Friday - Aug 25th - Olympia, WA

Sorry about missing Wednesday and Thursday. I’m sure many of you are hanging on every word – well, maybe not. Lots happening and to summarize, we arrived in Olympia, WA, Tuesday evening, tired but alive, i.e., Margaret did not slay me as she promised many times.

We left Yakima, WA late Wednesday morning. Weather was beautiful, sunny, in the mid 70’s. Went west on US 12 between Mt. Rainier and Mt.. St. Helens. The drive is spectacular, running beside the Naches River up to the crest and then down into more valleys and canyons. Unfortunately, because we were in canyons and on mountain-sides for most of the drive, we couldn’t see either Mt. Rainier or Mt. St. Helens. And by the time we were out in the open, the coastal clouds had arrived and blocked any view.

Because of road construction, I took an alternate route out of Morton, WA along Washington Hwy 508. Pretty, but probably not good for Margaret’s nerves. Although you couldn’t tell from the map, Hwy 508 is a narrow two-lane road winding through farms and forests, along rivers, and over NARROW bridges. The bridges were so narrow, that had I been unfortunate enough to meet another large vehicle, one of us would have to stop – and that’s no exaggeration.

Margaret was worried most of the way, but the motor home handled well. Maybe not sports-car – and I was possibly driving too fast (I didn’t think so) – but we motored through successfully. Margaret was pretty quiet except for the clink of the prayer beads. When we finally came out at Interstate 5 in Chehalis, she announced that she didn’t think she’d ever see civilization again. I admit, that after a couple of hours on back roads, you begin to doubt your route choice.

Anyway, we arrived in a small, wooded campground in south Olympia, just off I-5. Heavily wooded spots with almost full hook-ups (no TV). The spaces are a little small, but I am becoming familiar with backing the beast and was able to get into the slot without knocking down any trees or trash cans. I know I did well because none of the other campers came out to look and laugh!

Wednesday evening we went to bed early without much activity. I was too pooped to put sentences together so I thought it best to pass on the day’s blog.

Thursday morning was spent getting the rent-a-car. Enterprise came “all the way” from Olympia to get me. I know it’s only about 7 miles from down-town to the RV park, but it seems like a long way. They’re pretty good about this service.

We spent most of Thursday getting the motor-home spiffed up for company and recovering from Wednesday’s drive. Thursday evening we visited our friends in Olympia, Connie Wright and Harold Cleveland. We dined on their superb cooking – I think I gained 5 pounds from the meal – and enjoyed every morsel.

Friday a.m. we were able to participate in a routine that has become the norm when visiting Olympia. We (Connie, Harold, Margaret, and I) go to the Nisqually Red Wind casino where they have a sumptuous breakfast buffet. As a senior, it cost $4.00. What a deal.

Another benefit of being a senior at the casino is with the purchase of a $20 gaming ticket, they throw in another $7.00. Pretty good return on investment. After breakfast, we played for about an hour. Our gambling consists of the penny slots. But the payouts are pretty good (for a casino). After one hour, Margaret was up $50 and I was up $70. We will probably go back there next week a few times to stuff ourselves on breakfast and win some more money to help pay for the travels (yeah, sure!).

I mentioned in Tuesday's blog visiting a town called Toppenish near Yakima and their murals, but neglected to include a photo so I am putting it in today's. It was a small park downtown. The town is quite photogenic, probably a good place to spend time put together a photo story. Maybe next time? (After all, it's in the middle of wine country!).

Wayne