I am quite happy to report that my dear Hubby made it home safely from his “little” ride around the USA.
Just a little loop around the USA.
It seemed like he was gone for a really long time. Unfortunately, between the extra-busy load at work and a rather long to-do list of chores, I didn’t have much time to kick back, relax, and enjoy the single life. Not that I would prefer being alone all of the time, but brief intervals of being able to do what I want to do, or not do, according to my own schedule and/or preferences does have its perks.
Anyhoo… I was a happy girl when Mike pulled into the garage on Sunday.
Mike in Madawaska, Maine (the fourth corner)
In all, he rode 10,116 miles (16,280 km) in 14 days. He was gone for 17 days, but spent a day in San Diego with Shannon (our eldest) and her boyfriend, Chris. Then, after making his way north to Washington, he spent a couple of days with Amy (middle kid), her husband, TJ, and the grand kids. (Riding to Spain to visit Eric (our youngest) and his wife, Kelsey, is not an option.)
Shannon and Mike
Amy and Mike
Gaige, Amy, TJ, Brianna, Mike, and Joey
He didn’t take nearly as many pics as I would have. But he did capture some especially for me.
Safeway sign in Lakeview, Oregon
Look closely and you’ll see his motorcycle in front of that sign.
Big Fish Selfie in Ashland, Wisconsin
How about that for a mount?
Then, a couple days later, he shared this pic of him with the Babe he found in Rumford, Maine.
Mike and a Babe
Ok, it was some other guy’s Babe.
Paul Bunyan Selfie
Those selfies made my day, of course.
Paul Bunyan and Babe
He and I stayed in touch via text messages and phone calls, and we entertained each other with random pics during his trip. Like the next one.
Rain gear, again.
He could’ve just said, “It’s raining. Again.” But pics are more fun.
It pretty much rained on him, more on than off, from around Wallace, Idaho (near the Montana border) to Madawaska, Maine. It was cold, too. He wasn’t a happy traveler. But he persevered. He didn’t really have a choice, though, did he?
At least it wasn’t like the torrential rain he drove through in East Texas. Or the tornado-spawning thunderstorm he sat out in the wee morning hours on May 25 in Del Rio, Texas.
He knew, but didn’t tell me at the time, that that tornado hit about six miles (9.65 km) from his hotel.
Thick, Superior fog in Duluth, Minnesota.
That fog was courtesy of Lake Superior. He says it looked much thicker in person.
He did come home with a pretty interesting tan.
Tan Lines
And here he is with me, shortly after his arrival back at the Virginia homestead.
Yay! He made it!
Now we can get back to relative normalcy.
I wonder what’ll be next?
Four Corners Tour, Complete
If you enjoyed following along and wondered how the tracking was accomplished, here’s the scoop.
He used the SWConnect for iOS phone app and the SpotWalla personal location manager. You can learn more on the SpotWalla site.
This post, which is [finally!] being published a week after returning from our fabulous trip, is dedicated to my favorite son-in-law, TJ, who has undoubtedly been thinking, “Damn, she ignored us AGAIN!” Or something to that effect, but probably a bit more colorful… (I still haven’t shared the pics and report from our visit in September 2013.)
February is a melancholy month for my mother-in-law. So this year, to give her something to look forward to and create some fun February memories, we decided to take her out to Washington to visit with Amy and family.
Since my birthday happens to be in February, I planned the trip to coincide with that date. That was a fabulous idea, if I do say so myself, because it ended up being the best birthday weekend ever.
While winter can be an iffy time of year to travel to or from the East Coast, winters in the Seattle area are typically pretty mild. February temps in Seattle average between lows in the mid-30s and highs around 50. Snow is pretty rare. They might get a trace of snow a few times a year. Every four years or so, they might get a big three-inch snowfall. And it doesn’t usually stay around very long.
When we were there, the low was 21 and the high was 31. It was windy, too, which meant it was COLD. As you’ll see soon enough. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Back to my birthday (February 6)…
We flew to Seattle on Wednesday. The grand kids all had dentist appointments on Thursday morning. TJ, who ferried the kids to the dentist, stopped at Legendary Doughnuts on the way home to grab my birthday breakfast.
Legendary Doughnuts
The place is aptly named. Those things were OMG delicious.
After sampling pieces of several of them — they were HUGE — we all loaded into Amy’s friend’s Expedition, which seated all eight of us, for a drive into the city.
I’d been to Seattle twice previously, but had never made it to the world famous Pike Place Market. That’s the only touristy thing I really wanted to do. So my birthday seemed like a logical day to do it. I didn’t realize it’s an indoor/outdoor kind of place. With temperatures in the mid-20s, it made for a chilly excursion.
Pike Place Market
Rachel the Piggy Bank (market mascot)
Cold Kids
Checking out the market wares.
Dungeness Crabs
Chocolate-covered Washington Cherries (yes, we brought some home)
Frog! (no, I didn’t bring her home)
Cool Sign
Kid Entertainment
Lunch Spot
From the restaurant… a Washington State Ferry
Sadly, it was too cold for the Ferris Wheel. But I was tickled to get such a lovely peek at the Olympic Range, the mountains on the Olympic Peninsula we’d visited back in September.
View of the Olympic Range
After a delicious lunch,we paused for a photo op…
L-R, Gaige, Joey, Brianna, and Me
…and then headed to another Seattle landmark.
Space Needle
Actually going up into the Space Needle is TERRIBLY over-priced — $19 per adult! — but we figured the kids and my mother-in-law would enjoy it, so up we went.
They took this cool group photo for us.
Family Shot
The view from the top was nice. There’s an outdoor viewing platform as well as a fully enclosed space, which is good, because it was REALLY cold up there.
Braving the cold. Briefly.
Brianna
Me
Dena (mother-in-law), Amy and Mike
Pop and Joey
Mike (aka Hubby) and Amy
Pop giving Joey a lift.
When we left the Space Needle, Amy asked if there was anything else I’d like to do. She did a good job of not acting too disappointed when I said, “No. We’re here to visit with you guys. And since it’s so cold, let’s just go back and hang out at the house.”
Little did I know what surprise waited for me there.
Shannon!
Our oldest daughter, Shannon, had flown in from San Diego to spend the weekend with us, too. Hubby, MIL, and I were all completely surprised. And even more delighted.
But wait, there’s more. Shannon promptly got to work preparing one of my favorite dinners.
Pretzel Dogs!!!
I love hot dogs and I love soft pretzels. So you can probably imagine how much I love pretzel dogs.
Chillaxin after dinner.
But wait, there’s still more. It was my birthday, right? So there was cake and ice cream, too!
Chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream icing.
Man oh man. It really was the best birthday ever. And we still had a couple days of visiting ahead of us.
I was hoping to get down to Portland on Friday, but that city was frozen, literally, by an epic snowstorm. Instead, after the kids went off to school, the adults headed to the Sun Break Cafe for a light breakfast.
Half-order size of a chicken fajita omelet.
After breakfast, we went back to the house to relax. That afternoon, Amy and I drove to Sumner, Washington to visit Kristi’s Country Store, Amy’s closest Annie Sloan Chalk Paint retailer.
The mountain (Mount Rainier) was “out” (visible). Amy found a spot on the way back to her place where I could snag a picture.
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier
Me taking pictures of Mount Rainier (as captured by Amy)
It’s a really big mountain. We weren’t close to it at all, despite what you may think from the pictures.
We drove past Sunset Park on the way back to the house. So later, near sunset, Gaige and I walked to the park. I told him I’d be REALLY disappointed if I didn’t see a cool sunset from the park.
Gaige
I wasn’t disappointed.
Gaige, jumping in the sunset for me.
That shot of Gaige is one of my all-time favorite captures.
Later that evening, it was more chillaxin…
Joey and Pop
There’s more, but it’ll have to wait until the next post.
I mean, really. How can you not love the spectacle of it all? Small or large. Patriotic or cause-related. As long as there’s a band, I’m happy.
I realize this post is a bit late, but it’s been a busy week. Take a normally busy five-day work week, cram it into four days, and see how hectic things become.
I’m not complaining about the short week. I’ll take a three-day weekend any time. Especially when we get to spend it with the family. A couple of the kids were missing, but it was still nice hanging out with Amy, TJ, and the grand kids.
My last post talked all about what we did on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They left around midday on Monday. But not before we got to see the parade.
I love parades, but usually don’t go out of my way to see them. Until recently, seeing a parade would mean piling into a car, driving, fighting for parking, and then battling the post-parade traffic to get home. But now, since we live in this cute little town, we got to walk to the parade. It was all of about a four-block hike.
I don’t have a whole lot of time here, so I’ll just post my favorite pics and let the images (frantic snapshots) and their captions tell the story.
Waiting for the parade to start, we saw the cutest little bicyclist EVER.
And they're off, with the town police in the lead.
It was quite fitting to have the local ROTC group in the front.
They were followed by a conglomerate of adult veterans and active service members.
What's a parade without fancy cars?
And patriotic motorcyclists?
Proud to be an American.
Does this shot scream small town or what?
The local chapter of unicyclists. I never knew there was such a thing.
Love the VW! But I REALLY love that canine co-pilot.
And here comes the band!
Band mascots? The place was crawling with dogs. We even took our girls along.
No surprise that this is my favorite band section. I drummed a mean cadence back in the day.
We can't forget the Cub Scouts.
Or the Boy Scouts. Especially the Boy Scout on stilts.
Bag pipers and the Warrenton Fire Department brought up the rear.
It was short, but awesome.
The bagpipers reminded me of one of MANY funny kid sayings from the weekend.
Upon seeing one of the bagpipers before the parade, Joey said something like, “Why is that man wearing a skirt?”
Gaige, in his infinite eight-year-old wisdom, answered matter-of-factly with, “Because he’s a Leprechaun.”
Oh yeah, and the next funny thing came after I tried to explain how you can be Irish or Scottish, but live in the United States.
Brianna (11) and Gaige (8) were my audience. I said to them both, “Scottish and Irish really just explains their heritage. Their ancestors were from Scotland and Ireland, so they are of Scottish and Irish descent. You know, like how you guys are Italian, but live in America?”
When Brianna exclaimed with a look of confusion and disgust, “We’re Italian!?!”, I about peed my pants. I guess no one remembered to mention to the kids that they are part Italian.
It was the look on Brianna’s face that really got me. I so wish I had captured that image to share.
We enjoyed a very busy, relaxing, fun-filled holiday weekend with part of our family, chock-full of love, laughter, and lots of good food.
Amy, TJ, and the grand kids came down to visit, arriving on Friday afternoon and leaving around midday on Monday.
Getting to spend that much time with the whole family was a rare treat. Between TJ’s deployment and the family’s year-round busy schedule, I can’t remember the last time we saw them all together for an extended period. This was actually TJ’s first visit to our VA home. And we’ve been here for eight months! We were really glad he finally got to come down for a visit.
TJ, Amy, Joey, Brianna, and Gaige
We had dinner at home on Friday and the adults had a chance to just visit while the kids entertained themselves with Lego’s (pricelessly pronounced as “Yegos” by Joey) and movies.
Saturday started off early with a trip to the little farmer’s market here in town.
Jam Sampling
That was followed by a trip to the caboose. Joey loves visiting the caboose, which sits on an old railroad siding near the Warrenton Branch Greenway, a railroad bed turned walking/biking path that’s only a couple of blocks from our house.
Joey, Brianna, and Gaige
The caboose is a popular photo spot. As is the nearby shanty, where I’ve taken pictures of Amy and the kids on a couple of different occasions.
Family Portrait #2
I couldn’t decide which shot I liked better (first one in the post or the one immediately above), so I decided to use both. Aren’t they a cute little family?
While we were out, Hubby got the grill set up to cook a big chunk of pork (8-lb Boston butt), which we were to have for a dinner of pulled pork. He’d made a couple of different sauces a day or two earlier, a NC-style sauce (thin, vinegary, and spicy) and a mustard-based sauce. The NC-style sauce was TJ, Brianna, and Gaige’s favorite. Amy liked them all. Hubby and I still prefer our Salt Lick Original Recipe BBQ Sauce (a story in itself).
While the meat slowly cooked/smoked, the adults relaxed and visited and the kids found various ways to keep themselves busy.
Gaige and Brianna in the hammock.
They were starting to get bored. Amy and TJ were going to take them to the playground, but it was sweltering hot, so I suggested we just set the kids loose in the driveway with the hose to cool off.
Water play.JoeyJoeyLunch break.
I didn’t capture nearly as many water pics as I’d hoped because either their backs were to me. Or the older kids saw me and got those cheesy expressions. Plus I didn’t want to risk venturing out there with my camera. An almost-five-year-old with a wide open hose is a scary thing.
That and I think the heat made me a bit lazy. I hate to sweat.
Here are a few of the not-so-great shots.
Outtake #1 (pouting kid)Outtake #2 (slurping the runoff)Outtake #3 (cheesy pretend-I-don't-see-camera smile)Outtake #4 (let's look as bored as we possibly can)
After lunch, it was nap/chill time.
Nap time for Mommy.Chill time for Daddy.
The downtime for everyone (I spent an hour inside soaking up the A/C!) was short-lived. Then it was back outside.
Joey fighting the sprinkler.
Joey is a funny little thing. He’s quite animated and kept everyone laughing with his antics.
That’s one of my favorite shots. Definitely one to show him when he’s all grown up!
I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of the finished pork roast, which was a lip-smackin’, finger-lickin’ masterpiece. I guess it was because once it was done, we all switched to get-the-food-on-the-table gear. We’d been smelling that sucker cook all day long!
Saturday evening brought more relaxation. And then on Sunday, we all went to visit Luray Caverns, which is just about an hour west of here in Luray, Virginia.
Hubby gets the credit for thinking of that one.
Brianna, Joey, and Gaige at Luray Caverns
It was horribly busy (an hour in line just to get into the cave), but we made it work.
Pop, Joey, Gaige, and Brianna
Which is good, because the kids had a good time. And it was really cool, temperature-wise, inside of the cave.
Brianna, Gaige, Joey, and TJWalking through the cave.Hamming it up for the camera.Walking through the cave.Interesting rock formations.
After about a one-plus hour, 1.5-mile shuffle (it was too crowded to call it a walk) through the cave with Joey maintaining a constant discussion about bats (where they live, where they lay eggs, how they drink, where they sleep, etc.), we ate a picnic lunch on the cavern grounds and then headed home.
TJ and Amy took us out to dinner that evening. They said since they were treating, I had to pick the place. I chose Rancho El Paso, figuring a tasty Mexican meal accompanied by a very large, very strong Sangrita Margarita would be a great way to cap off the day.
It was. But the rest of the evening was sort of a blur.
Joey finally got his turn in the hammock.GaigeLoudest, most-animated application of insect spray ever.
We all sat outside for a while, then Amy and I took the girls for their evening stroll around town.
I really was there!
I always look like a giant next to Amy, who is all cute and petite. But since this is one of the few pictures with me in it, I decided to post it anyway. As the family photographer, I don’t get in many pictures (fine by me!) unless I remember to ask someone to take a picture of me.
While we were out walking, TJ got the kids showered and ready for bed. They all watched a movie while the adults stayed outside, visiting some more.
We got LOTS of visiting time in, which we really enjoyed.
Monday was fun, too. But I’ll have to save that for another post.
All in all, it was a lovely weekend. Hubby and I are truly blessed to have this crew in our lives.
Just a quick note to say Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms out there. Especially to my two Moms, of course. And our daughter Amy, who is also a Mom.
Mother's Day Cards
I got cards from all of the kids this year. Thanks, kids!
Hubby and I are blessed with three children of our own, a son-in-law, a soon-to-be daughter-in-law, and three grand children. They’re all spread out, and I won’t see any of them today, but I love them all just the same.
Oh yeah, and check out this awesome bag…
Bag with My Name All Over It
That’s bag definitely has my name all over it.
I love goofy stuff like that. Thanks Kelsey and Eric!
We went to Baltimore to visit our Moms yesterday. We’re lucky that both are still with us.
Now to figure out how I’m going to spend my day.
There’s flowers that need planting. Yes, that’s work. But it’s work I enjoy.
But then, it’s supposed to be sunny and 79 degrees today. I can already hear that blue machine in the garage saying, “Hello? Hello? You need to take me out today!”
Speaking of the motorcycle, I forgot to show y’all that I finally applied my favorite bumper sticker.
Bumper Sticker
The bike doesn’t have a bumper, so it’s on the back of my trunk.
I think I need to get at least some saddle time in today.
The older you get, the more you realize how important Mothers Day is to Moms. Especially Moms with long-empty nests who don’t get to see their families nearly as often as they would like.
Mike and I are very fortunate to have both of our Moms still with us. While we’ve spent quite a few Mothers’ Days in West Virginia in recent years, this year we stayed in Maryland. So we actually got to visit with both of our Moms yesterday. They were both happy to see us. Especially since we arrived bearing a card, flowers, and a gift for each. We haven’t done such a great job celebrating in years past because of the West Virginia place. So I’m glad we got to see them both yesterday.
And as promised in my Mothers’ Day post, I even made Hubby take pictures.
We stopped at my mother-in-law’s house first.
Me with my mother-in-law on Mothers' Day.
From there, we went to visit my Mom.
Me with my Mom on Mothers' Day.
We didn’t get to visit for very long because we’d spent all morning planting flowers in our yard. (I do have pictures, but they are on my other camera.)
As for our kids, we only saw one of them yesterday. Of course, Shannon lives with us. For now. She’ll be moving to California at the end of this month. I haven’t said a whole lot about that here for a couple of reason, one of which is I’m just trying not to think about it.
Speaking of Shannon, look what she had delivered on Saturday. A whole box of chocolate-covered strawberries. Just for me. 🙂
Yum
The strawberries were delicious. I did share them with Hubby and Shannon, even though the card that came along with them specifically said NOT to share. Meg got some, too, but not because I wanted her to. (When I was eating the biggest strawberry, the chocolate cracked and fell onto the ground. Chocoholic Meg was on it quicker than I could even blink.) Amy called me. She spent the morning with her family having a picnic in the park. Eric sent me a text message.
Is it just my family or are greeting cards becoming a thing of the past? I always made sure both mothers and my grandmother got cards from Hubby and I on Mothers Day. When the kids were young, we got the mothers and grandmothers separate cards from the kids, too. I’m thinking the Internet/cell phone/text message age is making greeting cards obsolete. Which is a real shame. I know my Moms would have enjoyed cards from the grand kids, too.
On another note… I’m in West Virginia with the doggie girls. We’re having the kitchen cabinets at our Maryland house refaced. It’s easier holing up here with the dogs than having to deal with them for several days while trying to work with strange men going in and out of the house making all kinds of construction noises.
Everything is green
I snapped a few pics while out walking with the dogs just past the crack of dawn this morning (crazy morning bitches!). Look how green the trees have gotten.
Morning fog in the hollow.
A thick fog blanketed the valleys this morning. Isn’t it amazing to see how much the trees have filled in? Summer is most definitely just around the corner.
VERY green trees.
The trees are all very green and very full.
Fading Dogwood blossoms.
The Dogwood blossoms are definitely past their prime.
Redbud tree with not even a hint of pink.
The Redbuds are completely finished blooming. Even if the pink is gone, I still get to enjoy them because of the heart-shaped leaves.
It should be an interesting, and quiet, week.
I hope all of the Moms I know had a happy Mothers’ Day. Don’t worry Dads, Fathers’ Day is just around the corner.
