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! 

 

Donuts, Curls, and Hawks

 On Beth's birthday she wanted me to curl her hair. It usually doesn't keep a curl but we thought it turned out pretty good! She was getting ready to go to All Aboard, where they danced, did art and celebrated all the October birthdays. She looks forward to it every year!

 

 I pulled into the parking lot at work earlier this week to find someone had done donuts in the recently re-paved lot. They really tore it up! I don't know if you can see them but there are bits of rubber all over the place. I don't understand why people have to be so destructive. If our parking lot looks this bad, I can only imagine what his/her tires look like!

 

 We got to go to a Seahawks game last weekend. The girls got the tickets for us as a gift and we had such a great time. We rode the light rail downtown then walked a few blocks to the stadium. We bought a burger and fries then headed to our seats. We ate while all the pregame stuff was going on. It's amazing just how much stuff happens behind the scenes, things you don't see on TV. There's so much activity on the sidelines, I found myself watching a lot of that instead of the game! A handler brought the live mascot - a hawk named Taima to our area and was showing him off. We got a partial view of the front of him and he's a beautiful bird.

 

 We got the faucet and toilet installed this week. That faucet is just amazing! I told Chuck I felt so wealthy! 😊 We bought one with a soap container because our old sink had a sprayer and we needed something to fill the hole. We used to keep the dish soap on the counter and it was so ugly. Chuck said the guys took the sink outside to sand the old rust and stuff off of it so now it sits flush with the counter. They put on new sealant and now it even feels like a new sink, even though it's our old one. They shortened up some of the pipes and tubes that were always in the way under the sink. They went above and beyond when they installed it! I'm so happy with it!

Before and After

 

Have you bought any new gadgets lately?

This And That

We had 9 straight days of rain and when the sun finally came out everybody went outside! I went out to the backyard to take some pictures and the sun went behind some black clouds (see it between the trees?) It was so nice to finally see some blue skies!

 

 

Our church held it's second Trunk and Treat on Saturday. We usually have a big Harvest Party inside with games, inflatables and food, but when covid hit we did a drive through Trunk and Treat last year and this year it was a walk through. They had a little clicker thing and counted 1300 people in about 3 hours! Chuck had the day off so he was able to come with us this year. It was so cold, only 45 degrees, I'm so glad we brought thermoses of tea and cider! I'm not usually one to dress up and do stuff like this but it really is fun. At least 3 parents told me their toddlers had just watched Winnie the Pooh for the first time! I love their smiles and amazement at seeing us, but I will say, everyone loves Piglet the best!

 

Diana and Peter arrived today! They've been driving across the country this week and finally pulled into our driveway around 4:30. We drove them out here the end of last month but they had to go back to New Jersey to sell Peter's house and tie up loose ends before coming out for good. Well, temporarily for good. They plan to move back there again in about 10 years. But for now, they are here! It's hard to describe the feeling when all your kids live nearby. I read once: 'Having kids is like having your heart go walking around outside your body.' But then having them move across the country?! Some days the feelings were indescribable.

Do your kids live nearby or far away?

We'd Been Waiting Since November!

Some of you had asked what Beth was drinking in my Frightening Part post. She doesn't like coffee so when we go to Starbucks she'll either get a hot chocolate or a Strawberry Frappuccino. It's just ice, milk and strawberries. No coffee, more like a shake. I think some frappuccinos have coffee in them but not the strawberry one. I'm not a coffee drinker either so these are a good alternative. They're SO good!

Last Saturday Ally and I went to The Museum of Flight just south of Seattle. We were supposed to go back in November but they closed down just 2 days before our scheduled day due to an uptick in covid cases. So we were so excited on the drive down! I've always wanted to see the inside of an air traffic control tower and I didn't know there was one that you could go into there! Ally was so anxious to show it to me! We got inside, they took our temp, we got our wrist bands, made our way up the stairs... and it was closed. Due to covid I guess, too small of a room? I don't know. We were so bummed. There was one area of the museum that had a full sized 747 in it, a Concorde, Air Force One... so many amazing planes but somehow we ended up missing it. We never did see them so I told her we'll just have to come back!

We did see the Great Gallery, the Space Gallery, the WWII area and of course bought a few things in the gift shop! 

She's looking at a model of an aircraft carrier

This is the Great Gallery

There are so many planes you can't get them all in one shot. These are actual, full-sized planes. This room is huge.

 We walked across the sky bridge to the Space Gallery

Here we're standing in the open cargo bay of a Space Shuttle

 

I think the Space Gallery was our favorite part! 

I do love hanging out with this girl!