Today was our last day in Yellowstone Park – so we headed to Old Faithful. We got to the parking lot about an hour before the projected eruption and decided to walk around the lower boardwalk trail that was about 1.2 miles in length. You should know that we made a tactical error in our food planning. That is - we packed boiled eggs in our cooler and ate one most mornings. Imagine the smell of all those steam mud and sulphurized waterspouts and boiled eggs for breakfast. It will be a long time before I want to see this particular part of the country or eat boiled eggs.
After we watched the beauty of Old Faithful as it agitated and sprayed a plume of 110’ we walked through the spectacular Old Faithful Lodge, headed to the General Store and shared a candy bar in a rocking chair on the porch. As we were leaving the area on our way to West Yellowstone Michael asked me where the Morning Glory thermal pool was on the park map. This is THE site that he really wanted to see because the last time he there at the age of 11 it made such an impression on him. I regretfully informed him that the pool was back on a trail by Old Faithful. We promptly turned around and headed back to the Old Faithful parking lot. An hour and a half later we came to the pool of water. It wasn’t as big or as blue or as he remembered it – poor Michael. So we’re on the road again – our longest stretch of the trip – 500 miles to Spokane.
It was quite a drive, made pleasant by air conditioning, a game of tennis at a little high school in Superior, Montana, more air conditioning and a book on tape (in that order). We got into Spokane and crashed at our hotel… oh the joy of a queen-size bed! The next morning after breakfast we went to the Spokane Temple, changed by the side of a country road (we’re getting very good at this) and then went to the airport to pick up Mom (Jeanette). Then we worked our way up to the northern panhandle of Idaho and on to Priest Lake. What a revelation! We stayed with Jeanette’s best friend from high school, Jane. Oh Jane, what a wonderful lake house, fantastic home cooking and superb surroundings! Michael and I are sold. We have switched our dream of a beach cottage on the Oregon coast to a lake house… somewhere.
The first night we sleep in another wonderful, roomy bed and like clockwork I had to get up for my nightly potty moment. Now I’m not bluffing when I tell you that our room, in fact the entire house, was pitch black. I thumped and bumped my way to the bedroom door and down the hall. Tried a few doors and straightened a picture that I grazed along the wall before I found the bathroom. As I headed back to “our” room I found the door handle walked in and immediately bumped into the edge of a bed; started feeling my way around the room and noticed an LED alarm clock and said to myself, “Wait a minute we don’t have an alarm clock. Holy cats, I’m in someone else’s room.” So I thumped and bumped my way out of the room and quietly shut the door. I remember standing in the hall way and making our in the faint moonlight the shape of two couches. By this time I was so disoriented that I thought that maybe I should just go sleep on the couch until morning. Instead I decided to try one more door – eureka! I found our room and bed. Michael says that it was at this point that I got chatty with him and tried to tell him the whole story. I, on the other hand, didn’t begin to chat until I noticed that he was getting up to go to the potty himself at which point I said, “Good luck with that!”
After two glorious days of art gallery shopping, laughing, paddling on the lake and golfing we reluctantly left Priest Lake. We started back to Spokane and on to Mom’s house in Puyallup, Washington. Michael said at dinner that night, “Let the five pound weight gain begin!” Jeanette always stuffs us to the gills with baked goods, full course breakfasts and filling dinners. Resistance is futile.
Picked up Andrea and Jayson at the airport on Tuesday heading to downtown Seattle and a day at the Waterfront and Pike’s Place market. At the Market we watched the fishmonger’s throw fish around and splatter fish juice on an older, very demanding woman. “I want to see a show! Where’s the show?!” You get the idea. We purchased and ate the best (and I do mean the best) nectarine that any of us had every eaten - so sweet and incredibly juicy. Next we boarded the ferry and went to Bainbridge Island to eat at a place showcased on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Even though the girl that answered the phone at the Big Star Diner told me directions and that it was within walking distance (debatable) she didn’t tell me that the restaurant closed at 3:00 PM. Time we arrived? 5:00 PM. So we walked back to the ferry hungry, tired and cranky. Okay, I was the only one that was cranky. On the ferry Michael fed the seagulls cookie bits as they floated by the railing of the boat – “Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it.” After landing we made a beeline for Safeco Field, a Starvin Marvin hotdog and a great game! Mariners -3 Angles – 0. What a wonderful day.
Wednesday was a short day-trip to Leavenworth – the wonderful Bavarian town where Michael lived as a young boy. After a quick drive-by tour of the town the boys golfed; the girls shopped and in the end we left town with a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory caramel apple, soft peanut brittle and of course, more nectarines!
