01-13JUL09 - Monroe, WA

Now that we are camp hosts here at the Fairgrounds RV Camp it means one of us should be here at all times (even though there is hardly any business). In spite of being “tied down” we did manage to visit a few of Dan’s relatives. First was an evening get together at cousin Steve Ruttner’s and wife Jainene’s house, along with Steve’s brother (aka another cousin) Rick Lee and wife Sharon. See below BLOG link for previous details. Steve & Jainene have a lovely older home on the side of Queen Anne hill in Seattle with a view of Elliot Bay and the Olympic Mountains to the west. The neighborhood appears very friendly, with people dropping by just to visit (especially if there is an open bottle of wine involved). Steve prepared an excellent build your own burrito buffet and we (mostly Dan, Steve & Rick) reminisced about childhood adventures at Grandma Jean’s & Grandpa Fred’s on Capitol Hill in Seattle, or at the forty acre farm in Redmond.

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/05/01-14may09-monroe-wa.html

We also found time for dinner with Dan’s Aunt Madeline Harris along with her daughter (aka another cousin), Sheila Morris. See below BLOG link for previous details. Madeline has a beautiful backyard full of flowers, veggies and fruits. In fact, Sheila and Corrie spent sometime picking loads of fresh raspberries. We had a delicious meal prepared by Madeline, and then the reminiscing started. We had brought two old photo albums (they appear to be mid to late 1940s era) from Dan’s sister Sharon’s in Texas, that belonged to Dan’s mom. We spent hours going through the photo albums and many of Madeline’s photos. Eventually Corrie had to kick Dan in the leg to remind him that it was getting late and we still had 45 minute drive home to the RV.

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2008/10/13-25sep08-everett-wa-and-dry-lake-red.html

Also during this time period was Fourth of July at the Fairgrounds, and we had a front row seat for the fireworks (as always Gumbo’s favorite). And Dan had a business trip to New Orleans, where he got to spend two evenings with our daughter Rebecca and son-in-law, Raymond.