SUNNYSIDE to LUMMI ISLAND, WA. (APR. 28, 2010), and a surprise visit for ANNE’s birthday (April 30, 2010)

The final leg of a ten month journey, and an odometer showing we had put 26,900 miles on the truck, came to an end as we arrived home on Wednesday, April 28... Two days before Anne’s big day…
We left Sunnyside around 7:30 AM, and began our trek toward the Cascade Mountains…
This country (from Sunnyside to the Cascade foothills) is eye-pleasing, to say the least…
Valleys are filled with vineyards, berries and apple orchards, and farms of all sort and sizes… Small, quaint towns cluster the freeway here and there, but you also come across bigger cities, like Yakima and Ellensburg…
Hopefully, if you come for a visit, the skies will be clear, and the sun will be out, because the vistas are breathtaking, and you can almost see forever…
Talking about the sun… As we neared the mountains, the Big Orb began its hide and seek behind layers of clouds: At first, flimsy little wisps, but then, as we got closer to Snoqualmie Summit, they gathered strength and purpose, and, before we knew it, we were in a light mist…
Of course, that turned into rain as we began our descent toward Puget Sound…
Welcome to the Evergreen State!
Backtracking for a sec…
A couple of weeks ago, we ordered an electric “kromkake” iron (from “Scandinavian Specialties,” in Ballard - a suburb of Seattle) for Anne’s birthday…
Luanne’s sister (“Gede”) was kind enough to pick it up for us, so we didn’t have to take the trailer into Seattle proper, so, today, for our first stop in Western Washington, we stopped at her house (in Mountlake Terrace) to fetch the little goodie…
Thanks, “Gede” for doing us that favor… We really appreciate it!
The clouds began to part, as we headed North on I-5, and by the time we reached Mount Vernon, we could see Lummi Island (in the distance) having no cloud cover at all… Nice welcoming sign!
We‘re dependent on a fairly high tide to take the trailer onto our little ferry, and, since high tide was at 7:00 PM, we had a few hours to kill before driving to the ferry terminal… Hence, we headed over to Costco, where we picked up some needed food stuff, and then walked over to Billy McHale’s for dinner: Prawns for me, nachos for the missus…
That done, we headed to the ferry, and lucked out… The tide was up enough so we got on the 5 o’clock, which was totally awesome… Saved a couple of hours, and that’s always good…
Home, sweet home!
It was good to be back…
Of course, as you all know, there are always some tumultuous days after you get home, especially after such a long trip…
All kinds of things need be addressed… Hook up water; call the appropriate authorities about TV and garbage, and, of course, you have all that stuff to put away…
Luanne wanted everything done in a day, which was virtually impossible, so I reminded her she’s now officially retired, but she only slowed down a bit… It’ll take a while to get her mind set to retirement… It took me a couple of years…
Anyway, we’re glad we came home early, so we got some stuff done…
From one thing to another…
It was a good thing we talked to Anne on the phone on Thursday and Friday mornings, because it was a bit hard to keep a straight face when we lied about where we were… But, hey, the end (in this case) justified the goal…
Of course, on Friday, our “Little White Lies” were revealed…
We drove down to Burlington, where we entered SAKURA, a Japanese restaurant, a half hour ahead of the appointed time…
Had the camera out, and took pictures as Anne and Dan entered, but Anne spotted us right off the bat, and moved so fast that none of them turned out… She dashed around folks eating, cooks cooking, tables aflame, and waiters wondering where the fire was… Tears in her eyes… Huge Bear hugs… Laughter…
Ah, what a joyous occasion!
Took her completely by surprise!
Our ruse worked…
She had no idea…
Our “Little White Lies” paid off…
Happy ending….
And that brings me to the end of my Blog…
We’ve had an incredible journey… One which we wish every person in America (the entire world, actually) would have the opportunity to experience…
This country is vast and diverse, and when it comes to beauty… Well… There can’t be many places that can compare… This country has it all: From prairies to snowcapped peaks; from sun baked deserts to rugged shores… Farmland, stretched from horizon to horizon… Forests and Swamps… There’s enough to cover everyone’s taste…
We’ve walked beaches, strolled along famous (and infamous) buildings, streets, and parks…
We’ve gazed upon some of this country’s celebrated statues and sculptures, and immersed ourselves in the history that made this country (in my mind) the best country in the world to live in and be a part of…
We’ve met some amazing and remarkable people, and we’ve eaten everything from gastronomic wonders to hot dogs…
I could go on and on, but you get the idea…
So, in closing, I would like to convey to those of you who looked in on our trip, and wished us well along the way, our sincerest and warmest THANK YOU… We’re grateful - to no end - for your friendship, your encouraging words, and your love…
A special thanks to “Gede” and Terry, who crossed the country (horizontally and vertically) to be with us for just a few days here and there… How cool is that?
And, of course, our most heartfelt and sincerest thanks to our kids and grandkids, Stein & Tina (Reese, Hailey, and Hannah); Anne & Dan (Hunter, Morgan, and little Holly); and our bachelor son, Erik, and his dog (Samson?), who kept an eye and an ear on our trip at all time, and who welcomed us with open arms when we arrived… Love you guys!
THE END
Oh, yeah… Here’s the last picture show: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/SUNNYSIDE%20to%20LUMMI%20ISLAND%5EJ%20WA.%20%5E5APR.%2028%5EJ%202010%5E6%5EJ%20and%20a%20surprise%20visit%20for%20ANNE%e2%80%99s%20%20birthday%20%5E5April%2030%5EJ%202010%5E6

ELY to JACKPOT, NEVADA, and then on to SUNNYSIDE, WASHINGTON (APR. 26 & 27, 2010)

I have an apology to make to my Blog readers…
Our daughter’s birthday (Anne) is April 30, so about a month ago, as we were contemplating our return home (which we had tentatively set for may 1), we decided to surprise her, by trying to make it home on or before her day…
To that end, we contacted Dan (her husband), and asked him to include us in whatever he had planned for her birthday…
Anne’s been an avid follower of the Blog (of course), and over the ten months we’ve been away, we’ve kept contact every day by either Email, Facebook, phone, or through SKYPE…
So, in order to surprise her, we had to cover up our intentions, which, in turn, had us dishing out “Little White Lies” the last week of our trip…
Dan let us know he had reservations at the SAKURA Japanese Restaurant, in Burlington, WA. (on Friday, April 30), and we, in turn, kept telling Anne we were in the desert, and a long way from home; Sorry, no chance to get home before your birthday…
The troubles we had (the tire blow-out, and the breaking of the power chord receptacle) were real, but we embellished on the truth a bit, on the Blog, Facebook, and phone, so we could explain not coming home before her day… I actually fixed the power chord thing the day we got to Ely, but wrote that it would take a couple of days to get the part sent there…
Of course, we embellished the weather angle, as well…
We had pretty much decent weather all the way home, but told Anne (and you) that we were stuck in snow, or the wind was blowing too hard to go any further…
What it all boils down to is that all this nonsense provided the excuse we needed to keep Anne in the dark…
Tuesday was a very long driving day (from Ely all the way to Sunnyside, in Washington), and we took a lot of pictures (I split them into two Blogs - this one and the next)…
They’re taken in Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and Southeastern Washington, and I believe I put enough captions in to give you an idea of where we are and what it looks like…
So that’s it for this Blog… Take a look at the pictures: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/ELY%20to%20JACKPOT%5EJ%20NEVADA%5EJ%20and%20then%20on%20to%20SUNNYSIDE%5EJ%20WASHINGTON%20%5E5APR.%2026%20%5E0%2027%5EJ%202010%5E6