Friday, June 16, 2006
Olympia and Seattle vacation: June 2006 - visiting family
Hi everyone,
We're back from our trip to see family in the Pacific Northwest - my mom's home state of Washington. I love it there and always feel sad to leave ; it is so beautiful.
Well we arrived on June 6th ( Tuesday) at about 1:15pm (PST) and picked up our rental car - a brand new 2006 Grand Caravan. We arrived in Olympia at my grandmother's house at about 3:30 pm. After settling into our rooms , Bill and I took Rachel and Jude over to one of the playgrounds in my grandmother's subdivision. We ate pizza and went to bed.
Wednesday (6/7) morning we went to see my step-grandfather in the nursing home and left about noon back to my grandmothers . My uncle Bill and cousin Brian came over for a quick visit and we then tried to get Jude and Rachel down for a nap ,in which we were unsuccessful ,then left to "Lattin's Market " and petting zoo to let the kids run around. I bought some apples and honey sticks. Bill and I went to safeway to buy the ingredients for our dinner ( yellow rice and chicken ) and a 12 pack of Rainier beer for Bill ( he drank over the next 7 days- he wanted to try some locally brewed beer).
Thurday (6/8) we picked up my aunt Bonnie in the late morning and went to Olympia's Farmer's Market, walked around alittle bit and ate some German food ; the kids' had chicken nuggets. I wish I got curried Indian instead. Took Bonnie back home, tried to get the little one's down for a nap , but couldn't - went to my uncle Bill's house instead. We had nice visit with my uncle for an hour or so and then left and went to KFC and brought a bucket of chicken home to grandma's and then stayed up and watched T.V. ( which is hard to do because my grandmother watches "Texas Ranger " with Chuck Norris every weeknight from 7- 9 pm) . When she went to bed we watched alittle T.V., went to bed which was usually 9-10 at night, every night .
Friday (6/9) we went to Mt. Rainier without my grandmother. We got turned around and headed to downtown Olympia. After realizing that we were headed in the wrong direction, we headed back down Capital Way to Yelm Highway and got turned around again, which set us back a total of 60 minutes plus. We took a wrong turn in Tenino somewhere and headed toward the mountain around noon and stopped off at a restaurant called "Copper Creek Inn" which was very nice ; I had Oyster stew and a club sandwich that I split with Bill. We got to the mountain at around 1:00 (?) , which cost $15 a car load to get in. As we were driving the twisty- turney road that let to the top , we soon realized that we were driving in a cloud. We stopped along the way to look at Narada Falls , which was beautiful. The falls were full and loud and Bill, Amber and I went down to get a better view while my mom stayed back in the van with Jude and Rachel. On the way down to see it Bill fell about 3 or 4X because the snow was everywhere and Bill had on his tennis shoes. We got back in the car and headed up the mountain to Paradise - visitors center and we couldn't see a thing. I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo disappointed !!!
We spent the time looking in the gift shop and museum. The whole mountain was engulfed in a cloud and it was about 40 - 50 degrees. We left to go home and arrived at my grandmother's at about 7:00pm, went to bed early; I don't think we ate anything for dinner. I vaguely remember wanting to go to Mc Donald's around 9:00 to get an Asian salad.
Saturday (6/10): Bill and I took Jude and Rachel to the park and I can't remember what else we did. Went to my cousin Natalie's baby shower sometime in the afternoon . I remember Rachel got a fever in the middle of the night 101.5F
Sunday (6/11) : Went to church at 10:30 and then back to my grandmother's for a light lunch. Went to the cemetary to see my aunt Tonya and aunt Paulette's grave sites , then over to uncle Bill's for a get together. My uncle and aunt Gloria bar-b-qued some hamburgers and hot dogs and my cousins' Brian and Jason ( and his wife Reese ) were there and my aunt Bonnie and cousin Kimberly and her daughter , Ana, came over as well. It was a full house . We had a nice visit.
When we left I had a sad feeling inside , I realized how much everyone has grown and how much we've missed over the years. All the birthdays and holidays without seeing eachother.
Bill got sick that night ;I think he caught what Rachel had.
Monday (6/12)- Bill didn't feel well and we cancelled the trip to Mt. St. Helen's , we went to downtown Olympia at noon with Jude. My mom took Rachel with her and took her to the mall with Amber, cousin Natalie , Kimberly, Ryan , Ana, and aunt Bonnie. Bill and I picked up some hamburgers from Burger King and had a picnic lunch in front of the capital building and the water park. Also went to Percival (sp?)Landing and walked along the boardwalk and took Jude to the playground. We walked up Capital Way about a total of 18- 20 blocks toward the children's museum and decided not to go because we were running out of time because we were due back at the house at 5:00 to go out to eat with my grandmother to "Falls Terrace." Packed our bags because we were due to leave in the morning.
Jude had a fever of 104 degrees that night.
Tuesday (6/13)- Left for Seattle at 10:00 , went to breakfast at 11:00 at Sheri's restaurant. Kids' fell asleep in the car on the way to Seattle , checked into the hotel by 2pm. We finally arrived at the Space Needle at around 3pm , the monerail to the market was closed due to repair so we got back in the car and drove closer to the market , parked, and walked up a few blocks to "Pike Place Market" which I love. But going with two sick pre- schoolers leaves much to be desired. We left the market around 6pm and headed to the hotel and had dinner at McDonald's ( I had another Asian salad). Went to sleep around 10?
Wednesday ( 6/14) - Flew back home and finally got in around midnight. Shew!!!!
All in all It was nice visiting family; that is really what the ultimate objective was anyway. But it was exhausting!! The sleeping arrangements were difficult with the kids. Jude fell out of the bed with his brace on once. It gets dark outside , finally, at 10:30pm or so and the windows in my grandmother's house have sheer window treatments. Bill and I have vowed to not take Jude and Rachel out on a major vacation involving air travel and long over night stays until they are much older.
I miss you all in Olympia already and I can't wait to see you again . Please visit us anytime.
Love, Anita
Please view photos of the trip ( that I am still in the process of uploading ) at http://kelli-smith-gallery.smugmug.com/gallery/1566815
We're back from our trip to see family in the Pacific Northwest - my mom's home state of Washington. I love it there and always feel sad to leave ; it is so beautiful.
Well we arrived on June 6th ( Tuesday) at about 1:15pm (PST) and picked up our rental car - a brand new 2006 Grand Caravan. We arrived in Olympia at my grandmother's house at about 3:30 pm. After settling into our rooms , Bill and I took Rachel and Jude over to one of the playgrounds in my grandmother's subdivision. We ate pizza and went to bed.
Wednesday (6/7) morning we went to see my step-grandfather in the nursing home and left about noon back to my grandmothers . My uncle Bill and cousin Brian came over for a quick visit and we then tried to get Jude and Rachel down for a nap ,in which we were unsuccessful ,then left to "Lattin's Market " and petting zoo to let the kids run around. I bought some apples and honey sticks. Bill and I went to safeway to buy the ingredients for our dinner ( yellow rice and chicken ) and a 12 pack of Rainier beer for Bill ( he drank over the next 7 days- he wanted to try some locally brewed beer).
Thurday (6/8) we picked up my aunt Bonnie in the late morning and went to Olympia's Farmer's Market, walked around alittle bit and ate some German food ; the kids' had chicken nuggets. I wish I got curried Indian instead. Took Bonnie back home, tried to get the little one's down for a nap , but couldn't - went to my uncle Bill's house instead. We had nice visit with my uncle for an hour or so and then left and went to KFC and brought a bucket of chicken home to grandma's and then stayed up and watched T.V. ( which is hard to do because my grandmother watches "Texas Ranger " with Chuck Norris every weeknight from 7- 9 pm) . When she went to bed we watched alittle T.V., went to bed which was usually 9-10 at night, every night .
Friday (6/9) we went to Mt. Rainier without my grandmother. We got turned around and headed to downtown Olympia. After realizing that we were headed in the wrong direction, we headed back down Capital Way to Yelm Highway and got turned around again, which set us back a total of 60 minutes plus. We took a wrong turn in Tenino somewhere and headed toward the mountain around noon and stopped off at a restaurant called "Copper Creek Inn" which was very nice ; I had Oyster stew and a club sandwich that I split with Bill. We got to the mountain at around 1:00 (?) , which cost $15 a car load to get in. As we were driving the twisty- turney road that let to the top , we soon realized that we were driving in a cloud. We stopped along the way to look at Narada Falls , which was beautiful. The falls were full and loud and Bill, Amber and I went down to get a better view while my mom stayed back in the van with Jude and Rachel. On the way down to see it Bill fell about 3 or 4X because the snow was everywhere and Bill had on his tennis shoes. We got back in the car and headed up the mountain to Paradise - visitors center and we couldn't see a thing. I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo disappointed !!!
We spent the time looking in the gift shop and museum. The whole mountain was engulfed in a cloud and it was about 40 - 50 degrees. We left to go home and arrived at my grandmother's at about 7:00pm, went to bed early; I don't think we ate anything for dinner. I vaguely remember wanting to go to Mc Donald's around 9:00 to get an Asian salad.
Saturday (6/10): Bill and I took Jude and Rachel to the park and I can't remember what else we did. Went to my cousin Natalie's baby shower sometime in the afternoon . I remember Rachel got a fever in the middle of the night 101.5F
Sunday (6/11) : Went to church at 10:30 and then back to my grandmother's for a light lunch. Went to the cemetary to see my aunt Tonya and aunt Paulette's grave sites , then over to uncle Bill's for a get together. My uncle and aunt Gloria bar-b-qued some hamburgers and hot dogs and my cousins' Brian and Jason ( and his wife Reese ) were there and my aunt Bonnie and cousin Kimberly and her daughter , Ana, came over as well. It was a full house . We had a nice visit.
When we left I had a sad feeling inside , I realized how much everyone has grown and how much we've missed over the years. All the birthdays and holidays without seeing eachother.
Bill got sick that night ;I think he caught what Rachel had.
Monday (6/12)- Bill didn't feel well and we cancelled the trip to Mt. St. Helen's , we went to downtown Olympia at noon with Jude. My mom took Rachel with her and took her to the mall with Amber, cousin Natalie , Kimberly, Ryan , Ana, and aunt Bonnie. Bill and I picked up some hamburgers from Burger King and had a picnic lunch in front of the capital building and the water park. Also went to Percival (sp?)Landing and walked along the boardwalk and took Jude to the playground. We walked up Capital Way about a total of 18- 20 blocks toward the children's museum and decided not to go because we were running out of time because we were due back at the house at 5:00 to go out to eat with my grandmother to "Falls Terrace." Packed our bags because we were due to leave in the morning.
Jude had a fever of 104 degrees that night.
Tuesday (6/13)- Left for Seattle at 10:00 , went to breakfast at 11:00 at Sheri's restaurant. Kids' fell asleep in the car on the way to Seattle , checked into the hotel by 2pm. We finally arrived at the Space Needle at around 3pm , the monerail to the market was closed due to repair so we got back in the car and drove closer to the market , parked, and walked up a few blocks to "Pike Place Market" which I love. But going with two sick pre- schoolers leaves much to be desired. We left the market around 6pm and headed to the hotel and had dinner at McDonald's ( I had another Asian salad). Went to sleep around 10?
Wednesday ( 6/14) - Flew back home and finally got in around midnight. Shew!!!!
All in all It was nice visiting family; that is really what the ultimate objective was anyway. But it was exhausting!! The sleeping arrangements were difficult with the kids. Jude fell out of the bed with his brace on once. It gets dark outside , finally, at 10:30pm or so and the windows in my grandmother's house have sheer window treatments. Bill and I have vowed to not take Jude and Rachel out on a major vacation involving air travel and long over night stays until they are much older.
I miss you all in Olympia already and I can't wait to see you again . Please visit us anytime.
Love, Anita
Please view photos of the trip ( that I am still in the process of uploading ) at http://kelli-smith-gallery.smugmug.com/gallery/1566815
