Tuesday Sept. 2nd., Gary became an Elk member, he had to ride a goat but that went okay. Now we have many RV camps to choose from that are very reasonable. Jay and Sandy (Gary's sponsor) had to drive an hour and forty five minutes to be at the Elks meeting. Well Sandy didn't, we sat in the bar and played cards.
Wednesday, Sept. 3rd., I went to my last exercise class with the WOW "girls" Sylvia and Judith, Cameron showed me no mercy. He's going to miss my whining. Jack and Sharyl, from our camp-out club invited us to lunch to show is their recent renovations inside and landscaping. Very nice. Ron and Sharon, who host the brick oven pizza parties on their patio came to dinner. Sharon is a PA for my cardiologist so I was a bit nervous about what to cook. A couple of years ago they bicycled from Salem, Oregon to Salem, Massachusetts, this year they headed off to Colorado by bike, in Boise the trip was cut short due to a coffee pot incident, the lid had fallen down into the pot, when Ron reached in to retrieve it, the pot shattered cutting his hand so bad he needed surgery to put the tendons back where they belong.
Thursday morning Sept. 4th.,we dropped Luci off at the Dog Bark doggie day camp and boarding to spend the night, we were going to Seattle to the Seattle/Green Bay game. We rode up with Brian and Susan, our neighbors on Lone Oak who are season ticket holders. After our 20 years as season ticket holders I've missed going to the games especially the night games, there is a heightened sense of excitement. Especially this year after winning the Super Bowl the crowd was frenzied. NFL had a special kick off week program, there was a free concert outside the stadium and in Pioneer Square they had lots of activities. We saw Steve Largent and Cortez Kennedy signing autographs, we skipped that the line was really long. Before the game they unfurled SuperBowl Champion banners, one covered the entire Hawks Nest, and the one on the field filled up most of the 100 yards. Oh and we won 36-16!!! GO HAWKS!
Friday, Sept. 5th., we left Seattle for Salem by 10:00 to get back for Luci's vet appointment. Carol and Al, Gary's sister and brother-in-law stopped by for a "good-bye" visit. Chris and Micah came to dinner, they were so kind to loan us Micah's pick-up to use while we were in town. What a blessing!
Saturday, Sept. 6th., Gary went for his last group bike ride and coffee after, he's going to miss all of his "bike buds". Meanwhile I went out to breakfast with Joan and her grandson Jake. Joan and I took quilting classes together with "another" Carole. Then I left for Eugene with Carol (yes another) to watch the Ducks play Michigan State. While I was gone Gary went to see daughter Leah and family, they are moving to Olympia, her husband retired from the Army and will be attending college there. Oh, and yes, after a stressful first half the Ducks prevailed 46-29. I ran into Kurt (Talena's husband), Ethan, Gary Barker (Kurt's dad) and Justin (Leah's husband) at Moshofsky center before the game. GO DUCKS!!!
Sunday, Sept. 7th we left town for Ft. McChord AFB, to spend the night at their fam camp. It was in a forest of big fir trees, nice spots for only $18.00 a night. We had a quiet evening, there was no satellite reception. To get to fam camp we had to go past the end of the runway, HUGE cargo jets fly in and out of McChord, very loud.
Monday, Sept. 8th before we left, we took Luci on a 3.5 mile walk, as we passed the end of the runway we watched two of those planes rumble off, it's amazing how they can fly as big as they are.
We left for Naval Air Station Whidbey Island about 11, several people told us what a nice park it is, well nice doesn't even come close. It is right on the water, a great beach. several miles of walking paths and amazing flowers. Well it's not really a walking path, the sailors jog daily. It is fun to watch the EA-18 jets take off very close to fam camp. Smaller cargo planes take off regularly to, many touch and go's by both planes. After dark we thought we were being attacked, the 18's sounded like they were going to come right through the roof, making the coach shake.
Tuesday, Sept. 9th, our 36th wedding anniversary. We went back up to the Deception Pass bridge, when we crossed it on Monday I held my breath, it's only 24 feet wide. It is almost 1500 feet long and 180 feet from the water. Being in the coach you look over the barriers straight down to the tumultuous narrows. Acckkkkk! We passed a produce stand on the way to the bridge so I wanted to stop and see what they had to offer. Good stuff. Outside there was a large elephant that scared the pee wadding out of Luci. Poor baby. Our next stop was Ft Casey, we'd been there many, many years ago, I figured same old same old. They have done extensive work there to show more gun batteries. The initial construction on the fort began in 1897, in 1918 along with Fort Casey and Fort Worden across the sound, formed a triangle of defense to guard the cities of Puget Sound. Luci and I walked down toward the beach just in time to see 6 seals frolicking. Very cute. The Port Townsend-Coupeville ferry landing is right next to the fort, it's always amazing to watch semi-trucks being loaded on a boat. Of course no day would be complete without a geo cache. We'd decided to celebrate our anniversary with lunch out in historic Coupeville. It was established in 1853 and is one of the oldest in the state of Washington. We chose the Front Street Grill, right on the water in the historical district. Delish!
TTFN,
Gary and Pam Our home in Salem for 2 1/2 months
Happy trails! We are enjoying some bicycle touring--check our blog. P.S. Dinner was great.
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