Year: 2012

-Friday July 6th-
Travel Day. We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, packed the car and looked at the time. It was an hour trip to the airport and 5 hours until the plane took off. We always like to get to the airport early because you never know how long it will take to get through Security, but 4 hours was a bit too much.

So we broke out the map and the ferry schedule. It is always enjoyable coming into Seattle that way because of the great view of the skyline. We hugged the coast as best we could from Mukilteo to Edmonds which took us along quiet neighborhood street past homes with views we wish we could afford.

After a wait of 20-30 minutes in Edmonds we were directed onto the M/V Spokane for the half hour ferry ride to Kingston. Once back on dry land there was a short 16 mile drive to the Town of Bainbridge Island for the next ferry ride. We just missed the 10:25 to Seattle.

Because there was about an hour before the next departure, we took a walk around the ferry loading area and stumbled on something you don?t very often, a bicycle garage. Folks who live on Bainbridge Island and work in Seattle will ride their bike to the ferry, walk on the boat and walk (or catch a bus) to their office in downtown. You basically rent a vertical rack to hang your bike on with a small locker for helmet and shoes, etc. They have room for about 75 bikes with 10 or so set aside as first come first serve. While we were chatting up the fellow in the back room he told us there was a short trail that would take us over to the historic part of the town if we wanted, so just to stretch our legs a bit, we walked it part way before turning around and heading back to the car as we didn?t want to miss this ferry.

When we drove off the M/V Tacoma we were deposited into downtown Seattle at 12:05PM on a workday. The car traffic was thick as we edged up Marion St the 4 blocks to 2nd Ave where the GPS was telling us to turn right. At each light it took at least two cycles to get through because pedestrians have the right of way and there were herds of them walking to get lunch, so only about two cars could turn at each green.

We finally made a right on 2nd Ave. and the GPS said, “Turn right on Columbia St.” Once on Columbia St the GPS said, “Turn right on 1st Ave.” OK, we?ll play that, but it sure seems like we are going in a circle. On 1st Ave it said, “Turn right on Marion St.” Alrighty then. Once on Marion, sure enough it said, “Turn right on 2nd Ave.” It was taking us in a circle! I told Donna to hit the mute button and I drove up to 4th Ave. and turned right, which was heading south and in the general direction of the airport. We drove past Century Link Field (home of the Seahawks) and then Safeco Field (home of the Mariners) and got lucky; there was a sign for I-90 & I-5.

We were now had about an hour and half until our plane took off and we still had a 15 minute drive to the rental car return place, return the car, catch a shuttle to the terminal, check our bags, clear security and walk to the gate. Getting tight. But that bit of luck in finding the Interstate entrance kept right on coming. Traffic on I-5 was backed up going north, but south was moving smoothly. Dropping off the car was the usual easy and there was a shuttle bus waiting on us. Bag check-in was painless and we were startled to find the usual Disney-esque winding queue for security to be non existent. We ended up making it to the gate with about 15 minutes before first boarding call.

Turned out we even had more time than that, as departure was delayed by about 30 minutes because the plane wasn’t ready, but that experience was a little too close for our comfort.

-Thursday July 5th-
After yesterday’s action packed 17 hour day we wanted to take it easy, so we slept in and after breakfast took a nice little walk around Mukilteo. Up until then we weren’t sure what we would do with the Morrisons today, but when we discovered that there was a great beach, with some fire pits, a nice little walking trail, public restrooms and most importantly, a playground, right there, we knew.

Donna called Scott and said come on down, where we spent the afternoon eating hotdogs and s’mores, watching people and boats, and playing and relaxing.

As a capper for the afternoon we boarded the ferry, passengers ride free on this route, and took it over to Whidbey Island. Upon arrival we walked over to a small public beach near the landing and spent an hour or so skipping stones and chatting (and playing for the kids) until we caught the ferry back to Mukilteo.

It was then we said goodbye to the kids and their parents until next year. Back at the hotel we packed up and chilled, prepping for tomorrow’s long plane ride back east.

-Wednesday July 4th (Cont.)-
Beth wondered in an email to us several weeks prior to our visit as to why we would want to go to her parents 4th of July cookout as there would be nothing but rednecks there. I don’t know, everyone we met there seemed perfectly normal to us. Maybe, as Jeff Foxworthy would (did) say, “You might be a redneck if you are surrounded by rednecks and don’t notice.”

The food was the usual fare for a cookout, hot dogs, chicken and a plethora of side dishes found anywhere you find people eating outdoors. There was one unusual thing that did set this gathering apart from any other cookout I had attended – Slug Races.

Slugs are the Official Gastropod of the state of Washington and they are everywhere, so it makes it easy to round up a racer. An official race course consists of a set of concentric circles marked off on a white surface. The smaller circle is the starting area and the larger circle is the finish line. The distance between the two is directly proportional to the patience of the race jockeys.

In the photo above the slugs from left to right are exactly in the order of their finishes. Nephew James’ slug, Slimy Speedster, was the winner, my slug, Galloping Gastro, placed a distant second and Donna’s Movin’ Mollusc showed in third. The other two contestants never left the starting gate.

We finished the day off back just up the street from Scott and Beth’s house at their church where we made s’mores and watched the night sky explode with light. Because they live on a small ridge that overlooks the Snohomish River Valley we got to see thousands, of bursts of light from right next door, to the glut exploding over the Tulalip reservation to the massive show over the town of Everett.