My main intent for this trip to Seattle was to see my 7 great nieces & nephews. ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅
I also spent some good time with all but one of my nieces and nephews, and my sisters. I got a chance to visit my friend Irene again. We surprised her mom who I last saw at our high school graduation too long ago. What a special treat.
The Pacific Northwest is beautiful. It never disappoints.
Monte and I made a long weekend trip to Seattle to visit family – old and new. We have 3 new great-niece/nephew babies to meet, and my brother had a big birthday to celebrate.
The last time we were up in the Pacific Northwest together was 5 years ago. The last time all my siblings were together was over 4 years ago. So I was really ready for this trip 🙂
We visited the Museum of Flight just north of the SEA airport. This was my first visit, and I would recommend it. It has one of the largest collections of aircraft on display. We flew a flight simulator and did a barrel roll. We walked through a Concord, a 747, a 787, and one of the Air Force One planes from the Kennedy, Nixon, and LBJ administrations. The space flight exhibits are great, too.
After the museum, we drove to southern Washington to meet Byron, Rachel and Matthew’s 4-month-old baby, and my great-nephew.
The next day, we booked it back up to North Seattle and stayed with Patrick and Nga. We had a nice visit and a great dinner. And as a bonus, both their boys were home.
Saturday morning we made it to Noreen and David’s. We took the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry, popped into Poulsbo for coffee and a walk along the waterfront.
Saturday evening we had a party for Brian. It was wonderful to have all 5 of us siblings together again after way too long. We laughed way too much and enjoyed our time together.
On Sunday we walked around the woods in the morning, and watched the Seahawks game in the afternoon. Jared and Cass came over with their new twins, Nora and Viola, my great-nieces. I got to hold each of them for a while. They are tiny and precious.
The next day it was time to head back to the furnace that Austin is. On the way to the airport, we stopped in Port Orchard to see Fran’s kids, Rebecca and Aaron. They are 20 and 18 and each has a good plan for their futures. It was great to see them.
The only faces I didn’t get to see were Neil, who is working 12-hour days, 7 days a week for the next few months, and Julie, who is in Denver. But other than missing them, it was a perfect visit. ❤
Goodnight mountains.
Goodnight moon.
Goodnight Mom.
I’m going back home in the morning.
Nite, nite.
We tried a nice Indian place for dinner. I loved it. We took the long way home and waited a half hour watching the sun set behind the Olympics. Simply gorgeous. If we waited another 20 minutes it would have been even more amazing. Stay tuned. 🙂
My mom’s sister is here visting, another is arriving this week. Today they’re spending the morning together catching up. So, I headed out to go kayaking near Hood Canal with Noreen, her friend Tammy and her son, Matt. I think I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but it was a BEAUTIFUL day. The water was flat and calm, and the tide wasn’t fighting us too badly.
My front row seat:
This area is full of bald eagles. Here’s a pair that were watching us as we went by:
And yes, the obligatory panorama 🙂
TGIF, folks!! Time for another gorgeous mountainscape:
And a few of mom’s favorite flowers:
I took mom to a Dr’s appointment today. The Olympics were gorgeous.
Must. Take. Picture.
Fran and Art took me for a boat ride today after work. It was a treat, the weather was nice and the Sound was like glass. Its amazing how fast you can get from one place to another by boat in these parts.
This is a view of the Olympics from Dyes Inlet, The Brothers peak on the left.
And a view of the Seattle waterfront, from just off Blake Island, a ferry, hazy Cascades in the background, and the space needle far left.
So pretty. The sun setting behind the Olympic mountains.
Last night my mom and I went over to Noreen and David’s for dinner. Colleen and Jake drove over and joined us. After dinner we all sat around just telling funny stories for a couple hours. It’s nice to laugh like that. Everyone in my family is a comedian it seems…
Instead of driving all the way back to Seattle, Colleen and Jake slept at my mom’s, as we were planning on going to Francine and Art’s in the morning to watch the Seahawks game… a rare treat for me, since in Texas all that is usually on the networks is the Cowboys or the Texans (ho hum).
When I went out the front door to get the paper I was greeted by this stunning view of the Olympics. They seemed particularly white today.
Francine whipped up some biscuits & gravy and mimosa’s — breakfast of football divas 🙂 Noreen and David came over after church and we all cheered and screamed at the refs until the Seahawks won in overtime. Awesome!
When my family first moved up to this area it was 1974. In the preparations for yet another family move, in this case from South Carolina, I can recall being very excited about moving to a place with mountains and snow. And I REALLY wanted a house with a fireplace.
Well, I wasn’t disappointed. 36 years later I still love the mountains. And, I do still enjoy a fire in the hearth. But the joy of the cutting/stacking/hauling of firewood that goes along with it — not so much.
This area is on the west side of the Puget Sound surrounded by the Olympic mountains to the west and the Cascade mountains to the east. Long before I knew how to tell direction by looking at where the sun was in the sky, I knew to look for the mountains to get my bearings.
This is a shot of the beautiful Olympic mountains from outside of Seabeck.
Sheila365 