The Grand Finale

Instead of going to downtown Seattle with the rest of the gang, on Sunday (4th of July) I chose to spend the day with my friend Holly and her family.  I've known Holly since I was 12 - longer than practically any other person outside my blood family.  We don't get together very often - and that includes email, snail-mail, phone calls or visits - but I try to work in a get-together whenever we're in the Seattle area, even if it's just a meal between flights.  =)  By opting out of further geocaching events, that meant more time for visiting with friends.  YAY!

 When we arrived at the Gorski household (Sheri and Phil accompanied me on my adventures), we were immediately asked our preference for a puppet show: shadow puppets or real puppets.  We ended up getting both, from the imaginations of the two older boys (the baby is only a few months old, so he's not interested in participating... yet...).  So cute!

Sheri and I spent the rest of Sunday and the better part of Monday (up until it was time to go to the airport) visiting.  Nothing super-exciting, but all of it enjoyable as I reconnected with Holly and her family.  They're so great!  Sheri was wonderful with the baby - if he was fussy at all, he'd settle right down and go to sleep when she was holding him.  For me, the first encounter was the usual: semi-sleepy, content child gets handed off to me and less than 30 seconds later he's upset and crying.  Hand off to Sheri and 30 seconds after that he's happy and drifting off to sleep again.  I did get in some holding time where the baby wasn't fussy - which happens so infrequently that it's practically a miracle.  Seems that once the babies get to toddler and older they're okay with me, but the small ones and I just have some kind of issue...

One of the bits I'll remember fondly about this visit: Holly, Sheri, and I were in the kitchen warming up pizza for lunch.  The oldest had been sent to his room for some type of misbehavior.  He sent a note out via Corey to Holly that read something like this: Please quit toking (talking) and make lunch.  Very funny in retrospect (and I totally wish I'd taken a picture of his note), but let's just say he didn't get out of his room any sooner...  =)  After some tears and making up, lunch was a happy, energetic event.  Holly and Corey certainly have their hands full with the three boys, and the baby isn't even mobile yet. I can only imagine...

With enough time to collect Greg from his hiking adventure and get our luggage loaded in the car, we met up again at The Cheesecake Factory.  First time I've been there, and it was tasty!  We'll have to go again sometime, when we've got a bit more time to relax and visit.  After mechanical issues with the plane, we made it home safe and sound.  Greg even got to nap for an hour before he had to get up and go to work (I took the day off).  The highlights of this trip for me are related to the people I was spending my time with:

• Sheri's foaming toothpaste that tried to kill me the first time I used it (there *is* such a thing as too much toothpaste, especially for the foaming kind where a little goes a very long way)
• The Lighthouse Tour with Sheri and Greg
• Scoping out the wild outfits at GeoWoodstock with Chachee and Sheri
• Spending time with Holly and her family

All in all, a superb trip with plenty of happy memories.  And now it's back to the daily grind.  =)

GeoWoodstock, Sheri, and all that Jazz...

The onset of this trip was fraught with stress.  Somehow I misread the departure/arrival times for our flight and thought we were leaving for Seattle at 5pm and arriving at 9pm on Wednesday (06/30) - instead we left at 1:30pm and arrived at 5:50pm, a WORLD of difference for us and for Sheri (who picked us up).  I took Greg to work (at 4am!), went back to sleep intending to get up at 8:30am, and woke in a panic at 10am - when I was supposed to be picking Greg up from work (so we could get food before going to the airport).  An hour late, we were on the way directly to the airport instead - sans breakfast.  It worked out okay - made it through security, met Aaron for lunch at Chili's, got to the gate a few minutes before they started boarding...  and we're on our way!!

I got pictures of two new vending machines I'd never seen before: Best Buy, where you can get iPods and games; and a lottery vending machine.  The trip to Seattle is going to be a whirlwind - is there any other kind of trip when Greg's around?  I call it the trip to Seattle, but we're actually not going to spend much time there (if we go at all).  We arrived at SeaTac last night, had dinner in the Renton area (Olive Garden, YUM!), then headed down to Portland to spend the night there.  Got some tasty beverages for the road.  Of course I had to have my Rock Star, but we found a new one we just had to try.  It's actually pretty tasty - although you might never guess by the name: Kickapoo Joy Juice, the Original Dogpatch Recipe.

Early this morning, we left our comfortable beds at the O_EL to get breakfast with one of Greg's cousins, then meet friends to do some geocaching.  The main purpose of this trip is to attend GeoWoodstock - a major geocaching event, where loads of people are descending on the area to... get together and cache?  Something like that.  I'm a day behind in my post - haven't covered anything from today, but it's midnight here and we're going to be starting early again tomorrow.  So I'll leave you tonight with some teasers...

Whirlwind - The Return

It's hard to believe the weekend is over already - even though I know that regular weekends go by super-quick, and extraordinary weekends would therefore go quicker. I'm trying not to think about having to be at work tomorrow morning (a thought I struggle with every Sunday...). =) Greg & Sheri made the trek to the storage container to get the couch, while I stayed at the apartment to pack (and to sleep a little longer).

From there, we split the group. Sara had lots of things to get done before work, so she stayed home while the rest of us headed out to Puyallup via the lighthouse that's in the girls' neighborhood. Greg got a cool picture of the (rather plain) lighthouse, with a smiley faced tree in the foreground. Somehow I missed that entirely. We hooked up with Holly & Corey for a late lunch at the Olive Garden. (I've yet again heard rumors that we're going to get one - but I'll believe it when I see it, I guess...)

Sheri took off after lunch to run some errands - we'll hook up with Sara & Sheri on the way to the airport for what was going to be dinner, but will instead be desserts (since I was full of bread sticks and salad). Anyhow, Greg got in the rest of his shopping, and then we found a cache in a nearby park to give Holly,Corey, and the boyos their first find.

It was nice to spend the afternoon with them. I only wish we'd had more time. I always wish we had more time. More time for visiting, more time to spend with family, more time at the museum, more time to watch the leaves bloom.

We made it to the airport about an hour before the flight. Were intending to be there sooner, but we spent too much time visiting. I'd rather spend the time visiting than sitting in the airport reading and waiting. We were lucky and made it through security and to the gate with plenty of time to spare. Had enough time to pause and take a picture of a new vending machine. Lotto tickets from a vending machine - who'd have thought? =)

After note: Stacy was so kind as to pick us up at the airport at midnight - not just at the curb, but she actually parked and was waiting at baggage claim for us. How sweet! We got home just fine, and were unwinding (Greg was shoveling the snow that fell while we were gone) when I got a call from work. The volcano erupted earlier tonight - I need to go in to cover computers (I posted earlier here). How fortuitous! If I'd already gone to bed, I wouldn't have had my cell phone and would have missed the call. Additionally, flights after ours were rerouted or returned - so we were apparently lucky to have arrived at all. Looks like I'm back to work a little earlier than expected...

It was a *fantastic* weekend - a total blast! And now it's time to get back to my regularly scheduled life.

Whirlwind - Day Three, Experience & Roller Derby

The girls have some really nice views where they live. Greg went running in the mornings to continue his marathon training. Since my camera is easier to carry when you're running, I have the shots he took. Unfortunately, my camera is not as good as his, so most are pretty blurry. There are a couple that turned out good. This is one:

Sheri had a morning work meeting, so Jeannea (great sport that she is) and Greg took her so Sara & I could get a little more sleep. We met for a late breakfast before heading into Seattle. Off to see another floating bridge, a troll, and The Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. Long name, cool place! Check out the site here. The troll under the bridge was a geocache (of course), but it was much cooler than I expected. Actually, I'm not sure what I expected, but not a 20' tall stone sculpture hidden under a bridge close to downtown Seattle. If you look closely, it has a car under it's left hand (the one Sheri is standing on), and a hubcap for an eye. On the way back to the car, we saw several of those pretty pink trees that are in bloom everywhere (in contrast to back home, where everything is still covered in snow and not even *thinking* about blooming yet).

From there, it was just a matter of maybe 10 minutes to downtown Seattle, where we were meeting Holly & the boys at The Experience Music Project & Science Fiction Museum. I need to go again, with more time. At least a day. If I get done sooner, I can wander downtown for fun places to eat or sights to see, but I need that time. I took in the visual aspects, but there was lots of reading or listening that I skipped, in the interest of time. Places to be this evening. We did the whole SciFi section (quickly), but didn't make it through the entire music section. Plenty of cool things to see, but there was lots I missed too. Next time. It was great to get to spend some time with Holly and the boys - I really appreciate that they made the effort and braved the traffic to meet us there.

The guitar scuplture is actually programmed to play music. They have listening stations set up so you can hear what's playing. There's also a basement or lower floor that we didn't even get to - Greg and his tag-along buddy found that we'd missed the entire first floor. And Holly, Sheri, and I (and our tag-along buddy) didn't even finish the second floor (that I thought was the first floor) before we headed up to the next level. All in all, a great time - but I need to go back and see/hear/experience more. There's even an el (train, monorail, elevated bus on a track, whatever) that goes through the upper part of the building - I want to try that!

Holly & me =)

Greg & the boyos

We had to cut the afternoon short, since we had to journey to Lynnwood (Edmonds Community College) for... ROLLER DERBY!!!! Wahoo!! Our Anchorage team (Rage City Roller Girls) had an "away game", and so Greg & I introduced Jeannea, Sara, & Sheri to their first game of roller derby. It was an absolute blast!! Although I do have to say that I think we do things better in Alaska. The crowd in general, that is. We're more energetic, enthusiastic, and excited. And we have a beer garden. Wahoo!! ;) Our girls didn't win, but they played hard and did exceptionally well - seeing as this was their 4th bout ever and they were playing the regional champions. I'm excited for the next bout (April 11th), but a little bummed that Sara will be gone already and Jeannea won't be here yet - so neither will get to experience roller derby Alaska Style. Oh well. There'll be more chances... Greg was photographing the event, so my pictures are courtesy of him.

After the bout, we went to the "after party" for the teams. Didn't do much socializing (the girls and I didn't - Greg wandered here & there to visit with lots of people, as is his style) because it was hard to find a seat, and then really loud so conversation wasn't really feasible. We did get to chat with Mr. & Mrs. Furious (the first time I've actually met Mrs. Furious, although I've heard about her several times from Greg) for a bit, and spent the rest of the evening doing our own renditions of the karaoke songs being played... Overall, it was an enjoyable end to the evening. I've been having a blast spending time with the girls!!

The Girls
(picture courtesy of Greg)

On tap for tomorrow: domestic chores (moving a couch, packing), visit Holly & Corey in Puyallup, time to go home...

Whirlwind - Day Two, Sara's Birthday

Today was a busy, busy day - but *loads* of fun! We broke fast together at Sara's favorite breakfast joint, Black Bear Diner. The food was good, and they have some of the biggest biscuits I've ever seen!

We made reservations for dinner - three times, since I set one up for only 4 and we actually have 5 people. I called back to adjust the number in the party, but there wasn't a table to accommodate 5 until much later, so I canceled. Called back one more time because we decided the later time would actually work just fine for all of us. With that worked out, our group split up. Greg & Jeannea went caching and Sara & I went shopping. I found a milk vending machine at the mall - and they have leather couches for weary shoppers to rest on! Way more fancy that the wooden benches I'm used to.

From there, we hooked up with Sheri - she got off work early so she could spend a little more time with us while we were visiting. Yay! She's been in her new position for just a few weeks, so I got to see her new store and we went to a late lunch at one of the places within walking distance. The area she works in has lots of options for dining and a cool skyline. I took some pictures of some of the interesting looking buildings - I'll be updating my Flikr site with the extra pictures that I don't post here.

I also like that there are sculptures decorating the plazas and open areas. It's a very aesthetically pleasing area. Sher - I hope things go well for you in the new position and that you enjoy it! =)

We spent a few hours at the Rock Bottom Brewery, where we had lunch and visited. The three of us spent lots of time laughing... I don't even remember what we were laughing about, just that at one point Sheri was laughing so hard she was silent (and crying). Ahhh, fun times!

I like the cool architecture of the area and that there's so many things to go do and see. But you really have to plan for traveling. When I plan for things here, if I've got an extra hour I can go home - there, it would take almost an hour to get home, then you'd be late for wherever you were intending to go. And traffic. Here rush hour traffic can be a pain. But there? Rush hour traffic makes a 35 minute commute into almost two hours. Man, that's harsh! Definitely pays to live in the area you work in - but sometimes that's not feasible, so you're forced to spend more of your precious free time traveling in a car.

Those are some pretty big drawbacks, but I also noticed some pretty cool things too. Already mentioned the architecture and the soccer games at 11pm in March (previous post). I was also watching the world green up and bloom. In just the few days we were there, I saw leaves pop out and flowers bloom. In contrast to the cold and snow back home, it was extremely nice to enjoy wearing jackets. Even the rain wasn't that bad, since it was warm and changed to sunshine often enough that I was glad I brought sunglasses.

So we headed downtown to meet Greg & Jeannea for dinner. Sara took the route over the floating bridge - pretty cool. (I guess they've got more than one floating bridge, since we went over a different one on Saturday. Not something I would've thought of, since all our big water is tidal, so you can't build the bridges on the water. But floating bridges apparently work just fine over enclosed lake waters.) Got to park at Sara's work (and Jeannea's - they work for the same company) and walk a few blocks to the Space Needle. The Seattle skyline is another really cool view. We finished out the evening at the Space Needle. We arrived early enough that we could check out the view before the sun went down, and again after dinner when it was dark. An amazing view. Of the 1 to 2 dozen pictures I took, only four turned out because I just have the cheesy point-and-shoot camera (but it suits me, and I can fit it in my pocket instead of carrying a whole bag devoted to a camera and camera accessories - looks like I'm not getting into advanced photography anytime soon). The ones that turned out are pretty cool.

On tap for tomorrow: The Experience (Music Project and Science Fiction Museum) in downtown Seattle - Holly and boys are meeting us there; then roller derby - yeah, baby!

The Whirlwind Begins (Thursday)

I meant to get up earlier today, so I could get some stuff done before we left. I meant to leave work by 4pm, so I could be home, packed, and we could be at the airport by 5pm. I meant to eat dinner before we left the airport. The best laid plans of mice and men...

From the airplane

I got the last of my laundry in the dryer before I left for work. Then, after balancing meetings and last minute projects, and the daily minutia I left work by 4:20pm. (I really should tell myself to leave at least a half hour before I need to - that way maybe I'd be on time. Even though I know the "real" time I have to leave, if I'm aiming for earlier, maybe it would help me get out when I should instead of 20-30 minutes late... Can I trick myself? Can I tell myself one thing and know that I really mean something else and have it work out? Who knows, but maybe I should give it a shot next time...) Anyhow, now we're not so far behind, but not where I wanted to be either. James was at the house to pick us up before I even got home.

Dinner is served!

Packing went quickly, but since I didn't write things down we left things home. Meant to bring Jeannea's mail to her. We'll have to ship it. Meant to bring the sausage Greg picked up for someone. It's still in the freezer. Meant to have the last glass of apple beer from the growler. Will have to dump it out when we get home. Oh well. We made the flight. Yay!

Interesting airport finds

The flight went smoothly, and I got to read ~100 pages in a book that's been sitting on my desk for almost a year. That'll teach people to loan me books! =) Found a new vending machine in the Seattle airport - an equipment charger. Hmmm. That's new - but I can *totally* see how it might be handy. And we found the Alaska Lodge. Looks like it's a little food/bar joint. Had some neat pictures on the wall, but I wonder how "Alaskan" it really is. =)

Weather here is cloudy and rainy - but at 11pm it was 50 degrees. I'll take warm rain!! On the way to the apartment, we also passed people playing soccer. Won't see that back home. We won't even see soccer during the middle of the day for quite a while - since the fields have to thaw and dry out - let alone 11pm... Anyhow, we've settled in and made plans for tomorrow, so it's time to hit the sack.

Nice view from the apartment.

On tap for tomorrow: Breakfast for sustenance and then the split. Jeannea & Greg are geocaching all day; Sara & I are shopping then hooking up with Sheri for more fun. We all convene for dinner at the Space Needle to celebrate Sara's birthday. Yay!!