groom showed up as soon as all the gifts were opened!  He'd been at a Leadership Conference all day...just a step away from earning his Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga.

This little sweet heart - Tai's niece will be the flower girl at the wedding.  She loved the fuzzy puppy purse and tried to get the puppy face in front of the camera.

It's almost impossible to get away from a Kopczynski celebration without a group picture.  Larry took this one of all the beautiful women who attended.  I'm grateful to Dena and Shea for gathering us together so we could meet Tai's family.  I don't know how her mom, cousin, and sister escaped the picture.  I left the shower feeling grateful for the gift of family and confident David and Tai are in for a long married life because of their extended family support.