We were all wondering how long it would be to get the wedding pictures back from the photographer...well I understand her dilemma. It's tedious to sit and edit pictures. I had some photos on my phone...and it just took me a while to download, edit, etc. all the photos. I actually finished that...a couple of weeks ago...but once I got through step one...I ran out of steam.
I (obviously) don't write this blog because I have lots of followers...I do it for myself. I know I also have a few family members and friends who check in from time to time, but it's kind of a way for me to write down my thoughts and add the pictures. From time to time I do look back and read old posts. I have half-hardheartedly started one or two journals over the years...but find this blog makes it easier for me to combine photos and thoughts all in one place. So...I may ot write often...but I guess I'll keep going for now.
With that said...this post is a recap of our recent trip to Washington state.
My sister and her husband bid on a vacation stay at a resort near Seattle...last year at a hospital fundraiser. They "won" the bid, so plans were under way. We talked about it last September (2018)...and after a month or two they decided to plan to go this year in September. Seattle is a mid way point for all of us. It's approximately a 5 hour trip for them from Honolulu and about the same for us from Florida.
They also invited Tony's sisters and their spouses. Maris and Wim from Maui, Judy and Tom , currently in Washington, and Cathy and Andy from North Carolina. Andy and Cathy arrived a day before Martha, Tony, John and I did. They met up with Maris and Wim and Judy and Tom. They all spent a day and night in Seattle. The next morning the group from Honolulu flew in and John and I arrived a few hours later. We had a relatively easy drive from Seattle airport to the resort in Cle Elum. We drove through a rain storm or two, but there was not too much traffic on the road....so that was nice!
a few hours after the rest of the group. They had already been to the grocery store and they were checking out the house and the resort. John and I arrived and got settled in in our room down stairs. It was kind of nice...not quite as nice as the rooms upstairs maybe...but we had a bathroom to ourselves and the play/game room was also downstairs. We didn't have any kids running around...and that room was unused for the most part, so it gave us more room to watch TV, relax.
We planned ahead and brought some board games. Maris brought a couple, Cathy brought one or two and so did I. The guys were relaxing...the girls got right to the games.
It was great to have enough people to "play with" hahah At home it's usually just the two of us and most games are more fun with other players.
The plan was that each couple would be responsible for cooking dinner one night. Andy was already working on our first dinner when we arrived. We had a fir going...it was wonderful to be cool enough to want to sit near a fire!!!! When we left temperatures were in the 90's...with some days feeling like 104 !!! There was plenty of wine, some great food and some stories and laughs by the fire.
Martha, Tony, John and Andy had plans to golf the first day there. The girls and Wim and Tom went to play Pickle ball. There were lots of hiking trails in the area and a "1000 Step Challenge" down by the resort lodge.
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| river at the bottom of the steps/hill. |
Also just walking around the neighborhood was a good workout. (for me anyway hahaha) We lucked out...the weather was great.
The golfers golfed again on the second day, After pickle ball and/or walks, the rest of us set out to do some sightseeing. Judy and Cathy had a few places in mind. We all loaded up in our car and went to Leavenworth Washington. It's a "Scandinavian" themed town.
It was a picture perfect day and the town was full of colorful flowers and colorful in general. Everyone was friendly, it wasn't too crowded....after Labor Day...kind of quiet. We poked around in some of the shops, got some snacks, and met up with the guys (who knows where they had been haha) for lunch. I managed to find something on the menu full of bratwurst, kielbasas, potato etc. Not exactly my top choices for eating out...but I had some of the appetizers we ordered and enjoyed my lunch. Hey it was what I expected it to be. Pretzels and cheese.....helped hahahahah
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| we ate on the upstairs porch of the place with the red umbrellas- |
We wandered around a bit. Stopped in a coffee shop. One thing about Washington...there is no shortage of good coffee shops!!! I love it and if I lived there I'd probably be drinking coffee all day long.
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| view as we drove along. Little rain shower in the distance...but look at the colors of the day |
Other sight seeing trips we took were to the town of Roslyn. There are less than 1000 residents (if signs are up to date) and other than one street downtown...there didn't seem to be much else there. And yet...I kind of liked it
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| the Smith sisters |
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| always happy to act like a tourist |
. A coffee shop/bookstore (another thing Washington has a lot of), a couple of restaurants, some crafty shops and boutiques, a post Office and one storefront window that has the "set" of the" radio station" that was in the TV series "Northern Exposure".
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| on Facebook there were several comments about this sign...hahaha no comment |
Another time we drove out to a lake that Judy wanted to check out. There weren't many people around.....the place was mostly deserted. It was a longer walk down to the water, than you realized at first glance.
Because it was so quiet...it was kind of an odd feeling standing at the top looking down towards the water. I had a sensation that there was going to be a sudden dramatic drop off to the water. There wasn't...but it was weird the way it may me feel like it might....if that makes any sense.
There was one small camper and a few people down closer to the shore of the lake...we never really got close to where they were. There was also a boat launch area down there...so I imagine on weekends and in the summer there might be boats on the water. When we were there...just old big evergreens, driftwood and shells scattered about and sand.
We all went out to dinner one night to a place on the property. The Swiftwater Cellars, It was a nice bar and grill. Casual but nice. Everything we had for dinner was tasty. It was a little smoky in the place when we first arrived...but thankfully the sliding doors to the outside were open and it cleared out a bit. We had a fun dinner and were were especially happy that our reservation got moved up...thanks to Andy. Original time was for 7:45 (I think)... but got moved up to closer to 6pm. More than once that evening one or two of us looked around the table and commented "Thank goodness we got in early!...we would just be getting here"..etc,etc
Another afternoon Judy, Maris, Cathy and I were out walking along one of the trails. It took us along the road, through the neighborhoods, and eventually up near where the Swiftwater Cellars bar and Grill was located. We had no money with us...but we figured the group on the golf course would come bail us out...hahah or Andy and Wim would drive up with some $$. We sat down and ordered a drink and a couple of appetizers...meanwhile no one in the group was calling us back!!! hahah We were getting just a little nervous...but not really...we knew eventually one or all (all finally did) join us and bring money!!! It all worked out and we enjoyed a nice late afternoon/evening on the deck before we went back to the house for Tony's delicious chili that had been simmering all afternoon.
It was a great week. We had lots of laughs and lots of conversations. It was relaxing and fun for me to be part of the group. It was fun to see the Smith siblings interacting....they are a lot like my family. Listening to the stories it's clear they have spent a lot of time together traveling around the country and the world. I enjoyed listening and getting to know them all a little better.
Okay..if I keep writing and adding pictures...I'll still be typing this up next September hahah so I
ll close this out now. Till next time.....
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