On Friday night, 01OCT, we headed to the “Edmonds Center for the Arts” to hear the Cowboy Junkies in concert. The center was the theater of the old 1939 art deco high school and only seats 320, so there isn’t a bad seat in the house. The Junkies music isn’t rock & roll, but a hard to classify blend of blues, jazz, rock & country. You can hear samples of their music on their website. Dan attended numerous concerts in the past & this was the first one he remembers where there was no security, you weren’t searched, & alcohol was available for purchase in the lobby (& you could actually carry your drink to your seat). It was a great show, in a great setting!
http://www.edmondscenterforthearts.org/index
http://latentrecordings.com/cowboyjunkies/
The next day, 02OCT, it was off to Everett for the “Sustainable Life Expo” at the PUD center; followed by the Sausage Festival in support of Immaculate Conception & Our Lady of Perpetual Help School. The Expo was sponsored by the Public Utility District (ie the power company) & featured many vendors displaying their energy saving devices, as well as presentations & talks. The sausage festival was a disappointment because it wasn’t about sausages at all, it was just a small neighborhood fair with a German theme. The only sausage available for purchase was your standard bratwurst. Everything else was standard carnival junk food with the German word DER in front of it (eg Der Taco, Der Elephant Ear).
Meanwhile on Friday, 08OCT, Dan was bringing the RV back from the mechanic shop, when some idiot tried to pass him on the right & dive back into the left lane during rush hour on US 2. Unfortunately he misjudged the space available & his left rear corner clipped our right front corner. Amazingly our fiberglass RV received almost no damage, while his luxury crossover didn’t do so well. Dan got out of the RV and was accused of causing the accident! They traded insurance info & waited for the police. When the police arrived the man wanted the cop to ticket Dan! The officer said they no longer write reports on minor accidents & that if he did, the other guy was 100% at fault!
12OCT turned out to be a sunny day so we headed into Seattle to explore Broadway on Capitol Hill. Broadway used to be a “high end” shopping area for the well-to-do that lived on Capitol Hill (like Dan’s paternal grandparents). First stop was lunch at Julia’s. For over half a century this restaurant was previously Ernie Steele’s Restaurant & Checkerboard Room. Many consider it Seattle’s first sports bar, but now it is a restaurant that is a “gay” cabaret at night. Ernie was a famous UW football player who played in the NFL for a few years. One year as he was driving from Seattle to Philly for the next NFL season; he made it to Montana, stopped, turned around, & returned to Seattle to run his restaurant full time. On more than one occasion Dan & cousins would be sitting in the restaurant eating a burger & fries, while the Dads & Granddad Fred were in the Checkerboard Room enjoying their favorite beverage. The food may be better now, but the “atmosphere” has certainly gone down hill!
http://latentrecordings.com/cowboyjunkies/
The next day, 02OCT, it was off to Everett for the “Sustainable Life Expo” at the PUD center; followed by the Sausage Festival in support of Immaculate Conception & Our Lady of Perpetual Help School. The Expo was sponsored by the Public Utility District (ie the power company) & featured many vendors displaying their energy saving devices, as well as presentations & talks. The sausage festival was a disappointment because it wasn’t about sausages at all, it was just a small neighborhood fair with a German theme. The only sausage available for purchase was your standard bratwurst. Everything else was standard carnival junk food with the German word DER in front of it (eg Der Taco, Der Elephant Ear).
Meanwhile on Friday, 08OCT, Dan was bringing the RV back from the mechanic shop, when some idiot tried to pass him on the right & dive back into the left lane during rush hour on US 2. Unfortunately he misjudged the space available & his left rear corner clipped our right front corner. Amazingly our fiberglass RV received almost no damage, while his luxury crossover didn’t do so well. Dan got out of the RV and was accused of causing the accident! They traded insurance info & waited for the police. When the police arrived the man wanted the cop to ticket Dan! The officer said they no longer write reports on minor accidents & that if he did, the other guy was 100% at fault!
12OCT turned out to be a sunny day so we headed into Seattle to explore Broadway on Capitol Hill. Broadway used to be a “high end” shopping area for the well-to-do that lived on Capitol Hill (like Dan’s paternal grandparents). First stop was lunch at Julia’s. For over half a century this restaurant was previously Ernie Steele’s Restaurant & Checkerboard Room. Many consider it Seattle’s first sports bar, but now it is a restaurant that is a “gay” cabaret at night. Ernie was a famous UW football player who played in the NFL for a few years. One year as he was driving from Seattle to Philly for the next NFL season; he made it to Montana, stopped, turned around, & returned to Seattle to run his restaurant full time. On more than one occasion Dan & cousins would be sitting in the restaurant eating a burger & fries, while the Dads & Granddad Fred were in the Checkerboard Room enjoying their favorite beverage. The food may be better now, but the “atmosphere” has certainly gone down hill!
Trivia – in 1943 Ernie played the entire NFL season for the Eagles & the entire very same NFL season for the Steelers; how did he do it?
Then it was off to the Lake Washington Arboretum, part of University of Washington Botanic Gardens. This is a beautiful arboretum/park that is free & has many displays & trails to enjoy. It is also home to world class Japanese Tea Garden that does charge admission. It has been many years since we visited the Tea Garden, & need to put it on our “to do” list.
Then it was off to the Lake Washington Arboretum, part of University of Washington Botanic Gardens. This is a beautiful arboretum/park that is free & has many displays & trails to enjoy. It is also home to world class Japanese Tea Garden that does charge admission. It has been many years since we visited the Tea Garden, & need to put it on our “to do” list.
http://depts.washington.edu/uwbg/index.php
For the last two weeks of OCT Dan was in New Orleans, while Corrie (& Gumbo) remained in Monroe. This happened because Dan accepted a consulting job dealing with the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico spill. The idea is that Dan will work two or three weeks in New Orleans, & then have two or three weeks off. Hopefully by early DEC we will have the RV back in Houma & Dan can “commute” to New Orleans; & hopefully his portion of the response will be done by JAN/FEB at the latest.
One benefit of this was that Dan had dinner with daughter Rebecca & husband, Raymond, & son Joseph. Also at the dinner was a three month old baby boy named Kaydan. Turns out Rebecca & Raymond have volunteered to be foster parents, & Kaydan had been “delivered” to them the day before! Needless to say Rebecca & Raymond were extremely nervous about becoming instant parents. Thankfully Kaydan was very well behaved the whole evening & we had a good time. Meanwhile back in Monroe Corrie got to deal with finally getting the electric transformer installed on the property & then filling in the remaining ditch with a tractor.
On 29OCT Dan finally returned from New Orleans. The following day, Saturday, was spent buttoning up the property for our extended absence. This consisted of running fuel stabilizer through the tractor, lawn mower & generator; after that the batteries were disconnected. After locking everything in the barn, we made one last walk around the property & locked the gate behind us. Tomorrow, Halloween Day, we hit the road for the sunny & warmer climate of Phoenix, AZ; & we can’t wait!!!
