21-31JUL10 - Leavenworth & Kittitas, WA (& back to monroe)

Wednesday, 21JUL, we decided to visit a couple of Dan’s cousins. First stop was cousin Sheila & husband, Mike Morris, in Leavenworth, WA; see below BLOG for last year’s visits with them:

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/08/31jul-02aug09-monroe-wa-bears-oh-my.html

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/08/04-18aug09-monroe-wa-bears-oh-my-part.html

We were planning on tubing the local rivers with Sheila, like last year, when our kids, Rebecca & Joe, show up on 01AUG of this year. But it turns out Sheila & daughter, Tess, are heading to India & Nepal at the end of the month for several weeks of high altitude trekking! So we decided to pay a short visit before their departure. After setting up camp on the beautiful banks of the Icicle River, we headed over to their place. When dinner time arrived we decided to “reward” Sheila & Tess, who that very day had completed a preliminary course that is needed to get into nursing school, which they plan to do after trekking (we wish we had 1/2 their energy!).

We decided to head to Gustavs to enjoy their outdoor terrace & their microbrews; but first we headed over to Peshastin, WA, to check out an “art yard”. Upon returning from an excellent meal at Gustavs, we had to rescue a white parakeet (aka budgie) that was trying to fly into the house through closed windows. Eventually we decided to open Tess’s bedroom window & see if the runaway bird would fly in. In due course the bird did fly in, & the window was closed. What now? Mike & Dan decided to enjoy a cold brewski & leave the final capture to the ladies. Mike & Dan are not sure what went on inside the small bedroom, but could clearly hear the shrieks & laughter of the three ladies. Finally the small bird was safely captured & placed in a cardboard box, & no furniture was broken. Since the bird was obviously a pet, the ladies canvassed the neighborhood for its owners. No one claimed the bird, but one neighbor donated an excess bird cage they had.

Early Thursday morning we hit the road for cousin Steve’s & wife, Bonnie, in Kittitas, WA. Why so early for a one hour drive? Because it was Stevie’s birthday & he wanted to celebrate it with lunch at the Snoqualmie Casino, & of course playing some games of chance. So after setting up camp at the Kiesel’s we immediately hit the road for the casino. We guess this is becoming a tradition, because we did the same thing last year (see below BLOG link). After the lunch buffet Steve headed to the cigar bar to get his birthday cigar & glass of fine, aged, whiskey; then everyone headed to their favorite gaming machine.

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/07/20-31jul09-monroe-wa.html

Dan lost his usual $20, but Corrie covered his losses; & the Kiesels aren’t talking. The big winner was Eileen, Steve’s sister. She wasn’t able to make the lunch buffet but showed up later & managed to find Bonnie at a bank of slot machine called “Hot Shots”. Next thing Eileen knows the machine was flashing a message telling her to call an attendant for a pay out of a $2452.50 jackpot! This being the digital age everyone takes out their cell phone & photographs the event. While sitting at the machine waiting for the attendant, Eileen even e-mailed the picture to friends & family; & posted the news to her facebook. Almost immediately her phone started ringing in response to her e-mails. The rest of the day was spent back at the ranch doing nothing much.

Friday Dan smoked some pork ribs while miscellaneous chores were accomplished. One of which was to disassembly our “new” vintage outboard & get it working. Thanks to Steve’s mechanical skills we soon had it running. Two interesting things we discovered are - there is no neutral - & reverse is accomplished by rotating the entire engine 180 degrees. Should be very interesting once we actually get it on our jon boat (see our previous BLOG about our “new” boat).

Saturday morning Steve & Dan headed into the hills to look for where the elk are located as part of Steve’s volunteer duties as local “Master Hunter” in the Kittitas valley (see below internet link for more info on Master Hunters). Although no elk were sighted it was still an enjoyable three hours four wheeling in the back country. Back at the ranch more choirs were accomplished before it was Steve’s turn to cook dinner.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/masterhunter/

Sunday morning, 25JUL, after another enjoyable visit at Steve & Bonnie’s it was back to our RV spot at Evergreen State Fairgrounds. Now we count down six days until our children, Rebecca & Joe, arrive for hopefully six days of fun & sun!!!

2 comments:

Chuck and Anneke's RV travels said...
Two thoughts. That VW would look great on your property.Watch out for that outboard. I had one like that and in moments of stress, I can guarantee that it will try to kill you or at least reek havoc on property.
31 July, 2010 18:53

Corrie, Dan and Gumbo Ryan said...

future "yard art" at our hopefully to be built in our life time house, is an ongoing discussion. dan wants some sort of beater auto full of flowers; corrie is holding out for a tasteful rockery w/native plants. as to the motor attached to a jon boat w/no floatation, probably a marine casualty waiting to happen? - corrie & dan 31 July, 2010 19:34

01-20JUL10 - Monroe & Whidbey Is, WA

We forgot to mention in the preceding BLOG that we purchased a boat! Not anything extravagant, just a simple 12 foot aluminum boat (commonly called a “Jon” boat in the south). The idea is to throw the boat on the Toad, head to a beach, carry the boat down to the water, & set our own crab pots. Of course by the time we buy a used motor, four crab pots, necessary lines, life jackets, anchor, etc, etc; we could buy a ton of fresh Dungeness crab!

During the week of 06-09JUL Dan once again had to travel to New Orleans for business. Upon his return, we were visited by Corrie’s brother, Ed, & his daughter, Kim, from Brandon, Manitoba, on 12JUL. See below BLOG for more on them.

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/09/04-18sep09-sprucewoods-mb-via-swift.html

Turns out they had to travel to Vancouver, BC, to purchase a Canadian Navy surplus air compressor. If you have followed this BLOG you know Ed & his wife, Elaine, started a diving school business outside of Brandon; & now Kim & her husband, Brian, run the business. The compressor was such a good deal, they couldn’t pass it up. Ed then decided to travel home through the states & pay us a quick visit. Ed & Dan checked out our property, while the ladies went shopping. Then we all met for lunch at the Sultan Bakery. Our last visit to the Bakery was Mother’s Day 2009; see our 01-14MAY09 BLOG for more on this NW institution. After only a couple of hours, they were back on the road to Canada (like we said, a short visit).

Late Tuesday morning, 13JUL, we decided to head to Whidbey Island, WA, with an overnight stop at Angel of the Winds Casino. Wednesday morning we continued our trip to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station RV Park. After wasting two hours we finally found out there was no room & ended up at a RV park owned by the city of Oak Harbor. After setting up camp, it was off to Deception Pass for a little hike & great views. Then we headed to Seabolt’s for a seafood dinner. Unfortunately they were out of clams & crab, but they had great chowder, crabcakes & mussels!

Thursday morning was breakfast at Frank’s. Frank is a Samoan so many of the breakfast items contain spam; Dan had the Loko Moko (spam, spam, spam, spam....). Then it was off to Joseph Whidbey State Park where it was fogged-in. Next was Fort Ebey State Park, still more fog. The last state park visited was Fort Casey State Park & Admiralty Head Lighthouse, & finally the fog was lifting. This is one of Dan’s favorite places to visit. Why? Because it is a fort, with lots of concrete bunkers to explore, & really big guns (really big guns).

http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Joseph%20Whidbey&subject=all

http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Fort%20Ebey&subject=all

http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Fort%20Casey&subject=all

Trivia – why if Fort Casey was never threatened & its guns were never fired in conflict, are they covered in shrapnel holes?

During our visits to these state parks Dan discovered the entire area surrounding Coupeville, WA, is part of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. Created by Congress in 1978, the 17,000 (plus) acre Reserve integrates historic farms, a seaside town, native & pioneer land use traditions, & ecologically significant areas. Congress intended Reserve lands to remain largely under private ownership; although there are federal, state, & county lands within the boundary. One interesting thing we noted was the odd “blockhouse” dotting the landscape. Early settlers built their own individual blockhouses for protection from Native Americans who were not too pleased with European settlers ruining the neighborhood.

Trivia – where was the first National Historical Reserve?

http://www.nps.gov/ebla/

Thursday evening we had dinner with Ken & Karen Bishop at Tobys in Coupeville, WA. Ken was Dan & Corrie’s boss way back in Rotterdam, NL. See below BLOG link for more on Ken & Karen & their place on Whidbey Is. While reminiscing over dinner, we learned the Bishop’s had an old, air cooled, 5hp outboard motor for sale! So it was off to their place so we can buy it. Ken also threw in the latest CD release of the Shifty Sailors, a “shanty” group also discussed in our BLOG below. All too quickly it was time to call it a night, with everyone promising to get back together soon!

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2007/09/2425sep07-whidbey-island-wa.html

http://www.shiftysailors.net/

We returned to our RV spot at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds on Friday; so that on Saturday, 17JUL, Corrie could attend a baby shower for our niece, Julia. Julia is the youngest child of Dan’s sister, Sharon, & husband Tim Tompkins. The shower was at middle sister’s Marisa & husband Dave’s, who we last visited with AUG09 (see below BLOG link). And the oldest of Sharon’s three kids, sister Aimee, also was there.
http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/08/31jul-02aug09-monroe-wa-bears-oh-my.html

20-30JUN10 - Monroe, WA

23JUN we headed into Seattle for lunch at Salumi Salami (say that three times fast). Why drive all the way into Seattle on a weekday just for lunch? Because Salumi’s is a gastronomic destination for foodies from all over the world; & only open Tuesday to Friday, from 1100 to 1500. Turns out Salumi is owned by the father of Mario Batali (an Iron Chef on the Food TV Network). Mr Batali is a retired Boeing engineer, who decided to start a 2nd career in retirement. He went to Italy & studied traditional sausage making, came back to Seattle & opened a small shop (by small, we mean indoor seating for 12!).

http://www.salumicuredmeats.com/

So now the line for his sandwiches & salamis starts forming shortly after 1000, & grows longer thru the day. We found parking for the Toad & walked over to Salumi’s to read the menu posted on the window to see what the choices were. By doing that, we immediately had people forming up behind us to start the line! End result was we were unintentionally the first in line. Also, turns out that all the indoor seating was reserved for Chef Anthony Bourdain (from the Travel Channel) & friends. Bourdain is one of Corrie’s least favorite TV personalities, & this is the 2nd time she has run into him in our travels!
http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2008/06/31may-01jun08-amarillo-tx.html

Corrie ordered a Salumi salami sandwich, Dan ordered a Salumi sausage sandwich, & we got a pound of Salumi smoked paprika salami for home. We then headed to Waterfall Park for a great outdoor lunch in Seattle’s smallest park. The park was the original location of the American Messenger Service at 2nd & Main. The park was built & donated by the company in honor of Claude Ryan & Jim Casey who started the company over a century ago. As we left the park Dan noticed a large group of individuals sitting on chairs in an alley, watching a giant screen TV. Turns out this was a temporary set up for the World Cup called “World Cup Alley”, sponsored by the Alley Art Organization of Seattle.

http://www.alleyart.org/Alley_Art_Events.html

Trivia – what is American Messenger Service called today?

Since we had some time left on the meter, we walked about Occidental Park & the surrounding shops before heading out on a photo exploration of eccentric sites around Seattle. First stop was the “Hat & Boots”. Opened in 1954 as a Texaco station; after closing as a gas station, they have been moved to a playground & are being restored. The Hat was where the station attendant sat, & the Boots were the restrooms.
http://www.hatnboots.org/

Next was the “Spite House”. In the 1920s there was a nasty divorce. The judge awarded one of the spouses the house and the other the front yard. Perhaps he thought a sale would bring the two back together? Alas, twas not to be. The spouse with the yard took the property and built a house on it to spite the other. From the front the Spite House looks perfectly ordinary, if a little old- fashioned (stucco siding, tiled roof). It's the side dimensions that make it unique. The north end is only ten feet wide, the south only five feet wide.

We then took off in search of Seattle’s Toe (note spelling) Trucks. The toe trucks are owned by Lincoln Towing, which we did find. Corrie went in to talk to someone about where were the toe trucks? The left foot truck is in the State Museum of History & Industry; one of Dan’s favorite museums as a kid & somewhere he plans on re-visiting. Lincoln Towing still has the right foot truck & uses it for parades & other events. Unfortunately, it was in the shop for service.
26-30JUN Dan was in Pueblo, CO, for another consulting job. As usual he spent his free evenings in search of “roadfood” establishments in the local area. This time he discovered “sloppers” at Gray’s Coors Tavern. A slopper is one half of a toasted hamburger bun, topped with a cheeseburger, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, & smothered in green or red chili, served in a bowl. It was ok, but what Dan found interesting was the history of the Tavern. Dan wondered how a Tavern could use the trademarked name of Coors in their name? Turns out the Coors Brewing Co at one time decided to open taverns selling only Coors’ products. This was a very common practice in Europe, where brewers owned their own pubs or gasthouses. There were only a few Coors establishments, & Gray’s is the last surviving one.

Trivia – what is a taxi dancer?

18/19JUN10 - Fremont, WA (aka center of the universe)

Friday afternoon we returned to our RV spot at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, WA. Early Saturday morning, 19JUN, we took off to the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, for the Fremont Solstice Fair & Parade. See our BLOG from two years ago for a little background on Fremont (aka Center of the Universe).

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2008/09/11-26aug08-everett-wa.html

http://www.fremontseattle.com/

You may also want to check out the 1994 King County resolution, in which the last paragraph states:

The Artistic Republic of Fremont is hereby declared, decreed, and determined to be an Independent ImagiNation and a Mecca for those of independent minds and spirits, and is forever and fervently empowered with all the rights and privileges thereto accruing. Further, the Metropolitan King County Council plainly postulates and proclaims Fremont to be Center of the Universe, indeed, and hereby supports Fremont in its gallant endeavors to apply to the United Nations for sovereign status under international law.

http://www.nwculture.com/NWC/CityDistricts/Fremont/1HP/1FS/1FhpFS.html

Anyway the Fair & Parade are in celebration of the Summer Solstice, & we would describe them as equal parts NW hippy counter culture; French Quarter “Laissez les bon temps rouler”; & San Francisco Castro District. The street Fair has over 300 shopping booths, beer gardens, live music, an ecozone, Art Cars, street performers, & eccentric general oddities. Since the Parade didn’t start until noon we checked out the Street Fair, & a large gathering of Art Cars.

Did we tell you (or did you know) that the Parade starts with nude bicyclists??? That’s right several hundred humans of all differed shapes & sizes, in body paint, & on bikes, kick off the parade. We knew it was coming, but we figured a couple of dozen at most, boy were we wrong. From the anorexic to the obese; from the ripped to the saggy; hundreds ride their bikes not just once by you, but three times! Some of these individuals spend the rest of day wandering around Fremont dressed only in their body paint.

Then as you are standing there recovering from the bicycle parade, several clothed volunteers pass out large sticks of chalk & everyone is encouraged to enter the street & draw. Soon the entire parade route is full of children & adults drawing away.

After about 45 minutes the parade started & we were treated in no particular order to a Edderkop (Trivia - what is an edderkop?), Fremont Troll, volcano shooting stuffed animals into the air, Atheists Pirates, Pastafarians (note spelling) worshiping the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Beatles & Yellow Submarine, Vikings hunting for Ballard, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, YaYa’s for TaTa’s, Forbidden Forest Bikers, & many excellent musical ensembles (samba music seemed to be the most popular).

There are opportunities throughout the Parade for “audience participation”. You can bow down to the Flying Spaghetti Monster & be blessed by His Noodly Appendages. People in red capes with white hearts called Super Huggers will give you a hug to help spread the LOVE to Seattle. There are spontaneous kick ball games during Parade stops. But our favorite was a group rolling a giant beach ball down the street. They would encourage people to run out into the middle of the street, lay down, & have the beach ball roll over them. We could do without the nude bicyclists, but the Parade was one of the best we have seen. Remember Fremont’s motto “De Libertas Quirkas” – Freedom to be Peculiar!

http://www.fremontfair.org/

http://fremontartscouncil.org/summer-solstice-parade/

After six hours in the free state of Fremont it was off to Beth’s Café on Aurora Avenue, for a late lunch. Beth’s is a 24 hour greasy spoon (& we mean greasy), that has been featured on numerous food shows for their 12 egg omelets. Their wait staff is known for their tattoos & attitudes! Most wear those stick on, paper name tags with hand written expressions like “shut up”, “do you think i care?”, etc. They also will provide you with crayons & paper if you feel like being creative. The walls are covered with hundreds of these; some look like a 2 year old (or drunk) drew them, & some are excellent. Highly recommended!

http://www.bethscafe.com/