Lovely, clear (DRY!) Seattle for Christmas. Mom brought out a family heirloom, a wooden binder made by my great grandfather Roy, which he lovingly inlaid with wood - the letters say "Stories Grandma Told". On the precious pages within are stories from my great grandmother Grace. Sarah had never seen it, much to my surprise, and she was delighted.
Fun was had, and almost a million $$$ was raised for Boys and Girls Club of King County at the annual auction in Seattle. We matched "raise the paddle" donations for our table, and they were VERY generous with our charitable fund :)
Boys & Girls Club of King County gives kids thirteen locations in the greater Seattle area to have fun, be creative, have a hot meal, get help with homework, join a team, and have positive, caring adults in their lives. Famous members? Denzel Washington, Usher, and my fabulous daughter Sarah!!
Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, WA sits on a former gravel pit. I used to live close enough to hear the dump trucks beep as they backed up in the middle of the night. It always seemed such a waste of a great view. Ah, but this Cinderella story has a happy ending.
In 2007, Pierce County decided to make it into a public links golf course, and they hit a home run AND scored a touchdown. Chambers Bay will be home to the 2010 US Amateur tournament and (drumroll, please) the 2015 US Open.
This is the way to go... hiking in 8 miles with nothing on your back and letting the llamas do the work! Our friend Grant is the proud owner of Harley, Gusty and Bucky - the llamas that carried in about 80 lbs. apiece so we could enjoy our tents, pads, sleeping bags and great fresh food on our Mt. Rainier hike. It was Mike's birthday weekend, so of course it included an alpine lake swim. Brrrrrr!! Grant whipped up a fantastic carrot cake (with a candle).
Llamas are bred for their strength as opposed to alpacas that are bred for their wool. They were stubborn @ times, but really fun. They have their own personalities, likes/dislikes. They were actually pretty patient as they were petted and photographed maybe 50 times on the trail?! They ate crabapples out of our hands, and were quite happy tethered in the meadow near where we camped for 2 nights. We only got spit on once - Gusty and Bucky were spitting at each other and we got caught in the crossfire.
We camped at the edge of the lake you see in the second photo. The stars at Mt. Rainier were incredible - we were at about 5,000 ft. with NO lights anywhere.
Oh, yeah baby!!! I can cross this one off my bucket list. Thanks to our friends Joe & Debbie Sulc for hosting us at the Glendale Golf & Country Club in Bellevue (near Seattle). It's a tough course! This par 3 was over the creek, up the hill and 138 yards. I bounced it in front of the green, then it just rolled about 12 ft. uphill into the hole. Woohoo!!
Ever the humbling game, I couldn't hit the ball sideways on the next hole and had to pick up. But you still can't wipe the smile off my face :)
Does watching other people exercise count as a fitness activity? Niece Jessica completed the Danskin Triathalon (she swims! she bikes! she runs! she rox!) for the second year in a row. Quite impressive, I'm as proud as if I did it myself (only I'm less sore than she is...) Niece Megan (Jessica's sister) was there to root her on, too :)
This was a feel-good-sisterhood event with over 5,000 women participating - you GO, girls!!!
The Mariners scored a tasty victory over the Texas Rangers (oh yeah). Niece Jessica and her husband Anthony (gloved and ready to dive for any foul balls) came with. Great game, hot peanuts and now we're hoarse from yelling. Sweeeet.
This event has been a favorite in Seattle for over 35 years. Contestants must build and race vessels using only milk cartons for floatation. Above the water, anything goes. Here were our picks from the 2009 crop - Boeing's corporate vessel the "CreamLifter" and an octopus wielding milk cartons!
My stepdad, Stan, turned 85 this June. He's a WWII veteran, and believe it or not his first car was a Model A Ford. He was born in 1924: the year IBM was founded and Wheaties was introduced.
In lieu of Wheaties, we had Mom's stellar poached wild salmon (it looks green because it's covered ever so carefully in cucumber "fish scales". Martha Stewart eat your heart out...
After weeks of rain (for which we were conveniently out of town), Seattle shone like a gem on this May weekend. Sunshine, 70 degrees, Pike Place Market humming with flying fish and lilacs that take your breath away.
But after all, what is a city but the people in it that make it special? Here are some of the "Whine" women who gather for fermented grapes and gossip once in a while. From the left, Wende Wahl, Terry Jones, me, Valerie Lynch, Ruth Wacker and Wendy Oliver crouching in the front. And yes, the Space Needle really does sprout from the top of my head.
Son-in-law Brian Rowe has graduated from Seattle University with his law degree, cool-guy master's tam and purple ponytail. That's my daughter Sarah with the green hair (they must have fun in the haircolor aisle!) and granddaughter Gwen. Brian's specialty is intellectual property law, and he's the founder of Freedom for IP at www.freedomforip.org
In honor of this auspicious occasion, 20 of us took him out for lunch @ Buca de Beppo...at the pope's table, of course. Check out Brian's cool pope hat!
Not just your run of the mill sledding...we were on cookie sheets going down steep Madison Avenue between 2nd & 1st Ave in downtown. That first shot is Mike's back - there was a guy jumping over him as he went down the hill. A total kick in the pants!!!
Surprise! It's Dan, Mike's brother from Illinois, who snuck in undetected to roast Mike with a great speech at the dinner...something about how everyone knows Mike goes 90 miles per hour with his hair on fire.
Below is Mike with 4 of his many former assistants...these brave veterans could handle Mike's classic request "Do what I mean, not what I SAY"!!
Here we are with Christina, this is the civilized part of the party. You can see how serious it is, because Mike is wearing his TUX. This was before the nerf machine guns, silly string and flying dinner rolls.
Check out the awesome cake! The plane says, "Leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again" Mini frosting Mike has his arm out the window for a thumbs up!!
This is the view from the balcony in our condo in downtown Seattle right above the ferry dock. There's no place like home...isn't this a spectacular sky? My mom (the artist) would say that if you painted a sky like that no one would believe it!
Inside the Cessna 182, we have future pilot Madeline and copilot Alana with mom Christina looking into the cockpit. They really got a kick out of sitting in Grandpa's airplane and watching the planes take off!
She blew her top in 1980, and now has an eerie presence with a little steam from the center portion. Although the greenery is coming back, the amount of downed trees, looking like so many toothpicks is still a stunning sight.
Mike climbing Mt. Shuksan, in the North Cascades. Clear day, no parka required, fantastic views! We'll have more of these trips next year, if you want to come along!
We took in this spectacular view from the plane on the way back from Sun Peaks to Seattle. The North Cascade Mountain range spans the border between British Columbia, Canada and Washington state. It's 20 minutes of heavenly views from the plane in every direction. The peak in the back is Mt. Baker, at 10,778 ft.
When you're flying a small airplane, you set a flight plan with U.S. Customs before you take off. Air traffic control keeps very close tabs on small planes crossing over the border, and U.S. Customs officers meet your plane when you land. Captain Raney did a fine job!
Surrounded by thousands of tulips, it definitely feels like spring! There were tourists here from all over the world - we heard German, French, Japanese and Russian spoken. Everyone was taking photos of each other - no translation required... not sure we'll see anything like this in Vegas!
March 31 was opening day - and the coldest in Seattle since 1967. Here is the color guard next to a giant flag unfurled on the field while the National Anthem was played. That alone was enough cause for goosebumps... but so was the snow that started in the 5th inning. We were thrilled that the M's pulled off a victory against the Texas Rangers, and that someone had the forethought to design this stadium with a retractable roof!
P.S. We skipped all the traffic mess and walked about a mile and a half from our condo to get to the game :)
Aberdeen is a little town on the WA peninsula that also happens to be the actual hometown of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana fame... "Come As You Are" is one of Nirvana's hit songs...hence the chamber of commerce sign. Not exactly the counterculture they were looking for...
Definitely wet, but beautiful, green and mossy. This is near Lake Quinalt on the Washington peninsula, west of Seattle. It was raining in Seattle, so we thought we might as well be in the rainforest!
Now that we've moved, this is less than an hour from our condo - sweet! Nice little warm up, since we haven't skied in a year. The elevation here is low at about 4,000 ft. but cold enough for some good snow!
A pirate wench accompanied by no less than Julius Caesar Salad!! Yes, complete with a scepter made of salad tongs and garlic, adorned with lettuce and croutons in his crown.
Look closely at this island green as Mike tees off. The whole thing is shaped like an apple, with a sand trap for a "leaf" and a bridge for the "stem". What a great tribute to the Apple capital, Yakima!! And yes, we both made it to the green, and got pars. :) Must have been the energy we got from eating all those apples...
Did you know that Washington state produces 58% of the apples eaten in the United States? This orchard weaves through Apple Tree Golf Course in Yakima. You can pick fresh apples while you are waiting to tee off! These are by far the best apples you will ever eat - fresh off the tree, unwaxed, crispy and sweeeeeeet.
Cool! We were lucky enough to get the last public tour EVER to climb the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. You can see the 1950 bridge on the left and the new bridge on the right. We were 510 ft. over the water!! The bridge extends downward below the water 230 ft. An amazing feat of engineering - check out the Washington State Department of Transportation website for a computerized animation of the process. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr16narrowsbridge/animated/
Over beautiful Elliott Bay with downtown Seattle in view, we took a late summer parasail on Mike's birthday. This is actually what we did on our first date, 5 years ago!!
Along the shores of Lake Washington, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels thrilled the us along with the rest of the crowd. It was fast, loud and unbelievable precision flying!!
Waving to the crowd, shaking hands and kissing babies. Hey, it's Presidential election season, right? Photo op courtesy of the Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle :)
Yup, this is the original location at Pike's Place Market. We're here with Mike's brother Steve and his fiance Cathy from Illinois. Check out the Starbucks mermaid logo - she used to have actual breasts, but now she's green and definitely G Rated.
For Sue's 2nd annual 49th birthday!! A good time was had by all, complete with a 4 hour soundtrack of great music (Mustang Sally, Good Golly Miss Molly, Runaround Sue, you name it!
Below is just part of our wonderful deck painting crew. Other jobs included roof, fence and window box repair, install of new pantry floor and install of 6 second story through-the-wall air conditioners. Wow. On top is a shot of the whole group - amazing job, everyone!!
A little remake of their vegetable garden! There were two of these - we dug them out, put down weed barrier cloth & new soil and plants. The residents here really like to see plants from the garden end up on their plate!
Before (top) and after (bottom). About 40 people attacked this project and many others in one day. Rainier Investment Management employees along with Ironworkers and Carpenters rebuilt and landscaped this retaining wall area for the Lincoln Group Home for the mentally disabled. The railroad ties here weight 500lbs apiece!!
To celebrate Mom's 77th... we had (top row) my daughter Sarah and her boyfriend Brian. Bottom row from the left is Mike, Brian's daughter Gwen, Mom, my niece Jessica and her husband Anthony. It had been a long time since we'd all worn birthday hats :)
Oh, the views you get when snowmobiling on a clear day. Here is Mt. Rainier - at least 20 miles away from our viewpoint and as clear as a bell. Every once in a while when it quits raining (!) you realize just how beautiful the Pacific Northwest really is!
And well and frozen in the snow at Leavenworth, WA. KOHO radio is the local station of Icicle Broadcasting. Despite the face he's a hunka hunka burnin' love, he didn't melt much snowpack...
The skiing was slushy and foggy, but the hot tub at the Sleeping Lady Lodge was spectacular. It was a "spool" or spa pool, with all natural rockery. And no, we didn't roll in the snow. At least not this time :)
We did a snowmobile rally where we had to go to 5 different locations to draw cards and see what poker hand we came up with. Mike ALMOST had a full house...
Check out the fountain in front of our house - it's still running, but barely! The driveway is a skating rink. We have another winter storm predicted for tonight.
Mike was a Fortune Teller - a whole BOOTH in fact! Here he is with his assistants Tina (left) and Heather (right). Heather was the Morton salt girl, so Tina was "Pepper" all day.
Yours truly played a round of golf complete with a large hat with spiders hanging from it - great for keeping your head still!
Larry Richmond, mayor for 16 years, took us around Chewelah on a 3 hour tour of the sights. Lots of trees and rolling hills, farm country, beautiful lakes. The people here were so warm and friendly (our B&B just left the door unlocked for us). It was a nice slice of Americana for the weekend.
The aiport here loaned us this car for $10 per day. Not only did it have this cool searchlight, but also flashing lights (they warned us not to use them, but we pulled into a back road and couldn't resist) and exempt plates (we could park anywhere). Sweeeet. Mike shone that light as we drove around at night, scaring cats and necking teenagers alike. He swears his next car needs to have one of these gizmos!
Chewelah is tucked up in the northeast corner of WA state, north of Spokane. We've chased deer, rabbits and squirrels off tee boxes to play golf, but this was a first...wild turkeys!! There is wildlife aplenty here - prior to landing the plane, you have to buzz the airstrip to scare off the deer.
Mike and I participated (burp!) in the Rainier Investment Management company picnic pie eating contest. All the pie you could eat for 30 seconds. Note my chocolate mustache and Mike's whipped cream face! Mike came in second, but claims he would have won had his efforts not been hampered by a pre-contest pie in the face. Must have been payback from the water balloon fight!
That's Brian on the left and Jay on the right, photo taken with some ingenious balancing and an automatic timer. Anyone game for some rock climbing? A trip to the Grand Tetons may be in the works sometime next year...
Mike made it to the top!! Fortunately, he also made it back down safe and sound, tired but very satisfied. He gave this trip an A+ rating and will be looking for hiking companions for the next trip with these same guides. Anyone game?
Near Leavenworth in central WA, this trip was Mike and a couple of guide buddies. They hiked up with 50 lb backpacks, set up camp and then clipped in and scrambled up the rock face.
Blaine, WA next to the Canadian border, eh? Great clinic - we learned a lot from Mike Adams, great instructor from Florida. I think I learned more than Mike, since I'm a relative newcomer to golf.
Hiking at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic Nat'l Park, WA
A spectacular but hot 90 degree day - we took a short hike, came back early after we realized the deer flies were really biting. The view was worth it... we see the other side of this mountain range from our house.
Winthrop is a little town in Eastern WA - with elevated wooden sidewalks, a saloon and ice cream parlor. This western dude is pretty cool, huh? I think his name is Woody.
Any score under 110 at a regulation course = new clubs. Any score under 100 at a regulation course = trip to Scotland. I shot 103 at Dungeness (in Sequim, WA). Yee hah - I'm on my way, at least to buy clubs!!! :)
The flight over to Port Townsend was spectacular. These are taken from the plane. All the mountains were out in postcard perfect views. On the left is the final approach at Renton Municipal Airport. If you overshoot the runway, that's Lake Washington ahead of you!
Sarah and her boyfriend Brian took us to brunch at Manresa Castle in Port Townsend. Beautiful place - apparently its past history includes use as a convent and a monastery. We spent the night in a hotel that used to be a brothel, so I guess we have the whole spectrum covered!
Anyway, delicious food - and great company, of course!
The last Saturday of April each year we volunteer with Rebuilding Together. Mike's company - Rainier Investment Management or RIM is the sponsor (pays for supplies) and RIM employees volunteer, along with friends and family. This year we fixed up a Boys and Girls Club in Seattle - new paint job, replacing sod in a play area, building a retaining wall in the driveway and funding the purchase of a new couch and lights for their teen room. Local Ironworkers and Carpenters volunteered their time along with us - a fun and rewarding one day project.
