WASHINGTON STATE, YEAR 3 September 5-12, 2013

Getting through Seattle with in two separate vehicles was definitely a challenge.  I drove the silver car, Paul had the new red SAAB on the dolly and we tagged along through the busy Seattle traffic, happy to finally arrive at the Puyallup Elks Lodge with only one wrong turn. Not bad, considering how hard it is to drive in busy traffic, watch the directions and stay together. 

We had plans to meet up with my cousin Shelley and her husband, Pat, at Duke's Chowder House along the Tacoma waterfront. What a wonderful evening catching up with them and enjoying great food. 

The next morning we were up and on the road to stay a few days with Paul and Katie Bauer. This time several wrong turns had us going in cirlces, terribly frustrating for me, but we finally arrived mid afternoon. It felt so good to be back at their beautiful home with the most wonderful view of Mt. Rainer. 

Paul was eager to check out the new car we had bought and Paul B joined in with the cleaning, letting PK change out tires right there on the driveway. 

Saturday afternoon we took a break from car concerns and enjoyed a Mariners Game in Seattle with enough time before the game for a visit with their daughter Karen and their darling grandchildren who are living closer to the city. From Karen's we took the metro right down to Safeco Park.  

  Such a fun warm evening for baseball and lots of laughs with Katie.

 The weather was fantastic and perfect for biking the trail along the Carbon River on Sunday afternoon. We put all the bikes on Paul's truck and had a beautiful drive to the little town of Orting. The trail took us to South Prairie and an iced coffee stop before returning. We were almost at the end of our ride when we all looked right to see the ostrich in the field and ended up in a triple pile up, adding a couple new scratches to my leg, memories of a fun afternoon.

Our last afternoon was time to try setting up our new tent and taking in the beauty of Mt. Rainier in  the distance.

We said our good byes on Tuesday morning and drove south to Battle Ground State Park north of Vancouver, WA. But this time we had only one vehicle to drive...Katie and Paul had offered (and we happily accepted) to drive our silver SAAB to California for us, as they had plans to be in Sonoma that week.  What a wonderful gift to us!!! Now I no longer had to drive a separate car and tag along behind the motorhome, I could get back to my old job as Navigator.  So nice!

 Dinner Tuesday night was with my cousin Margaret and her husband, Bob. Though we have been connected through FB these last years it was our first chance to spend time together and see where they live. Since their home is on a large property along some tiny country roads, they chauffeured us over and back from our campsite. Such service!

Bob and Margaret are great motorcycle enthusiasts who have spent several summers motorcycle camping in Alaska! Not an easy journey from my perspective,  but one they love. One of the things I like most about our life style is getting to spend time with friends and family which we otherwise might never have seen, and this was one of those moments; just wish I'd remembered to take a photo of us.


Before packing up Wednesday morning we took a walk with Foster all around the peaceful lake at the campground .

 The weather was really warm and the park so quiet.

 We stayed only one night and then a very short drive to the Vancouver Elks Lodge so we could take care of some more "business" with the new car. We'd never stayed near Vancouver, WA and had a wonderful evening walking along the Columbia River from the north side.