Here We Go Again!

Ok, so who can remember as a kid thinking that summer break lasted nearly forever? When those long, hot days stretched endlessly, and you actually thought you might die of boredom? What happened???

We got back from our last road trip the end of May and didn’t plan on heading out again until early September. We’ll be home the WHOLE summer, we said, as if somehow it would last nearly forever. Well it didn’t. In fact, I’d like to speak to the powers that be that find humor in setting my life on fast forward and leaving it there! 😊 

I guess we shouldn’t complain that summer passed in a blur since we were mostly busy having fun. Although I’ll warn you now, if you usually read the blog for travel tips and tons of national park pictures, you might want to skip this post.

So what did we do? There were more puppy playdates than I dare count, happy hours with friends, a couple movies at Seattle’s Cinerama theater along with the requisite stop for ice cream at Salt & Straw, and evenings with Riley at the local Brewmaster Taproom. We hit several Mariner games, including Bark at the Park. Riley even brought a date! Not really, but we attended with our friends Kathy and Ron who brought Allie, their one-year-old mastiff and Steve with Bea, a Bernese Mountain Dog. Luckily the folks in front of us were pretty tolerant of big, drooly dogs leaning over their shoulders. That’s why we always travel with an extra towel or two. Lol.

Ready for the game!

The puppers and their people enjoyed the game, plus we got to walk the bases!
(But no watering the field. Lol)

In June, Rog and I flew back to Pennsylvania to visit my brother Tom, his wife Kim, and their family for a week. We had a great time and spent hours catching up (and by that, I mean telling stories and swapping lies). We found a brew pub named after our rig – the Short Bus, which was an obvious hit. A family BBQ included birthday celebrations and an exciting announcement that baby Eden was being promoted to big sister along with a gender reveal that involved balloons, confetti, silly string, and smoke – all in blue. Lol.

At the Short Bus Brew House.  It was meant to be!

Jennifer & Justin - happily expecting a new baby boy!
Tom cuddling the granddaughters - yes, this will be the first boy.  

Dog shows kept us hopping in July and August – Puyallup, Portland, Sequim, Enumclaw. Whew! The good news – Riley finally finished his championship! All hail the conquering hero! Lol.  We also found a new type of competition that is more fun for Riley than strutting his stuff around the ring. It’s called FAST CAT (Coursing Ability Test) and is a timed 100-yard dash chasing a lure. He wasn’t too sure what he was supposed to do the first time, but he caught on pretty quick and should be nationally ranked as soon as they get his last time posted. (Note – that is not as impressive as it sounds, the top 20 dogs in each breed are ranked and there are only 16 mastiffs on the list. 😊)  

Riley gets a 3-point major in Sequim.

The judge gives Riley a look - and the win for our final point!
Yes, I did a happy dance. 

Then in August Tom came out to visit us and we told more stories and swapped more lies. (Nope, we never seem to run out.) We picked a beautiful day for a drive around Mt. Rainier, gathered family and friends for a BBQ, and drafted Tom to help out at Enumclaw dog shows. Then, much too quickly, had to put him back on a plane to PA. 

Tom & Riley....  A Kodak moment at Mt. Rainier.... and the Usual Suspects - Tom, Mom, Mike, Tim, Teddi and Rog.

Mt. Rainier.
See you did get one national park in the post!

We also snuck in a week of camping at Ft. Casey on Whidbey Island in August. We did a guided kayaking tour on Puget Sound with our friends Kathy and Ron who live on the island. The area is beautiful and historic Ft. Casey is very interesting, but the real draw (at least for Riley) was beach time with Allie, Pebbles, and Bea!

A motley crew is about to cast off on a sea kayaking adventure!

Historic Ft. Casey.

Admiralty Head Lighthouse.

We loved walking the beach.                                             Mother Nature's driftwood sculpture.

Beachcombers put a lot of effort into building driftwood structures.

And, of course, Riley had a fantastic time on the beach!

Somewhere in there, Rog did renovation work on the decks, I crawled around on my hands and knees and covered our ugly cinderblock foundation with stone veneer and we did all the other necessary adulting duties from which there is no escape. Whew! If we die, I promise it won’t be from boredom!

Our housesitters, Jack and Denise and their adult son Andrew, arrived and we spent several days getting to know each other. Lovely folks, who will cuddle the kitties and hold down the fort while we’re gone. So what about the road you ask? Yep, I’m finally getting to that I promise! We left a little after noon, Monday, 9/2, and had a beautiful drive across the mountains to the Bonair Winery in Zillah, WA.  We parked in a level, grassy field with vineyard on one side and orchards on the other. Another superb Harvest Host site! We stopped by the tasting room and Rog managed to find both a red and a white that he liked, no arm twisting there. Lol.

Harvest Host site at the Bonair Winery.

Riley liked the tasting room too. :) 

Our jello plan is to set a leisurely pace with stops at Dinosaur National Monument and Rocky Mountain National Park, with the ultimate goal being the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in early October. Definitely a bucket list trip and we hope you’ll join us!!