Tillie arrives!!!

Tillie has finally arrived in Seattle!!! We're happy! The truck driver is happy! Tillie is happy! Bridge is happy! And, of course, Roscoe the dog is very happy!!! Bridge only had to open the door a crack before Roscoe was in and had claimed his seat on the inside.

And, the best part, she started right up when Bridge got in to back her off the truck. (Of course there was the small issue of Bridge remembering where reverse was...)

News from Seattle...

Has Tillie finally arrived?

Bridge emailed to say her arrival has been postponed a few days. Tillie's "delivery truck" is in the shop for repairs... At least it's NOT Tillie this time!!!!

Last day in Seattle...

Seattle has so much to offer. This morning it was the Wooden Boat Show including a sailboat ride in one of the old wooden boats. I must admit it was the first time I've ever been in a boat on a lake that was also a landing area for planes - a whole new level of excitement... John went crazy snapping pictures of boats and rigging and such (most of you will thank me that I chose NOT to include them on this blog.) My favorite boat was "Joe". (Great name don't you think Joe?) Can you read my favorite sign of the day? "Close Enough Engineering" with the slogan "Probably OK". I thought the van had potential as a replacement for Tillie but John thought I'd had enough ice cream already. Tillie, by the way, is going to be in her glory out here. In all our travels with her we've seen more old VW buses this week than everywhere else combined. Tillie, by the way, arrives next week and delivered directly to Bridge's door. As you know, she occasionally likes to make grand entrances so will be in her glory.

This afternoon we strolled through beautiful Volunteer Park designed by Olmstead. By now you'll probably recognize everyone in the photo except perhaps Dean on the right (he was in NY when we first arrived). We all look fairly energetic there don't we? That was before we climbed the 100+ steps to the top of the old water tower for a fantastic view of the city. As you can tell from the last photo in the collage (taken at the top of that tower) we're about vacationed out. Tomorrow we head off for NY saying goodbye and thanks to the family and good friends, old & new, we've met along the way. And goodbye to all of you who were with us in spirit if not in person.

More friends & adventures...

I love it when kids we know grow up to be such fun adults... and such good cooks.. and move to places we want to visit...!!! For those of you who knew the "twerps" from McDonough days, that's Daniel (chef extraordinaire) and just below him, his sister Jennifer (they're still twins but have outgrown their "twerpiness", thank heavens!) Daniel's wife, Maya, is upper left, and their daughter, Lily, front and center and a delight. Sammy is Jennifer's daughter and as sweet as can be. We had a wonderful time with them all last night.

But today was another day and Bridge had us up early to go to the one place John wanted to visit while we were in the Seattle area - Port Townsend. It's an absolutely great place to visit - something for everyone, not just boat enthusiasts. (Bridge & I were concerned about that so we took plenty of reading material just in case...)

Photos... 1. Rowing skiffs. The Northwest Maritime Center rents space in their gorgeous new facility right on the water - you would LOVE it Bruce. 2. Inside the center where plenty of boat building goes on (John LOVED it!). 3. Washington's smallest state park (what you see is about it...)

4. & 5. A real sail loft (instead of my dining room table where I had just finished a sail for John before we left - NEVER again!!!) These women deserve every cent they charge for their sails! 6. That's Kendell, their oldest employee (age & years of service). He started there in 1979. The great bag I'm holding and which I had just bought, is one he made out of sail scraps. (Bags I can relate to, sails? well that's another story...) 7. Big leaves. 8. Seeing what the locals are wearing here, we obviously need to work on John's outfits so he can make more of a fashion statement when he launches his boat... 9. Bridge "on the rocks" near the lighthouse at Fort Worden.

More boats tomorrow as it's the wooden boat show in Seattle...

Vacation for me too...

I know what you're saying... "Where is the blog?" We went to Vashon Island (only a short ferry ride from Seattle) to spend a couple of days of relaxation (do we need another excuse?) and to visit our friend Sharon. Her daughter, Becca (who has spent Thanksgiving with us off and on for 40 years), offered us her vacation home on the island. A treat for all of us (plus it has no internet so even I got a vacation!!!)
Picking up a few provisions at the Pike Street Market. A bald eagle sitting on Paul's cat boat he designed and built himself (a bit bigger than the one John is building - trust John is not getting any ideas). A tree house only accessible by climbing the rope. Even Win, who was top of her class in rope climbing in the 4th grade, only got half way up. We're told it has a chandelier in it but you couldn't prove it by any of use. Jellyfish along the shore (just for Mary). And John & Bridge barbequeing one of those Copper River salmon in the first photo. (Not to make you hungry, but it was the best salmon I ever had.)


And the friends photo...
Yvonne & Garry, Win & Bridge, Sharon, Paul (who built that boat), the bald eagle still sitting on the mast even though he's a bit hard to see, John, and Moshe (Sharon's husband) who seems to be taking a picture of me (and I thought I had exclusive rights to the photo taking.) Unfortunately we just missed Becca who is somewhere between here and Pittsburgh and NOT in a VW bus so she may actually arrive before the summer is over...