I Wonder as I Wander…

Another trip to Washington State, this time we flew in and out of Seattle, but the retreat was in Moses Lake—which is half way across the state. And, we brought my mom along and planned a visit with my cousin and her family who we hadn’t seen in many years.

The trip started with Bob, mom and I driving to Mpls and staying at Richard and Ross’ for a couple nights. It works really slick when we go to the cities, because they have wireless internet, so I can work there just as if I was at home. Also since Richard is our computer tech guy—he’s able to work on our computers—which he did while we were there—HUGE thank you Richard.

I wanted to see “Singing in the Rain” at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, which had run over the summer and was about to close. We were able to get tickets for Wed. evening, so Mom, Ross, Richard, Bob and I went. We had a lot of fun, ate a lot of great food including desserts that we shared, and the production was really good. And, of course, for the next couple days I had the songs “Singing in the Rain” and “Good Morning, Good Morning” going through my head. A colleague of Ross’ was at the theatre with her family, so we got to meet her.

Going to the theatre did put us home late on Wed and we had to get up early on Thurs. to catch our plane, so we were a little tired. And, we had an unusual experience at the airport. They weren’t open! We got there a little before 5 am and none of the counters were open. Our flight was at 6 am—and they tell you to get there early, but I guess ‘not too early’. Even after we got checked in—there was only one security gate open—and that was at the opposite end of the building from where the ticket counter was. The others didn’t open until 5:30 am. But we had mom with us and had asked for a wheel chair, so they took us through the medical and employee security—and we did make the plane in plenty of time.

The flight was uneventful and we were able to nap a bit. After we got to Seattle, we found my cousin’s house and settled in. We had a nice visit and then went to a neat restaurant for supper. Since we had a short night, we went to bed early.

The next day, we left mom with my cousin, picked up Phyllis, and headed over to Moses Lake. It is so beautiful going through the mountains. Although the last time we did that trip, we took Hwy 2, which winds through the mountains more than the Interstate does. I think I’ve mentioned that I love mountains—so anytime we get to drive through the mountains—we usually take the slower route. This time we had another person riding with us and wanted to spend more time with the family.

Moses Lake is a neat town—it’s in Eastern Washington—so is located in the high desert. That means it’s usually hot and dry. Although there is a huge lake there—which is really pretty. The college is an old Military Base that they purchased for $1. We were on that campus a little over two years ago. They were doing some remodeling at that time—it looks really good now.

The retreat went very well—we had great food which was prepared and served by the college caterers. On the way home, we stopped for gas and there was this neat store and coffee shop (there’s a coffee shop on every corner and in every little town in Washington). The store had lots of wonderful Christmas decorations and lots of gourmet food—which was set out so you could taste. We bought some ornaments and Chai teas.

When we got back to my cousin’s house—three of her kids and their families were there. We had a nice visit with them. This is the first time we had met a couple of them and the others we met only at my uncle’s funeral. The family is really fun loving—lots of practical jokes and smart remarks. It is wonderful to realize that we are related to such neat people.

The next day, we went to a McDonalds for a birthday party for one of the little girls. All four of my cousin’s kids were there, as well as their families and some friends—so there were about 8 little kids and 12 adults. I sure wish there had been restaurants with the neat play areas back when I was a kid—or even when my kids were young. They look like so much fun.

After the birthday party, we drove over to the sound and hopped on a ferry and went out to one of the islands. It was windy and cool on the ferry, but fun to be out on the water and see the islands. Seattle has the most elaborate ferry system in the world. We had lunch at a seaside restaurant which overlooked a marina. We had some great seafood! When we were going back to Seattle—it was just getting dark—so the lights from the city were coming on—really beautiful!

We were on the red eye back—so our flight left just after midnight and we got back to Msp at 6 am. I think we all slept pretty good on the flight, but we were still really tired when we got back. Ross picked us up at the airport and we went out for breakfast. Then he dropped us off at his place, he went to work, and we went to bed for naps. When we got up, we drove home. Another great trip! Have I mentioned lately that I love to travel?