Sunday, August 04, 2013
Cheryl: Many, many moons
ago a “gig” sailed into a previously unknown and calm harbor seeking shelter
from a storm; hence the town established became known as Gig Harbor. We’ve also
found safe harbor here in a wooded campground where we must move our RV to
another spot in the place each day. Well, they did “work us in,” and we agreed
to this arrangement, but we’ve found other people who have moved as many as
five times! It’s the weirdest reservation system we’ve ever encountered. So,
today we need to wait until 11 a.m. (check-out time) so we can move into
another spot that will be vacated by some other RV’ers. After that we’ll go
visit our youngest daughter, Stacie in Bonney Lake. We visited with Mike and
family yesterday, taking the ferry out to Vashon Island ($25 for one truck, 2
old geezers, and a couple Chihuahuas!) We leave Gig Harbor for Kim's place in
Port Townsend tomorrow morning and head out for Long Beach, WA on Friday
morning.
While on Vashon, we
enjoyed a delightful dinner of salad with chicken and homemade grilled flat
breads out on Mike’s deck overlooking Puget Sound, courtesy of our
multi-talented daughter-in-law, Shannon who “cooks up a storm,” gardens
relentlessly, “puts up” produce for the winter, and manages to play softball on
a local team in her “spare time.”
Mike, who just finished
putting two coats of “peach” paint on the house also built a wonderful grape arbor this winter complete with comfortable benches below and backed by one of
Shannon’s many gardens, this one full of showy, sweet-breathed white lilies.
The vines on the harbor are already loaded with sweet seedless grapes (whose
name escapes me: Frank adds, “I think she said they were round grapes”). I’m
amazed at the home and grounds (with an orchard, no less) Shannon and Mike have
made for their family on Vashon. They’ve invested hours of back-breaking,
do-it-yourself work since they moved in and transformed what was just a house
into a comfortable and “Home-and-Garden-Magazine-worthy” home. Can you tell I’m
a proud Mom, and not the least bit bashful about bragging about my “kids?”
Michael, the builder
Arbor in progress
Peanut under the Arbor
Arbor Grapes Abound!
Friday night we went out
to dinner at Olive Garden (the guys really love those bread sticks!) with our
youngest daughter, Stacie; our grandson, 16-year-old Kyle who owns a snazzy,
red Saturn; our gorgeous 20-year-old granddaughter, Madison who works and
attends the U-Dub (University of Washington); and her boyfriend, Nick who
works, attends college, and will obviously be pining for his lovely, Madison
when she leaves for a month in Rome very soon (to study Italian cinema for her
Communications curriculum at the U).
Monday morning we’ll
“pull up stakes” from the amazing Gig Harbor RV Resort and drive an hour north
to Port Townsend to spend four days camping at Fort Worden State Park on the
beach and within walking distance of our eldest daughter, Kimberly and family.
Port Townsend is a picturesque harbor town with a decommissioned “old timey”
military fort nearby. It draws artists of all kinds to its creative center and
promises to be a fun place for us to park for a few days of being tourists.
Kimberly, grandson, Rowan; granddaughter, Hailey; and son-in-law, John have
recently moved into a 110-year-old restored and remodeled Victorian home I’m
very anxious to see. It has an enclosed second-story porch and sits on a lot
populated with trees, a guest house and office out back surround by terraced
gardens. Kimberly has yet to discover what various kinds of plants these many
plots might offer up during the various seasons. Rowan starts high school in a
progressive community school where he and classmates can walk easily to
downtown for a sandwich at lunchtime if they choose. Nine-year-old Hailey has
already made several friends and although missing her close girlfriends back in
Carnation, still loves her new room and playhouse out back. Kimberly has
already been sailing and looks forward to more of the same as she settles into
her new home.
Well, I’m sure that’s
more than you ever wanted to know about our family, but it will make a nice
record for us since we tend to forget much about our trips as they all blend
together in a pleasant mixture of happy memories we have trouble sorting out
sometimes. And, lest you have this thought, it has nothing, absolutely nothing
to do with our age . . . nope, nothing, and nothing at all. Frank adds, “That’s
our story and we’re stickin’ to it.”
Love from the grapevine: Frank-grape, Cheryl-grape, Peanut-grape and Cleo Chica-grape
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