Friday, July 9th

Beaverton, Oregon to Tacoma, Washington

Sandra is a great cook using fresh items from her garden. After a delicious breakfast, we hit the highway for the drive to Washington.

Mount St. Helen's is a must see in Washington State. The various Visitor Centers in the park were so interesting and full of information that we spent more time here than we anticipated. In 1984, Congress designated the area a national monument to allow for the recovery of the land. This area presents a unique opportunity for scientists to study the process of nature restoring itself. Weyheseur Paper is also involved in planting trees to regain the forest that once covered the land.

As we drove through the park to the last Visitor Center, we passed ash piled up as if the area had been mined. The steep sides of the ash on the upper valley floor looked as if it had been bulldozed.

The last oberservation point was the most sobering. (figure of speech only, we were not drinking) With a shudder we realized that this devasting landscape is what it must look like when an atomic bomb is dropped. It was devoid of any signs of life, totally gray and dreary (except for some purple wildflowers which stood out in stark contrast).

In 1980 when Mt. St. Helen's errupted, 1,300 feet of her top was gone. The massive landslide caused by the erruption destroyed 150,000 sq. acres of forest and killed every living thing above ground. Many of the areas of the park are once again green and home to elk and deer, this area is a vivid reminder that no matter what destructive power man develops he is no match for mother nature.

We continued our journey northward. We decided that since it was getting late we would forgo entering Mt. Raineer Park and just get a glimpse of it from the road. As we drove we strained our necks trying to see this giant. However, being in Washington, trees thwarted every attempt. We decided we couldn't leave the area without at least a picture so we took the detour and drove into the park. Even there the mountain kept playing hide and seek. (How can a 14,000 foot mountain hide?)

After playing this game for 20 miles we asked a ranger where we could get a good view (any view!). He directed us to Paradise lookout, only a few miles up the road. He didn't tell us that those few miles would be a 25 minute trip through nausea land! The road twisted and turned every few minutes. It was a harrowing ride but we knew it would be worth it. It wasn't. Even at the lookout the mountain was able to stay shrouded in mystery. Because of the time of day (8 PM) the lighting was such that the mountain blended into the sky. The only clearly visible parts were the glacier covered slopes. Even so, this playful mountain was magnificent. We gave up the hunt so that we could complete the roller coaster ride back before nightfall. Mt Rainier, the game is not over!

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Saturday, July 10th

Tacoma, Washington to Gig Harbor, Washington

Our original plan to spend three nights at the Sherwood in Tacoma was changed when we arrived at the hotel. Our room was stinky, dark and dingy so we checked out this morning.

The Spar in downtown Tacoma became our headquarters for watching the Women's World Cup Soccer game. We settled in, ordered lunch and thoroughly enjoyed the game. Those women are awesome! By the end of the game, the whole bar was into it, yelling and cheering with each overtime kick.

When we went to settle up our bill, Fred realized that he did not have his wallet. We were in a panic at the prospect of no money and going through the hassle of canceling all our cards. The bartender thought he remembered it laying on the bar. We immediately thought this weird girl who had ordered a beer and a meal, drank half her beer and then left before the food came, had stolen it. She had given me strange vibes from the moment she walked in. Fred went to check in the car and I paid with my credit card. The only reasonable explanation is that it was back at the grungy hotel although Fred was adamant he had not left it behind.

Back at the hotel, the 17-year old desk clerk checked with the maids who said they had not seen a wallet. I insisted she take us up to the room so we could look even though her computer showed someone else had already checked into Room 136. Meanwhile Fred was sick to his stomach at the hassles awaiting us. It was not in the room.

We stood by the car trying to rehash where that damn wallet could be, going through every step of our morning. As a last resort, Fred looked through his suitcase and "surprise!", there it was. How it got there will be a mystery for all time.

By now, we were mentally exhausted and it was late afternoon so we headed toward Puget Sound to find a place for the night. The Gig Harbor Motor Inn in Gig Harbor fit the bill. Located in 28 acres of woods, it was just what we were looking for. We booked a room for two nights.

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Sunday, July 11th

Gig Harbor, Washington

You really don't want to hear the boring details of our morning so I will start with our golf at McCormick Woods in Port Orchard. Fred found this course listed in our Golf Digest guide of the Best Places to Play. For the same money as we would pay to play Overlook at home, this course is rated in the top 50 of the country. It did not disappoint.

We played with two young guys from Seattle. Brian and Eric routinely drive 1 hour (with no traffic that is) to play golf in Gig Harbor. They love the area.

The course is in the center of a planned community but the houses do not intrude on the golfer's vision. The course is also a certified Audubon designated area and has strategically placed bird houses to draw rare species. We saw a deer and several rabbits during our round. The holes are strategically aligned so no other golfers were visible. The scenery was gorgeous and several dog legs required strategy that made the course fun. I had a great round finally breaking the 90's barrier, but Fred struggled. By the end of the round, he only had two golf balls left in his bag. The golf gods are testing his patience big time.

We had our playing partners take a digital photo on Hole #12 as Mount Rainier loomed in the background. However, that crazy mountain is still playing games with us. Much to our amazement, the mountain did not show up in the photo. Just when we thought we won the game, the mountain gets the last laugh.

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Monday, July 12th

Gig Harbor to Coupeville, Whidbey Island, Washington

We grabbed a donut and milk at the Safeway, and stopped in downtown Gig Harbor to eat our breakfast. Sitting at a picnic table on the dock by the marina we were rewarded with a tranquil view of the inlet. As we munched on our donuts, Fred observed that everything seemed to be moving slowly, as if a step behind the world. The water lapped quietly against the shore as boats, seemingly unhurried, glided by. A man and his yellow lab walked leisurely down to the dock, settled side-by-side into a small white dingy and slowly motored away. Even the flags appeared to be lazy as they waved in the gentle breeze. People were strolling by to gaze at the water as if they had all the time in the world. A two year old, proud of his Mariners hat and sunglasses, paused to say hi and then continued on to stare in fascination at the boats. This is what it's all about-taking time to enjoy the serenity that is available to anyone for free. All you have to do is pause long enough to notice.

Our drive up Route 5 through Seattle gave Fred a major headache since waiting in traffic is one of his pet peeves. The traffic was bumper to bumper for miles. We have never experienced anything like it when trying to get through a major city. We crawled at a snail's pace for what seemed like forever, so we opted to get off the Interstate and drive through the city. We did manage to catch a glimpse of the new stadium and the space needle. Fred does a great job of manuevering the Big Kahuna around and through city streets.

Eventually we reached the ferry to take us over to Whidbey Island. When we were in line for the ferry we saw a sign that stated a maximum height for all vehicles. Fred panicked for a moment thinking the BK was to high. Just to be sure we used a a device the ferry had to measure vehicles. We made it with inches to spare.

Whidbey Island is only accessable on its south side by a 20 minute ferry ride. On the ferry, Fred and I were like little kids jumping out of the Big Kahuna and running upstairs to the deck, first on one side of the ship, then racing over to the other side. Everyone else in our row, all regulars, stayed in their cars reading newspapers.

Our first stop on the island was the town of Langley. Langley, an adorable town, is a popular spot for the Seattle urbanites to vacation and was lined with shops and boutiques. We are staying the night in the Coupeville Inn, a clean, well decorated inn with a bright sun-filled room and balcony. We rented bicycles and pedaled the two miles across the island. Riding across the country roads, we were reminded of home. Crops were planted in rich brown soil, red barns dotted the landscape and cows grazed contently. Except for the snow covered peaks in the background, we could have been riding around on the back roads of Strasburg. I felt a little bit of nostalgia for good old familiar Lancaster County.

After returning the bikes, we had to hustle down to Toby's the only place in town serving food until 9:00. Every other store and restaurant had closed at 8. During our pleasant stroll down the three block Main Street, we found two mother cats and a bunch of kittens hiding out in the bushes. They would not let us come near them so we watched from afar as they played and hoped someone was feeding them.

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Tuesday, July 13th

Whidbey Island to Vancouver, British Columbia

We got up before six this morning and the sun was already a third of the way up into the sky. People that live in the northwest enjoy lots of daylight. It did not get dark last night until after 9:30. We walked down to the dock to take some pictures. It was especially peacefull in the early morning light. The kittens were happily eating out of a dish that was hidden under their bush. It was filled with cat food so someone is secretly feeding the resident kitties.

Back at the Inn, home made warm muffins, coffee and orange juice were waiting. When I complimented the innkeeper on the great muffins, he replied that he had a granny tied up in the basement. After taking some zoom lens pictures of a bald eagle that the innkeeper pointed out to me, we were on our way.

The customs line to get into Canada took us 45 minutes. The customs officer grilled Fred with questions, even making him take off his sunglasses to assess his honesty. He said he charmed her with his baby blues so she left us though without an inspection.

By the time we finally reached the airport, Jeanne and Albert were waiting on the sidewalk with their luggage. Traffic was heavy as cars and taxi's jockeyed for position along the curb. Horns were honking as I jumped out to hug Jeanne. We tossed all the luggage into the BK, Jeanne and Albert climbed in and off we went. We were so excited to see them. Albert appeared to be less than thrilled with this excursion he was on. His face was absent of any hint of a smile. He looked worn out. Their San Francisco experience had been trying and Jeanne launched into several stories. Let's just say the city of San Francisco did not endear itself to Jeanne or Albert. It was not until later in the evening that Albert seemed to finally relax.

Tuesday (cont.),

Guest Journalist Jeanne (she volunteered to give me a break!)

Joni & Fred met us at Vancouver Airport at about 1:30 pm. It was so exciting to see them after 3-1/2 months. After the negative experience Albert and I just had in San Francisco, I was really looking forward to this part of my vacation. I was excited to be in Canada-my memories of it were that it was wonderful place with friendly people.

After a slight detour (navigator Joni problems), we arrived at Chelsea Cottage Bed & Breakfast where we would stay for the next two nights. What a charming, relaxing, exquisite place to stay! Our hostess, Kim, had thought of everything. In the living room were videos, magazines, tea , coffee, brandy and sodas. Maps and tourist information were provided. Our rooms were so comfortable-big, thick duvets, robes and all the touches you would expect in a 3-diamond hotel. Albert and I had a room upstairs; we had to share a bathroom with the occupants of the other upstairs room. Joni & Fred had a patio and their own bathroom. I tried to persuade them to switch, but they refused. Joni claimed we discussed the accommodations when she booked it, but I conveniently didn't recall that particular conversation.

After we settled in, we took the bus into downtown Vancouver . We took the bus as our B&B was located in the suburb of Kerrisdale. We didn't have the exact change, but the bus driver (who could obviously tell we were tourists) said "Hop On!" and then inundated us with so much information about the city and which buses to take where. She got us change from a passenger so we were able to pay for our fare.

We got off the bus at Gastown, the original settled area of Vancouver. It still had the old style gaslights, bricked streets and tons of sidewalk cafes and shops. An old clock, run by steam stood at one of the intersections. It's steam whistles go off every quarter hour. Gastown was named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton, so named because he talked a lot (No, no South Park stuff here!)

While Joni & Fred went to Malones, a microbewery pub, to watch the All-Star game, Albert and I walked through Gastown and had dinner at Brothers where all the waiters wear monk's robes. The food was good and reasonably priced plus the waiters were very attentive. Later, we met up with Joni & Fred at Steamworks, another micro brewery in Gastown. Really neat place! It was very comfortable to sit and have a drink. The woodwork was a hard wood from Guatemala or Honduras. Despite the fact that it probably came from a rain forest, it was absolutely gorgeous! Upstairs was the bar and a restaurant area and downstairs was the brewery, a bar, the kitchen and a lounge area. It's difficult to describe, but for those of you who have been to The Adventurer's Club on Pleasure Island in Disney World, the atmosphere was somewhat the same, minus all the animal heads and stuff.

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Wednesday, July 14th

GUEST JOURNALIST - JEANNE MILLHOUSE

Vancouver, British Columbia

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! Sorry our phone call had to be collect, since the phone card would not work from Canada. We are glad you were home when we called! Hope you enjoyed the dinner at Willow Valley.

At breakfast, we met our house mates. Jennifer and her mother, JoAnn from Toronto, Canada were staying for the week. Jennifer had just been on a two week Outward Bound hike in the mountains with 8 other kids and two adults. It snowed the whole time and they suffered some mild frostbite. Ron was here from Alabama. He was going on a hike later in the week. Joni & Fred talked about their trip. Joni almost started an international incident when she remarked how she hadn't realized how beautiful this country (meaning the U.S.) is. She quickly recovered by including Canada in her statement!

After breakfast, we decided to take the trolley tour around Vancouver. First, however, we walked to the trolley stop instead of taking the bus-Albert's idea! It was actually a nice walk though long and we got to see some of the residential area, including the architecture and the foliage. The trolley goes all around Vancouver with 16 stops that you can get off, visit, and then get back on.

We got off at Granville Island. It has shops, a farmer's market and restaurants. As our bus driver of the day before called it-an artsy-fartsy place. It was nice though. We had lunch there, in the open air listening to a band. It was then back on the trolley. We got off again at the Vancouver Art Museum and had a snack and got some great bargains at the gallery shop. Back on the trolley, just in time as it was the last stop. We took the trolley the rest of the way around the city back to our original stop. It was very informative. We went through Stanley Park (named after Lord Stanley of Stanley Cup and other fame). We went past an Inuit sculpture, which was described by our driver as "representing a figure with outstretched arms, body and legs apart." Joni thought he was joking and laughed, almost causing another international incident!

Did you know that Vancouver is the 3rd largest city in Canada? And, depending which trolley driver you have, the 2nd or 3rd most densely populated city in North America, behind Manhattan and/or Mexico City. There are 40,000 people in one square mile.

You know what is really neat about these western cities-they are surrounded by mountains, so you see city and then these gorgeous mountains in the background. Really awesome!

We went back to our B&B and relaxed a bit. Then we had to eat (we seem to have done a lot of that). We stayed in Kerrisdale and went to Yanni's on 41st Avenue. It was OK, but nothing special. Back to the B&B and bed.

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Thursday, July 15th

Guest Journalist Jeanne continues her story

This morning we met two new housemates-Ron had gone and Mr. & Mrs. Sacco from Manchester, England took his place. Very interesting breakfast conversation-it's nice meeting people from all over the world. After breakfast, we packed and were on the road in the Big K heading for Seattle!

We arrived in Seattle in the early afternoon and checked into our motel. Our trip across the US - Canadian border was uneventful - no international incidents by Joni!

After we settled into our rooms and relaxed a bit, we walked up to the Seattle Center, where the Space Needle is located. This area was the site of the 1962 World's Fair. It still has the monorail to downtown and some of the amusement rides, as well as an international fountain - water spewing out of a big globe with flags from around the world surrounding it.

While we were at the Space Needle, we made reservations for dinner in the revolving restaurant at the top. After riding the monorail to downtown, we had a snack (more eating), then went back to the motel to rest up and change for dinner.

Since we had reservations to eat in the Space Needle restaurant, we were permitted to go up to the observation deck about for about an hour prior to dinner. Talk about awesome views! You could see the mountains behind and beside the city, the city itself, the harbor. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, Mt. Rainier was not visible, but other mountains were. As we were gazing at the city while waiting in the bar to be called for dinner, the sun slipped beneath the clouds, causing the tall city buildings to be bathed in sunlight. It was as though someone had flicked on a light switch. Pretty spectacular.

As 8:45 came and went, we began to wonder why we hadn't been called for dinner yet. Joni went and checked, and the hostess told her we had been called five times, but because we didn't respond, they gave our table away. Well, none of us heard our name being called, and we were all listening closely. Anyway, whatever Joni said to the hostess, we soon got a window table.

At the Space Needle restaurant, there is a per person minimum charge of $20.00 for food (drinks are additional). It was a very tasty dinner, aesthetically pleasing, and of course the view is wonderful. As Joni pointed out, if you subtract the normal $9.00 charge to go to the observation deck, the dinner prices become a little bit more reasonable.

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Friday, July 16th

Seattle Washington

More from Guest Journalist Jeanne

Today we went to the "Bite of Seattle". This is a HUGE restaurant fair, held in the Seattle Center. There must have been over 60 restaurants and other businesses showing off their food and products. Most of the food you had to pay for; however, there were some freebies, to which we bee-lined, of course. We threw the dice at the Muckleshoot Casino Booth, and each won something - deck of cards, stress ball, tote bag.

After we had our fill of eats, we took the monorail downtown to take care of something (a surprise for one of our family members, but we're not telling). Then we went to the Public Market. This is a huge market, full of produce, crafts, shops, and flowers. The flowers were just beautiful, such vibrant colors, and so many of them!

We continued walking down to the old part of town called Pioneertown. They try and recreate the feel of th 19th century. This area has some of the older restored buildings in Seattle. The center of Pioneertown featured a city square with a totem pole in the middle. We took some pictures, and then wandered into the birthplace of the United Parcel Service. It's a park in the city, described as an oasis for weary shoppers. It was a small park, but very peaceful, with this huge waterfall and tables and chairs to sit on.

At this point, since we were close to the Seattle Mariners' new stadium, Albert and I split from Joni and Fred. While they went to the game, Albert and I wandered back through the city and went back to the Bite of Seattle for more food and freebies. It started to rain while we were there, but that didn't seem to bother too many people. Hardly anyone had umbrellas. They must be used to it, since it rains so much here in Seattle.

I understand from Joni and Fred that they walked all the way back from the stadium to our motel. Apparently, no buses were running, and people were almost coming to blows over taxis.

SAFECO Field by Joni

One great advantage of having a ballpark in the city is the abundace of taverns and restaurants in the area. We had a wide range of choices for beverages before the game. We tried out a few (e.g. the Double Header Tavern) but, as always, ran out of time.

With a price tag of $518 million dollars, SAFECO Field should run itself. There were a few problems, which we attributed to being new and having a capacity crowd. The Pyramid Micro Brewery across the street, which we had hoped to sample, had a huge line.

From outside, the appearance did not measure up to the other new stadiums. Only one side of the exterior was brick, the other three sides were concrete and steel. The retractable roof had a huge super structure and dominated the skyscape at the Stadium much like an old railroad station roof. Local news articles blamed the high cost of the roof for the lack of outdoor asthetics. In fact, the local writers from the Seattle Weekly blamed the arrogance and ego of the Mariners ownership for the project going way over budget. The owners have not endeared themselves to the citizens of Seattle by asking the city to help pick up the tab. Supposedly the owners are subtley blackmailing the city for additional funds by threatening the financial inability to re-sign the teams stars, Griffey and Rodriquez.

Our opinion of the roof was a little different since it had started raining and we would have been soaked or worse, the game postponed. Even with the roof closed, the design allowed night sky and some of the city scape to be visible inside the stadium. As far as new stadiums go, we would have to rank SAFECO behind Phoenix and Arlington.

We always like to check out the bar/restaurant inside the stadium. At SAFECO Field the "Hit It Here Cafe" is located on the 3rd level. When we saw the long line of over 100 people waiting to get in, we were disappointed until I went up to ask if we could go to the bar. Much to our delight the hostess told us to go right in. We felt a few daggers stabbing our backs as we walked past the line. Inside, we were astounded to find lots of room and tons of empty tables. Evidently, the staff had a little fine tuning to do within their organization. We took a seat in the bar area with a view of the field and were waited on within seconds. We could not believe all those people were waiting in line.

Due to the sell-out crowd, the food and bathroom lines were long. We decided trying the hot dog was not worth a 45 minute wait. However, later in the game, I was able to sample the chowder.

The Mariners were on a 7-game losing streak which we hoped they would break, in this their second game at the new stadium. No luck, they lost to the Padres 2-1. The best part of the game was the peanut man in our section. He was a master at tossing the bags of peanuts behind his back into the waiting hands of his customers. He did not miss the outstretched hand of one single person and received applause from the section.

When we left the stadium, it was pouring. No taxis or buses were readily available so we walked downtown to the Monorail which then whisked us to within three blocks of our hotel. Seattle people must be used to the rain; no one else seemed fazed.