Arrival in Seattle. We rented a car. Instead of being a sedan, it ended up being an Eclipse - a two door compact sports car. But since we only needed to go one way with five pieces of luggage and four people (three adults plus a baby in a car seat) and we had been traveling for so long, we decided to make it work. We packed in like sardines and made it to the hotel in Bellevue where we would stay with Mom and Dad Werner.
Then we met up with the rest of the family at Ross and Janie's house in Seattle. We spent some time hanging out, then walked a few blocks to the neighborhood golf course and driving range where we practiced on the driving range for a while, then played a 9-hole 3-person family scramble. I played on a team with Dad Werner and Ross. O Pai played on a team with Mom Werner and Wayne. My team won with +5, and Pai's team came in second, I think, with +8 or 9.
After the golf scramble we went home and hung out for a while. We did a little grocery shopping at the neighborhood market. One nice thing about Seattle - there is no big WalMart, just little neighborhood markets where you can go grocery shopping a few blocks away, whenever you need something. Then we made waffles at Ross and Janie's with strawberry, peach, or raspberry toppings.
Friday -
First thing Friday morning we drove out to Snoqualmie Falls, a BEAUTIFUL park about 20 minutes east of Seattle. First we spent some time on a neat gazebo overlooking the falls. The wind carried the spray over to the gazebo. It felt pretty nice, actually. Then we hiked down a steep 1/2 mile trail to the river feeding from the falls. We pushed Vincente in his stroller down the hill, which was tough, but not nearly as tough as pushing him back up. That's what we have Pai's for, though, so Papai pushed him back up the hill. Then we had a nice picnic lunch in the park, sandwiches and salads, etc.
Then it was back to Ross and Janie's for a little hang out time.
After that, Dad and Mom Werner tooks us out to eat at Ivar's Acres of Clams. It was GREAT food. Then we were back off home to hang out until bedtime.
Ross and Vince were munching on french fries at just about the same rate. Like uncle, like nephew?
Saturday -
Saturday morning, Russ and I ran the Puget Sound Race for the Cure. We ended up losing each other between paying for parking and picking up our bibs and shirts, so we ended up picking up two sets of shirts and bibs. Then we found each other about a minute before the race started, but still a block and a half from the start line. So we booked it to the start line, but then ended up taking a minute to get to the start line after they blew the horn to start. So our clocked time was 29 minutes an 22 seconds, but minus the time it took to get to the start line, it was probably more like 28 1/2 minutes.
After the run, we went shopping on our own at a little mall in Bellevue. Russ needed some workout gear and I needed a hairbrush.
The rest of Saturday was spent in downtown Seattle, shopping, eating, playing (Vince loved the pigeons. They didn't share the same sentiment, unfortunately, but he had fun chasing them!)
Saturday evening we went on the Underground Tour of Seattle. Vincente loved running around on the uneven floors underground, and had some entertaining conversations with the tour guide. The tour was about the history of Seattle - 33 city blocks were raised out of the tide flats. The problem was that when the tide was high, the streets got really muddy, and people even drowned in the streets!! (the puddles were called "chuck holes" - because of the chuck wagons that caused them) Vince also made some friends with a few girls on the tour as well. One of them received the first "stranger" high five of the trip! He probably had a crush on her :)
That night for dinner we went to Orexi, a Greek restaurant, for Ross' birthday. It was way good food, but by the time we got to our entrees, we'd filled outselves up on the appetizers! Russ could have eaten more (he got a pasta entree AND a huge salad!!) but we were so tired, and so full, we just boxed it all. Russ ended up eating some of his leftovers for breakfast the next day. He is the only person I know who eats pasta for breakfast :)
Sunday -
Sunday was our last day in Seattle. We caught sacrament meeting with Darla and Brian and their boys, then headed over to Ross and Janie's again where we cooked up some mean Tate Verdi ("Green Potatoes") - basically a creamy pesto sauce over potatoes and chicken. Yummy stuff. My dad's brother, Art, and a few of his kids and grandkids came over as well. Oh, and during all this stuff, GG Joan and Grandpa Cec came along. Art came for most things as well.
After dinner, we sat with GG Joan and looked through family pictures. GG was identifying people so Ross could scan them and preserve some of our family history. We also got Dad Werner, Art, and GG Joan telling stories about where Dad and Art grew up and some of their experiences. Ross recorded it so we can add it to our family history. Unfortunately I didn't get to find out anything new about the Werner side. GG Joan didn't know a whole lot about that side of the family.
At last came time for our flight home. We struggled finding the airport - took the wrong ramp at the interchange and ended up half way to Tacoma before realizing where we were going. But at last we made it to the airport! The flight was delayed in from Chicago, so instead of arriving in SLC at 10:30, we arrived at 11:20. Dad Rowley picked us up at the airport and drove us home to Salem, where we headed straight to bed, just in time for the Mama to get some shuteye before her first day of classes for summer term! But that is a story for another day!
