Wednesday – August 1, 2007

After a whirl-wind week, things have returned to normal. Let me hasten to add, it was a wonderful, especially the last 3 days with our daughter – the original threesome! Carol, arrived last week on Wednesday for her 4-day writer’s conference which was a fantastic experience for her. Besides the usual meetings and seminars, she presented a 60-second synopsis of her first book to an editor and a second presentation later in the day to an agent. To say her presentations were a success would be an incredible understatement – both all loved it and wanted to more.

I picked up Carol and Margaret on Sunday noon, and we went to Seattle to visit the Pike Place Market and some of the shops in the area. We enjoyed a great meal at Cutter Point restaurant, located at the north end of the Pike Place sprawl. After a short drive around down-town, we headed south to the campground for some well-deserved R&R.

Monday was a relaxed day. We went to the Red Wind casino for a buffet breakfast and a little video gaming. Carol was still on a roll and won $38 on a $5 investment. She promptly cashed out! Smart girl! Afterwards, we headed over to the Tumwater Falls Park – see photos from the last blog. It’s a great place to stroll and relax; then into down-town Olympia with lunch at Chopsticks, an Oriental Restaurant leaning towards Thai food style. What a treat. Stuffed, we returned home for naps!

Monday evening was a salmon feast at Connie and Harold’s place two kinds of salmon, prepared three different ways; roasted butternut squash, corn on the cob, and a fresh salad from their garden. All was wonderful!

Tuesday was Carol’s departure day, but not until late afternoon. So we headed back into Olympia for a late-morning breakfast at the Spar Café; a café dating back to the late 1800’s complete with many of the original trimmings / décor – and old photographs. We had eaten there a couple times before. A stroll, and then we headed north into Seattle to avoid potential traffic jams on the way to the airport.

We crossed Lake Washington on the pontoon bridge, Mercer Island, and enjoyed a light lunch on the shore of Lake Union where we watched the commuter seaplanes land – right over our heads – and take off. Kids were taking kayak lessons, some taking a quick dip in the cold water. Talk about a good lunch: Dungeness crab, California roll – more crab, and Ahi tuna, and so very good. The local Canadian geese gave us their tradition farewell salute and we were off to the airport.

There were two days of photo-op, so we had a hard time choosing. As a result, there are more photos than normal. I hope this doesn’t overload the blog-system!

Jacksonville FL had a event where there were statues of manatees on many street corners. In Custer, SD, there were buffalos on the corners. In Seattle, there were pigs – or more correctly, swine on streets and buildings. We finally found the proverbial “when pigs have wings, they will fly…”

The usual crowds at Pike Place Market – although there weren’t many fish flying. Lots of folks enjoying eating out.

On Tuesday, while dining on the shore of Lake Union, there was a pristine, Chris Craft available for rental. I would have liked to take a spin on that! The Space Needle is a sky-line fixture. And finally, a shot of Margaret and Carol, taken after checking out the various yacht’s for sale. There was a 92 footer for $3,775,000; but we didn’t like the décor, so we passed.