Returning to Seattle Briefly Before Flying to Anchorage

Cristine, Bill’s youngest daughter is getting married on Sept. 6 in Anchorage, Alaska, so we took M’A ‘turn to Seattle for a brief visit before flying there.  From Moses Lake, we drove on I-90, seeing some unique hay factory along the way. When Snoqualmie Pass came into view, we knew we were almost ‘home’. Our first campground was near Fall City.  It was recently bought by ELS Properties, owners of Thousand Trails and Encore Parks (our network) and we wanted to see how it was, being the nearest to Trisha (my eldest daughter)’s home.

Trisha, husband DJ, daughter Yeye, and son Kenji came to visit.  (I took care of Kenji, now 3 ½, from the time he was born until Bill and I started our never-ending cruise. I have missed him sooooo much.) Fortunately, the campground had a mini-golf course which has become his favorite play! It was too cold and it would not have been fun in the pool so Bill and I and DJ and Trish spent fun time at the pool table instead!

Back at our campsite, Bill started a fire (in our portable fire pit) and we went on to make tons of gooey, sinful s’mores.  It was too cold, however, so we quickly went inside and to cap the evening, Trish and Yeye tried to outdo each other in karaoke.  The following day we took Yeye on a shopping spree for a belated birthday gift at the huge Westfield Mall in Tukwila.  Sadly, I lost my leather backpack, being so engrossed on Kenji who was an absolute cutie! 

Next it was Krishna (my eldest granddaughter) and Randy (her boyfriend)’s turn to visit.  They had planned on staying for just one night but decided to experience the unhooking, the drive to Monroe, and the hooking up of M’A ‘turn at the next campground which had a working hot tub, heated pools, and river frontage! Bill and Randy dueled at table tennis while Krishna labored on a puzzle and I took pictures.

Of course we soaked in the large hot tub, swam at the adult pool, and also played mini-golf at the ‘difficult’ course! (Kenji would love this one more!) Bill and Randy would have gone fishing, too, but the guys who were collecting data for the Fish and Wildlife agency said the Chinooks were a bad run (only 1500 returning salmon) but the Cohos which were just coming in would probably be a better run in a week or two (that’s when we will be back from Anchorage). To cap the evening we played Rummik-cube!

The last day we had a visit to the dentist in Fife (Mt. Rainier was aglow!) and that’s when we found out that fourteen months of no dental care has taken a toll, on my teeth especially. When we come back I would have to have a four quadrant cleaning while Bill has to have another filling. This is definitely one of the big disadvantages of the cruising lifestyle. It does not help that our dentist is way up at the northwest corner of the US. We need one at a more central location that we can easily run to for a quick visit.  

And so, after a brief six days, we are enroute to the SeaTac International Airport, seeing the familiar sights again, beckoning us to come back after ten days: the Evergreen floating bridge, the familiar Husky Stadium of UW, and the towering Space Needle looming over the Seattle Skyline.  We also spotted a single-engine Cessna float plane preparing to land at Lake Union (which is where we got married on board Champagne Lady at 8 PM on 8/08/08), a Disney! Plane docked at the airport and then……the onerous security lines at the airport!  Anchorage……here we come!