Something I did not address in my previous post but was prevalent for our entire visit to the Pacific Northwest was the weather. Typically, the Seattle area weather is driven by the mountains and the ocean. It is not as hot in the summer as in the Midwest, nor as cold in the winter. Precipitation is usually in the form of rain or drizzle daily, except in the summer (which the locals say starts on July 5th). Thereafter, there are beautiful days for a couple of months before it all starts over again. In terms of climate, our visit was the exception rather than the rule. But for one day that had sprinkles in the morning, we had sunny days and warm temperatures. In fact, two of those days broke records for warmth. In short, the weather gods smiled on the two grandmothers from Indiana!
The other feature that I found most stunning during our visit was the sparkling beauty of the flora. The rhododendrons were all in bloom, as were roses and every other kind of flowering shrub imaginable. Indiana is green right now, but Seattle was more than just green; it was vibrant with color. Everywhere. Splash all of that color in bright and welcome sunshine and the result is so very mood lifting. In a word, it was gorgeous. I think my co-grandma companion was impressed. I know I was, and I've been there before!
Now back to the highlights of our days.
Friday, May 11th:
Friday was kind of a do-nothing day. After supper, Robin was delivered back to school for her cast call before
Les Miserables. We left for the school at 5:45 for a 7:00 PM show, and got the same preferential treatment from the Producer that we had before. She was largely in charge of special seating and remembered us from the night before. As expected, the performance was exceptional. Even better than the night before.
As we waited after the show for Robin to get out of costume, etc., the Producer (whose name is Katharina) came and sat beside me in the hallway to ask what I thought of the show. In our brief conversation, she told me that before they decided to do
Les Mis, they had a mini-audition to see if they had young men with the vocal ranges needed for the lead parts of Jean Valjean (high range) and Javert (low range). As it happened, they had 20 boys try out. They were able to cast a Valjean and Javert from that. Both very strong voices. It worked!
After collecting Robin, we went to Applebee's for unwinding (Robin's request). Some of us had food; some had snacks. It was all good. Then home to deposit the grandmothers at their motel and send the rest home to bed. What a great day!
Saturday, May 12th:
This was a catch-up day. Denis offered to take us to Microsoft in Redmond, along with Ryan, so we could spend some time with our grandson. Robin was allowed to sleep in, and Meg had some alone time, too. Thus, the two grandmas and Ryan and Denis went to Microsoft.
A word here about the place. Microsoft is a huge campus of over 110 buildings. The company maintains play areas for employees and their families. They also keep a well-stocked place called The Garage, which consists of a couple of rooms with everything you could ever want by way of a place to tinker with things.
We started out in the ping-pong room. Denis and Ryan played a game, then it was my turn. I used to be pretty good at ping-pong. Haven't played since the Muncie, Indiana, days before I became disabled in the back, but I determined that I was sure going to try. Ryan and I did a bunch of practice volleys, then played an actual game. I let him win, of course, because I felt sorry for him. Wink, wink. But he didn't win by that much. Suffice it to say that I think he was impressed with my skills, and that's all that mattered to me. Had we time to play more, I MIGHT have won. (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.)
Then we went to the foosball room. Denis and Ryan played a game, then it was Grandma Judy's turn. She had never played before but gave it a valiant attempt. She lost to the one with the greater skill...but she was playing with her grandson. How often does that happen??
Shortly thereafter, because there was another purpose to being there (to scan some stuff that Judy wanted to send to family), we went to The Garage. Wow! What a place! My brain couldn't soak it all up. The rooms are set up for tinkering. They are supplied with 3-D printers, soldering irons, sewing machines, oscilloscopes, Cricut cutters--you name it. And even the consumables needed are supplied. Need something? Write it on the board and it will appear. Can you imagine? The whole idea is to encourage technology with imagination, plus provide a place for people with vision to do what they need to do to produce. Whew! Quite a change from my sphere of career choice!
When we went home, we were greeted with a dinner of King Crab legs and cheeseburgers, with tiny little potatoes and salad....then on to the school for the final performance of
Les Miserables. Our grandson, Ryan, who hadn't attended the other five performances was "forced" to go with us for the last one. We were greeted, once again, by the Producer who told us that we might not have the best seating due to someone who had texted her about handicapped patrons who expected a whole row of seats. (Meg told her we didn't mind because we could see the show from different angles, and the producer gal said she wished other people were as "easy" as we were!) Ryan sat between the two grandmothers. Before the show started, I tried to explain the plot to him because he hadn't watched the movie with us. I really think he enjoyed it. He said it was "cool". And, of course, there were a lot of cast tears after the last performance. The seniors were particularly emotional, as they should be. It was all good.
Because Robin would be attending a cast party after the show, the grandmothers were delivered to the motel "early"--which was already late for us. It was a fun day.
Sunday, May 13th:
Mother's Day.
I told Judy early that she needed to make sure her phone was on because her four children would be trying to call her this day.
I had earlier offered to take the family out for dinner, but Denis wanted to cook out: steak and salmon slabs. Worked for us!!
Robin had created (in the wee hours of the night before) Mother's Day cards for us with origami flowers on the front, and text in Japanese inside. (She is taking Japanese as a class in school.) I treasure mine. So creative!
Part of the day was taken up with Megan using her Cricut to cut out letters for a church project that Judy and I have at home. (I might have my days mixed up.) Another part was taken up by a short trip down the road to find a good place to see Mount Rainier. (Wasn't all that successful.) Another part was a trip to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream, which we ate outside. Yum!
Monday, May 14th:
After the children were situated in school and Denis to work, Megan, Judy, and I drove up to Snoqualmie Falls. I have been there before without much luck of seeing the falls. (The first time, a watch overlook was blocked off due to a search-and-rescue operation because someone had fallen or jumped. The second time, the falls area was shrouded in fog and mostly invisible. The third time, the falls were a veritable trickle.) This time, however, the falls were roaring--I assume due to snow-melt on the mountains. The mist thrown up at the bottom of the falls visibly cut off probably a third of the total drop. Still, it was an awesome sight. Before we left the area, we hit up the gift shop, then back down the mountain to Snoqualmie Pass.
The Pass has one (or more) ski areas, plus a small gift shop/rest area for travelers. I've been there before, but this time there were cement barricades around the front of the shop. Why?? To keep people safe from ice falling from the roof! Behind the parking lot was one of the ski areas with little alpine cabins on a hill. There were still mounds of dirty snow in the area, in spite of the fact that it was 80 degrees that day. Interestingly, there were no little rivers of water coming from the snow. Huh?? Where was the snow-melt going?? Saw a hummingbird at one of the feeders at the gift shop. It was a very nice excursion. Can't see that stuff at home!
Tuesday, May 15th:
Last day of our visit!
We went to deliver Ryan to school, but after we got there, he decided he'd rather go to Seattle with the grandmas. (He goes to a Sudbury school. Is free to do these things.) We returned home to collect Megan, then onward.
Our first stop in Seattle was Pike Place Market. I've been there during all four of my trips out there. It's truly an experience! The day started out cloudy, but before long, the sun came out--although not enough to reveal Mount Rainier in the distance. We walked around and soaked up the PPM culture. Saw fish being thrown. Bought some trinkets. Went to the crepe place where Judy and I shared one with Nutella and strawberry filling, with whipped cream on top. Shared a Russian-inspired meat sandwich. Set Grandma Judy up by taking a picture of her with a bawdy backdrop. Saw the gum alley, etc.
Then we departed for the Space Needle. I have nixed going there before. It's expensive. Probably $39 apiece for adults, $22 apiece for seniors, and maybe $19 for students, plus at least $29 for parking. I also resisted because the elevators to get to the top are on the outside of the Needle, and I'm quite wobbly with heights. The Needle is under construction to put glass floors on the observation areas. The part closed off to us was the part that would have revealed Mt. Rainier on a good day, but since Rainier was occluded by clouds and haze in the distance, we couldn't have seen it anyway.
I stepped off the elevator at the top and gasped. The view from the top was stunningly spectacular! I had resisted in the past, not understanding what glory awaited in terms of the scene below. Wow! Just wow! I told Meg that I owed her the $22 admission for me because it was a once-in-a-lifetime view that I had never seen before and never will again. Had it been a traditionally typical Seattle weather day, the trip wouldn't have been worth it. Thank goodness for a cloudless day! It just blew me away!
At the end, we were sent down through the gift shop where I bought a trinket for Ryan. Then we were off for a motor tour of Alki Beach.
Alki Beach, according to Megan, is a little slice of California. It has a wonderful view of the Seattle skyline. There is a paved walkway all along the beach, plus other things that make it a great place to be. Volleyball nets. A replica of the Statue of Liberty. An overlook with telescopes to enjoy the view. Expensive apartments on the shore side. Since we were there on a work day, it wasn't crowded, but I could see how it would easily become a Place to Be on the weekends. Beautiful! A bald eagle flew over us in search of food. There were also "buoys with faces" which were, of course, seals in the water.
Going home, we were somewhat trapped in Seattle rush hour traffic, but not so much that we didn't get a full-on view of Mt. Rainier, which had emerged from the haze. What a majestic volcano it is! We came home to stroganoff in the crock pot, then Dairy Queen offerings. When Judy and I returned to the motel, we needed to get packed, except for the last minute things, for an early departure for Sea-Tac Airport in the morning. All good things must come to an end, darn it!
Wednesday, May 16th:
By this time, the grandmas were largely exhausted. We had an early call to head to the airport. Our flight was scheduled for take-off at 9:59 AM, Pacific Time. In spite of traffic, we were checked in and at the gate just before 8:00 AM. For reasons known only to God, I was selected for a random extra check, targeting my computer and my phone. It was a minor glitch but annoying. The plane was about 30 minutes late taking off because we were in a line, but the pilot was able to make up the time in the air. Judy and I ate on the plane, so we weren't starved when we landed.
Judy alerted her husband to come for us when we landed, but there were no "pushers" to get me from the gate to the baggage claim. It took awhile. I think Judy was worried that Phil would be there and we wouldn't be. The gal that finally ended up pushing me to the street was a manager and not a pusher, and wouldn't accept my tip money. (Worked for me! I think that's the first time anyone ever refused a tip. She told me I had waited too long for service, so didn't owe her a thing.)
Phil showed up. He drove me home, and the rest is history. As we pulled up, my lawn guy was mowing. I paid him for the mowing that happened while I was gone and on that day, then collapsed into a dead heap.
We packed many experiences into a short visit. I'm sure my family on the Seattle end are as tired as the grandmothers are, without the age factors. I'm just grateful for everything that happened--and didn't happen. It was so good to see our grandchildren and my family!
Thank you, Megan and Denis for the sacrifices of time, energy, food, and financial resources to provide a couple of old ladies with bucket list experiences. Thank you, Robin and Ryan, for tolerating those same old ladies who, although they don't share your generation, love you to the moon and back. Thank you to Alaska Airlines for getting the old ladies there and back safely and with dignity. Thank you to Grandpa Phil for being the Grandmother Taxi to and from the airport. Thank you to my Nosy Neighbor Fred for collecting my mail and watching over my house, and to my lawn guy for taking care of the grass in my absence. And thanks be to God for another time...another experience...for
One Day More! (See what I did there??)