In the first two weeks of July we made our annual pilgrimage to Seattle and Richland to spend time with family and friends. We all flew to Seattle together on June 29th. I returned to Boston on July 10 and Carol and the girls came home on the 20th.
We spent the first few nights at my sister Tricia's and her husband Frank's house in Puyallup. Frank is a jack-of-all-trades who also happens to be very good at all of them. They recently decided to get chickens, so Frank built a very fancy chicken palace to house their flock. The girls are fascinated by chickens (don't be surprised if I report someday that we have some), so they were excited. They also had a blast raiding Aunt Tricia's closet for dress-up, including pretend weddings in her wedding gown (they watched and seemed to be reenacting the royal wedding).
Since we were relatively close to Mt. Rainier we decided to go there for a day trip. Carol grew up camping at Cougar Rock campground every year and has great fondness for the park. I also spent a lot of time there as a climber and climbing instructor so I have my own fondness for it. We checked out the new bridge at Longmire (replacing the one that was washed out a few years ago), walked the Longmire historic trail, had a picnic at Cougar Rock campground, visited Paradise to check out the new visitor center and then on the way out of the park walked down to the river across from Cougar Rock to check out the log bridge. It was a very fun day. Next year we're going to borrow camping gear and spend at least a night at Cougar Rock - it's a beautiful place.
Then we moved up to Seattle where we stayed in the house of some friends who were out of town. It was a great base. My friend Scott is a fellow cycling fan so he already had his DVR set up to record each day of the Tour de France!
In Seattle we got to spend a lot of time with my parents and sister as well as Carol's brother Bob and his family. I was worried when we arrived that we hadn't made many plans with friends and they would all be busy, but the week worked out fantastically with many dates with friends. Grandma and Grandpa kept the girls for a couple of nights so Carol and I had real dates. We even spontaneously went swing dancing at the Century Ballroom where we met in January, 2000. We also went on a hike to Rattlesnake Ledge on a gorgeous day. That hike has spectacular views.
We visited our favorite spots in Seattle: the Woodland Park Zoo and the Ballard Locks. Then on my last full day in town we hosted a picnic at Volunteer Park and about 35 friends showed up to say hello, including Jeremy and Jill who live in Borneo, Kathy and Mark who live in Myanmar, and Paul and Keely who live with 1-year-old twins. It was really enjoyable to touch base with so many old friends.
Carol and the girls dropped me off at the airport and headed straight for Richland, where Carol's parents live a block from the Columbia River. They spent their time riding bikes and swimming and boating and enjoying Grandma Mary's great food. When Carol is visiting she and her parents play cards late into every night.
Then it was back to Seattle for a few days before they flew back to me in Boston. They were all ready to be home by then and I was sure glad to have them back.
We spent the first few nights at my sister Tricia's and her husband Frank's house in Puyallup. Frank is a jack-of-all-trades who also happens to be very good at all of them. They recently decided to get chickens, so Frank built a very fancy chicken palace to house their flock. The girls are fascinated by chickens (don't be surprised if I report someday that we have some), so they were excited. They also had a blast raiding Aunt Tricia's closet for dress-up, including pretend weddings in her wedding gown (they watched and seemed to be reenacting the royal wedding).
Since we were relatively close to Mt. Rainier we decided to go there for a day trip. Carol grew up camping at Cougar Rock campground every year and has great fondness for the park. I also spent a lot of time there as a climber and climbing instructor so I have my own fondness for it. We checked out the new bridge at Longmire (replacing the one that was washed out a few years ago), walked the Longmire historic trail, had a picnic at Cougar Rock campground, visited Paradise to check out the new visitor center and then on the way out of the park walked down to the river across from Cougar Rock to check out the log bridge. It was a very fun day. Next year we're going to borrow camping gear and spend at least a night at Cougar Rock - it's a beautiful place.
Then we moved up to Seattle where we stayed in the house of some friends who were out of town. It was a great base. My friend Scott is a fellow cycling fan so he already had his DVR set up to record each day of the Tour de France!
In Seattle we got to spend a lot of time with my parents and sister as well as Carol's brother Bob and his family. I was worried when we arrived that we hadn't made many plans with friends and they would all be busy, but the week worked out fantastically with many dates with friends. Grandma and Grandpa kept the girls for a couple of nights so Carol and I had real dates. We even spontaneously went swing dancing at the Century Ballroom where we met in January, 2000. We also went on a hike to Rattlesnake Ledge on a gorgeous day. That hike has spectacular views.
We visited our favorite spots in Seattle: the Woodland Park Zoo and the Ballard Locks. Then on my last full day in town we hosted a picnic at Volunteer Park and about 35 friends showed up to say hello, including Jeremy and Jill who live in Borneo, Kathy and Mark who live in Myanmar, and Paul and Keely who live with 1-year-old twins. It was really enjoyable to touch base with so many old friends.
Carol and the girls dropped me off at the airport and headed straight for Richland, where Carol's parents live a block from the Columbia River. They spent their time riding bikes and swimming and boating and enjoying Grandma Mary's great food. When Carol is visiting she and her parents play cards late into every night.
Then it was back to Seattle for a few days before they flew back to me in Boston. They were all ready to be home by then and I was sure glad to have them back.
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