23-25AUG09 - Monroe, WA

After a great four days at Birch Bay it was back to Evergreen State Fairgrounds. We spent two days there locking up our property and getting six new tires on the RV. Not to whine or anything, but one tire on an RV usually equals four tires on a compact car!

On our last in day in Monroe, 25 Aug, we hooked up with Dan’s brother Shawn & his significant other, Cindy, one last time before leaving town; even meeting Shawn’s well behaved (not!) dog - Char. Since it was Shawn’s birthday he was expecting a free dinner! Not to disappoint him we took him to the restaurant of his choice and had an excellent evening out before hitting the road the next day.

19-22AUG09 - Birch Bay, WA

Wednesday, 19AUG, we headed to Birch Bay State Park, just south of the Canadian border, to meet up with Dan’s cousin Jennifer & husband, Mike, and hopefully catch our limit of Dungeness crabs. For more on the state park, crabbing, and Mike & Jennifer, check out our BLOG from last year:

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2008/09/27-30aug08-birch-bay-wa.html

Unfortunately we couldn’t get into the state park and had to settle for a commercial park two miles down the road. Once we had set up camp, we headed to the park to meet up with Mike & Jennifer, and cousin Paul & wife, Shannon; along with a few other relatives, and friends of Mike.

The next morning we met at the beach to decide on the days activities. Due to logistical problems Mike was not able to get his boat to Birch Bay. That meant we could not set crab traps to catch our crab (by far the easiest way to catch them) like we did last year. This meant wading in chest deep water and trying to scoop them up as the crabs ran for their lives. Dan has never had any luck at this, so he opted for clamming and oystering. Corrie opted for wading. Needless to saying the clams and oysters harvested far out numbered crabs caught (4 total)! Anyway we had enough crab for an appetizer, and Corrie got her steamed clam fix.

Friday most of us skipped the beach while Dan BBQ’d a pork shoulder for pulled pork sandwiches. Saturday Mike got access to small boat and was able to set four crab traps. Using this boat we were able to provide enough crab for a “crab feed” Saturday evening. Mike did his usual outstanding job at boiling the crabs with Cajun spices, along with potatoes, corn, mushrooms & garlic. And many side dishes provided by more relatives and friends who just happened to show-up in time for the crab feed.

After the great crab feed it was decided to play Texas Hold’em Poker. Even though Corrie has never played poker she joined in, leading to the inevitable question – what’s it mean when there all the same suit? Or – what does three of kind beat? Although beginner’s luck helped her many times, she finished out of the money. Dan came in second and broke even. Some of the diehards started another game of Hold’em, but we headed back to our bed to be well rested for the drive back on Sunday morning.

04-18AUG09 - Monroe, WA (bears oh my! - part deux)

Tuesday, 04AUG, the last full day for the kids to be with us, we voted on what to do their last day of their visit. Tubing at “camp Morris” in Leavenworth, WA, won out over everything else. So Tuesday morning we headed back to Leavenworth & camp Morris. This time Sheila rounded up free inner tubes, unfortunately there was not one for Gumbo the one eyed Jack. So he had to ride with one of us the whole time. We also bought a waterproof camera; unfortunately it didn't have a zoom. See below BOLG entry for our first tubing trip in Leavenworth.
http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/08/31jul-02aug09-monroe-wa-bears-oh-my.html

This time we put our inner tubes in at the Icicle River vs the Wenatchee. We immediately discovered there is a reason why it is called the Icicle!!! But once we got used to the coldness of the river, we had a great three hour float with Sheila and her daughter Tessa. We even saw close up views of the wildlife, including deer, Canadian geese, bald eagle and coyote. And we even saw a very big black bear on the banks of the river trying to get into the river, thank goodness for barbwire. Dan and Rebecca had gone all their lives without running across bears in the wild, and now they have seen two in three days! Since the disposable camera didn't have a zoom, we couldn't get a picture of the bear.

Sadly, Wednesday morning it was off to SeaTac airport to get the kids to their airplane and say bye-bye. It was a fast and adventure packed five days, but seemed like only one day. We don’t know about the kids, but we will need three or five days of sleep to recover.
For the followers of this BLOG nothing much has happened on our property other than our water well appears to be finally done. It is FAR deeper than we ever imagined, and it smells like sulfur and tastes like iron.
Also during this time period Dan took a business trip to San Francisco. While there he looked-up Jim & Shirley Garrett. They are friends of ours from when we lived in Virginia, and we used to visit them with the kids in the spring when they lived in Hawaii. It was a great but short evening telling sea stories and looking at pictures on each others computers! Dan also found an unique restaurant/bar called Eddie Rickenbackers. Supposedly the owner, Norman Hobday, created the first “fern bar” called Henry Africa’s back in 1970 in San Francisco. Unfortunately the owner was not hanging out on his couch sucking oxygen like he normally does.
http://www.eddierickenbackers.com/Site/Home.html

03AUG09 - Kent, WA (final farewell & family reunion)

Today was the Memorial Ceremony for Dan Sr at Tahoma National Cemetery. Those that have followed our BLOG know that he passed away 04NOV08 in Kerrville, TX. For those that knew him, know that he was not happy in Texas and wanted to return to “God’s country” in western Washington. Discovering that there was a National Cemetery in Kent, WA, south of Seattle, we decided to have his ashes interred there so that he was finally home. Unfortunately, services are only conducted on weekdays, so we could not hold it on Saturday, 01AUG, his birthday. It was a very moving ceremony, with the Air Force providing an Honor Guard and firing a rifle salute, followed by a bugler playing Taps.

http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/tahoma.asp

Immediately following the ceremony family and friends gathered at the Golden Steer Restaurant to reminisce and enjoy a small luncheon buffet. Dan had a “slide show” of Dan Sr’s life and had it playing continuously on a TV provided by the restaurant. Most of the relatives from Dan Sr’s family and his wife, Josie, family were there. Many had not seen each other for close to twenty or thirty years. Although a sad occasion for gathering, it was a very happy time to talk to people we hadn’t seen probably since our marriage in 1981. All too soon our two hours use of the private room was up and everyone went their separate ways.

http://www.goldensteerrestaurant.com/