Every Which Way

 Chuck and I did a day trip last weekend - a mini road trip. He loves to drive, drives a city bus here in Seattle, but of course that's much different than a relaxing drive through the countryside or the mountains.

 

 (Thanks Google - actual photos of Seattle)

 

 

We headed south through Seattle, through Tacoma and into Olympia. We stopped at the capital building and walked around. There were very few people around and we kind of had the place to ourselves. Found a WWII memorial that was so humbling to see. So many people have given their lives for this country. I wish we were more united for their sake.

 Goodbye Seattle

 

 

 

 

What looked like figures of soldiers turned out to be the names of everyone who had died. It was very moving.

 

 We turned west from Olympia and went up the 101 on the inside of the Kitsap Penninsula. I've lived here more than 30 years and had never taken this route before. (I'm sure Chuck has with all the driving he's done around here.)

We continued west for a little while then headed north and after a while found ourselves on a dirt logging road. Before we left the house Chuck was looking for places to visit and found the High Steel Bridge and we were making our way there.

Originally it was the tallest railroad bridge in the United States. It's now a roadway for cars and the Skokomish rivers runs under it. We saw a waterfall on one side, flowing down through the trees. I expect it's a lot bigger in the spring, once all the snow has melted.

The Skokomish river

 

 

The waterfall

 

We headed back out the way we came and continued north on the main road. We drove along the water most of the way home, stopped at a small diner for lunch, then took the ferry back across the water to Edmonds. 

 

 

The ferry heading toward the dock to pick us all up, with a cruise ship heading out to sea.

 

 

 

 

Can you see Mt Rainier to the left of the ship? (Downtown Seattle on the right, about 15 miles away.) Now you know that photos only give a small percentage of what the eye sees, right? Mt Rainier was about 60 miles south of us but was so bright and clear I felt like I could reach out and touch it! When the mountain is out here in WA state, it's breathtaking! 

 

The weather was beautiful, the scenery was stunning, it was exactly what we needed. We're already planning our next trip! 

 

This and That

 I'm home from work today with a slight sore throat. It's not bad but I don't know what it is and don't want to spread it to anyone else. So I'll putter around the house, take some EmergenC and pray!

 

Chuck brought me flowers the other day, just because. I love that man!

 

 I hung a couple pictures of my granddaughters. Both on a swing as babies. And both with the greatest smiles! Allison (without the hat) will be 14 next month! And Adelaide is 9 months old now! She gets smarter every day. I love these girls!

 

 These pictures always make me smile!

 

 Allison

 

 

Adelaide

 I was thinking the other day - they are third generation girls. I'm the youngest of three daughters, I had three daughters and now my daughters are having daughters!

 

Me and my sisters Easter morning: L-R Kathy, Debbie, me

 

My girls Easter morning: Sharaya, Beth, Diana in front

And their girls. My heart 💗

 

 

Beth and I went to Michael's a couple weeks ago. 

You can probably guess which aisle she went to first...

 

 

Yep! I guess a girl can never have enough markers!

 

Then we get to the front and find it's all self-check out. We hadn't been there in a while and were a little surprised to see it. There was one checker down at the other end who would help if needed but they want you to do it yourself now. So many stores are going to this format. If stores are having a hard time hiring I can kind of understand the reason for it but I'm sure not a fan. It took us a few minutes to figure out the system but we finally did, and headed home.

I organized all our old home movies and reel-to-reels, and they fit perfectly in the photo boxes. The closet looks so much better.

 

We've put the oscillating fans back in the garage and now have the fireplace going most mornings. I'm loving fall!

 

 

That's about all from here. 

Have a wonderful rest of your week!

 

1982

We celebrated our 41st Anniversary this weekend. We were married on August 14, 1982, Chuck was 24 and I was 21.

 

 

 It's crazy when you think back to those first years, you have no idea what your future will hold. And honestly I didn't really know him. In April I had just started attending his church and we hung out in the young singles, but we were just friends. On July 4th we started hanging out together. And August 13 he asked me to marry him. 

 

We decided to set the date for the following year, and we both felt the Lord show us the exact date: one year from the day he proposed. August 13 was a Friday that year so we decided to make it the 14th. 

 

And now 41 years later, here we are. I think the thing that defines our marriage and family the most (besides the Lord of course, He's the foundation on which our marriage and family is built) is our traveling. We know many people who put their money into their home, raise their kids, and then after the kids have moved out, mom and dad start traveling. 

 

We did just the opposite. Our first road trip was in 1986 when Sharaya was a month old. We've taken more than 40 since that time - all over the U.S. We've taken our kids to many national parks, spent a week at an orphanage in Morelia, Mexico and instilled in them a love of travel and exploration. The memories we've made with them will last a lifetime. (Some of our pictures are on my side bar.)

 

This weekend Chuck and I went to a movie at Cinnabar, a theater where you can order a meal and they bring it right to your seat. That was nice. We saw Oppenheimer, have you seen it? I'm not sure how I feel about it. There were some nudity, plus the controversy of the Project itself. My grandfather assisted in the Manhattan Project (not sure how I feel about that either) so I was curious about it. But, it's not a movie I will ever see again and definitely won't have in my library here at home.

 

On our very first date we went to see Raiders of the Lost Ark, so we watched that again this weekend too. Chuck fell asleep during part of it and I laughed when I woke him up. We're a little more comfortable around each other now than we were back then. 😂 

 

1981

 

 

1987

 

 1995

 

 2012

 

  2021

 

Stay tuned for a new family photo that includes Adelaide!