Washington Trip, July 4-July 11

I had long been told that summer arrives in the Pacific Northwest on July 5th. 
When we got up to cloudy and cool on July 4th, the prognostication seemed somewhat distant.  I had been wearing sweats but never felt too warm.

I teased some of the locals on the Bothell Community Facebook site about that.  Everything I had seen and read about the local weather was that "summer" had been delayed, and I jokingly accused them of causing it because I was visiting.  Most of the posters on that site were on board with my jokes, but I did hit a nerve with a couple who didn't understand that I was just visiting in the PNW.  They very clearly invited me to leave if I didn't like the climate.  Ouch!

On America's birthday, the Fourth of July, we drove to Anacortes, WA, to hook up with a whale-excursion boat that was set up to take us to see fireworks.  There was a live band playing near the shoreline.  I let the family go explore while I stayed put with my rollator in order to pace my energy for the rest of the evening.

The first thing the boat did was take us on a cruise around Guemes Island and back to Anacortes, where we "parked" at a healthy distance from the fireworks barge.  I had stayed inside during most of the trip due to wind and chill, but when we parked, I was lured outside on the viewing seats to see the fireworks.  (And yes, it was cool enough that I was wearing gloves!)  After the awesome ka-booms and ka-bangs, our boat let out a long blast of appreciation on the horn, which was followed by the smaller boats that were also anchored in the area.  Happy Birthday, America!

The very next day, July 5th--the legendary first day of summer in the PNW--we got up to cloudy and cool.  Our mission for the day was to go to Leavenworth in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains to see the quaint little town and watch the opening night outdoor stage performance of The Sound of Music.  I didn't know it at the time, but the organization that puts this on does TSOM as their first offering every year.  This was a perfect venue for the show.  There was the stage in the foreground with the beautiful Cascades as a backdrop.  Beautiful!  For a woman who loves musicals and the mountains (me), it doesn't get much better than this!!

Our afternoon in Leavenworth was interesting.  First of all, the further from the coast and Puget Sound, the better the weather became.  When we arrived in Leavenworth--after finding a rare and precious place to park, we got out of the car into sunshine and warm temperatures!

I don't know the particular history of Leavenworth, except that it is a place of German influence.  The main streets are lined with shops and restaurants of Bavarian appeal.  It reminded me a lot of the art colony of Nashville, Indiana, times five!  The place was packed with tourists, both foreign and domestic.  Denis had researched a German restaurant that we were to try.  While he put in his name for the 45-minute wait for a table, the rest of us found a picnic table in the shade in a little park in the middle of town to wait while Denis explored.  Megan sent him off to find fudge.  What he came back with was an entirely-too-small box of the best chocolate candies I have ever eaten.  (I wanted more but was quite certain that they were too expensive to satiate my magnum appetite for chocolate!)  Shortly thereafter, we were alerted (by a radio controlled device) that our table was ready at the restaurant.

The restaurant is in a basement location, German food, complete with a "little-old-winemaker" dude playing an accordion.  It is obviously quite popular, based on the wait and the number of people willing to.  The place was packed!  We interpreted the menu and ordered what each thought would be good.  I'm not a connoisseur of German food but didn't think I could go wrong with my entree of German goulash.  Thankfully, mine was yummy.  (On a side note, it was my desire to treat the four of us--Robin was still at church camp--to this meal...until I saw the prices.  As it happened, I split the bill 50-50 with Denis.  My share, including tip, for the four of us was $110, if that shows how expensive things were.  I had budgeted money for special stuff but had scarcely been in WA for a week.  Needed to pace expenses.  Yikes!)

After dinner, we had a little time to spare so toured a shop or two before leaving for the outdoor theater venue.  The weather was taking a downturn.  The skies had clouded up and cooled down, and it was beginning to sprinkle a little bit.  (Concerning, considering that we were going to spend the next few hours outside.)  Meg had told us that the performance would start at 8:30 PM.  We arrived at the venue slightly before 8:00.  It was only then that she discovered her error.  Performance time was actually 8:00, so we had only a few minutes to hustle to our seats!

The theater is on a hillside.  I had my rollator.  A bus near the parking lot took us halfway up the hill, but the rest would be on foot.  When the ushers in charge took a look at me and my posse, we were plunked down right square in the front row, mere feet from the performers.  As the usher told me, "You can't beat these seats".  And so true it was.  The show was excellent.  We got sprinkled on once, but the show went on!  No one got wet.  No one got cold.  God was merciful.  It could have been a LOT worse!

The trip home through the mountains was fraught with major fog and deer along the roadside.  Meg was driving, but even though I was in the back seat, I was behind the wheel every mile--and so was our family Student Driver who is now alert to every circumstance and habit of those behind the wheel!  We got home without incident, but the first half of the two-hour trip had been stressful.  Whew!

Robin came home from church camp on the 6th.  Welcome Home, Baby Beana!

On Tuesday, July 9th, Meg and I packed sandwiches and snacks for a trip up to Artist's Point, near Mt. Baker (one of Washington's five volcanoes).  It was to be just the two of us.  We headed up through the mountains and stopped, first, at Picture Lake where Mt. Shuksan (not a volcano) makes a perfect picture as framed and reflected in a wind-protected setting.  Meg told me that Mt. Shuksan is considered one of the state's most-photographed mountains, and I can certainly see why!  Such majesty!  Such quiet beauty!  The birds, the wildflowers, the small lake that reflected the peak, the snow on the mountain...all a joy to the eye!  Neither pictures nor words do justice to the sights and the grandeur!

Our second stop that day was at Artist's Point.  Supposedly, Mt. Baker can be seen here in all its volcanic glory.  But not today.  In spite of the fact that it was sunny and warm where we were, the mountain wasn't "out".  (Meg told me that it happens to her every time she gets close.  No accounting for Mother Nature!)  Here is where we ate our picnic lunch.  Here is where we encountered a huge snow bank, the "remnants" of winter snows--which average over 640" per year but holds the world's record for a snowfall of 1,140 inches back in 1998-99.  Here is where we drove on roads and switchbacks on the way up and down, and passed one energetic cyclist several times while we stopped and viewed.  He just kept on pedaling.  OMG!

Over and above all of our side trips and experiences, we were preparing for the piece de resistance--a nine-day vacation, all planned and booked, to see the sights of my lifetime.  We were planning menus, shopping for foods to meet our requirements, and hoping for good weather.  We were leaving on July 11th.

The family has two vehicles.  The one we were taking on our trek is a Honda Odyssey min-van that we call Homer.  (Since Homer wrote the epic poem The Odyssey, and Homer is also one of my daughter's favorite cartoon characters, a la The Simpsons.  We call it "Homie" as Marge Simpson refers to her husband on the show.)  Homie is now actually more of the kids' buggy, and when Robin was out with it on Monday of that week, she noticed that the battery light kept coming on.  Denis took it to a Honda dealer and was told that the brakes needed to be replaced soon, but that they couldn't get the battery light to come on for them.  He had them fix the brakes, then did as they asked:  drive it, and if the battery light comes on again, bring it right in.  Yeah...okay.

The next day, Robin had errands to run with the car.  All was well until her trip home when the battery light came on and stayed on, and she had acceleration problems.  She was close to home (thank God) and managed to limp the car into the driveway.  Denis went out to check it and declared that Homie had problems.  We are now two days away from our vacation departure in a buggy that wasn't working!!  Den called the dealer and decided to risk getting the car to them himself for next day service, followed by Megan in the second car.  Didn't happen.  The next text I got from Meg said, "Waiting for a tow truck".  My heart sank.  Everyone was safe, but it was yet another expense of an already expensive venture.

Homie's problem turned out to be the alternator, which most of us guessed but the mechanics weren't willing to figure out.  They said that they had tested it twice without positive results, but the third time was the charm.  Ya think??

Thus, with a scant one day left before leaving on an adventure of my lifetime, we doubled down on efforts to pack, not without concerns about how Homie would perform.  I shouldn't have worried.  It was perfect!