Monday, August 30, 2004
OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS IN SEATTLE....1974
Note………
Yesterday I wrote about my husband, Warren, losing his leg in 1980 and some of his recuperation during the Olympic trials that year. Since most of you read John’s Journal I thought you would like to know that he ran a marathon that year and sent his medal to Warren. He told him he ran the race for him and he was sending him the medal “because he was a winner.” After Warren’s death in 1997 I returned the letter and medal to John. They both showed they could come through when the going got tough. I’m rightfully proud of them both.
************************************************************************
Going to Seattle…….we left Blair at 8:00am; dad, mom, aunt Mary, aunt Beulah and yours truly. We ate lunch east of Ogallala, NE. and ended up at Casper, Wyoming with 640-miles under our belts. We slept hard and fast to be up early and on the road again. We saw lots of pronghorn’s and the weather was perfect. Great scenery with Fall colors everywhere. We stopped at Missoula, Montana for the night…..a long way from our starting place this morning. By the next day we made it to Louis’ door-step by 5:00pm to a warm welcome from Louis and Gail. A festive mood was spilling over with the anticipation of showing aunt Mary and aunt Beulah all the sights in and around Seattle.
There is so much to do and see there but I’ll have to confess….even then, when I was much younger, I was content to sit and look at the lake with the boats coming and going. At night, the lights on Mercier Island, just across from us, twinkled like fire-flies dancing over the water. A good friend of Louis’ brought his large RV and left it for some of us to sleep in. It took a lot of luggage out of the house as aunt Mary, aunt Beulah and I stayed in the RV. (We dubbed it the “RV Hilton”).
We spent the first day visiting and resting up. Day two, Louis told us a ferry boat, the Princess Margarita, was making her last trip up to Vancouver the next day and we gals should all go….. so early morning we were up and drove down to Pier 64 where we bought our tickets and boarded. It was very crowded due to the fact it was her last run. The scenery up the coast was indescribable and the crowded ferry was no problem because everyone was in a holiday mood and accommodating. Coming into Vancouver was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. A huge hotel faced the pier we came in on and there were flowers blooming everywhere. It was like a fairyland from another world.
We had a certain amount of time to get off and look around. As we walked past the hotel and peeked inside it was truly elegant…..we walked on, stopping to look in shop windows and finally one full of lovely china dishes lured us in. We each bought something to remember the trip and wished we had more time and money. People began to stream back to the ferry so we did as well. The next day the article was in the paper with a picture of the Margarita. I have the clipping somewhere in my mementos.
The next day, the Goddard’s (neighbors of Louis and Gail) took us on a ride around Lake Washington in their yacht and we saw the beautiful homes that line Mercier Island as well as across, where Louis lived. That evening, Bill (Goddard) treated us to music on their organ. With the lapping of the water on the seawall, the organ music, and twinkling lights from the Island, it wove a perfect ending to our day.
The next morning we drove up to the property Louis owned on one of the rivers and had fun rock hunting and looking around. The rushing water from run-off higher up, huge pines, damp smells and rocks washed up along the river’s edge made entertainment for some time. We all love rocks and hunting pretty ones. On our way back we found a cute little place called the Dutch Cup and we stopped for fresh blackberry cobbler. Yum!!!
Of course you can’t see Seattle without going up the Space Needle so we did that and ate at the Food Court again; we did all the things that we enjoyed and wanted aunt Mary and aunt Beulah to see. It’s fun watching someone’s reaction to something that has previously impressed you. We ended the day by going to Ivar’s for a seafood dinner.
We girls decided we needed to go back to Vancouver and do more shopping so we drove up this time with Gail’s help and spent the day. More dishes. I absolutely love English tableware. On the way back we stopped at a German restaurant and then back home. Louis and dad bummed around all day by themselves….I’m sure they were glad to be rid of us for a day. Shopping isn’t a guy thing. We had another two days in which to celebrate dad and Louis’ birthdays…..the last night there, Louis showed us his films taken on his trip to the South Pole and it was very impressive. We were so proud of him.
Morning light came and we left early before Louis and Gail had to go to work. Leaving is always sad for it’s a long way between Seattle and Missouri. We enjoyed the scenery of the Columbia River a good part of the day and stayed at Ontario, Oregon our first night out. We stopped in Mertaugh, Id. to see dad’s cousin Chris and his wife, Margretta….we were sad to find them both in ill-health. It would be the last time we would ever see them. We drove on to Ogden, Utah and stayed the night there and the next night in Ogallala, NE. The next day we traded driving on and off to Blair where we unloaded all the luggage; and aunt Beulah left for Omaha to spend more time with her sister before driving back to Arkansas.
Mom, dad and I left early the next morning for home. We were anxious to get back. Warren stayed home to work and take care of things while we were gone and was happy to see us when we drove in. He had called every day while we were gone so he had a good idea of the fun we had. I was so happy I went with them for dad and mom had a wonderful trip to remember…….and mom made it just fine.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
Yesterday I wrote about my husband, Warren, losing his leg in 1980 and some of his recuperation during the Olympic trials that year. Since most of you read John’s Journal I thought you would like to know that he ran a marathon that year and sent his medal to Warren. He told him he ran the race for him and he was sending him the medal “because he was a winner.” After Warren’s death in 1997 I returned the letter and medal to John. They both showed they could come through when the going got tough. I’m rightfully proud of them both.
************************************************************************
Going to Seattle…….we left Blair at 8:00am; dad, mom, aunt Mary, aunt Beulah and yours truly. We ate lunch east of Ogallala, NE. and ended up at Casper, Wyoming with 640-miles under our belts. We slept hard and fast to be up early and on the road again. We saw lots of pronghorn’s and the weather was perfect. Great scenery with Fall colors everywhere. We stopped at Missoula, Montana for the night…..a long way from our starting place this morning. By the next day we made it to Louis’ door-step by 5:00pm to a warm welcome from Louis and Gail. A festive mood was spilling over with the anticipation of showing aunt Mary and aunt Beulah all the sights in and around Seattle.
There is so much to do and see there but I’ll have to confess….even then, when I was much younger, I was content to sit and look at the lake with the boats coming and going. At night, the lights on Mercier Island, just across from us, twinkled like fire-flies dancing over the water. A good friend of Louis’ brought his large RV and left it for some of us to sleep in. It took a lot of luggage out of the house as aunt Mary, aunt Beulah and I stayed in the RV. (We dubbed it the “RV Hilton”).
We spent the first day visiting and resting up. Day two, Louis told us a ferry boat, the Princess Margarita, was making her last trip up to Vancouver the next day and we gals should all go….. so early morning we were up and drove down to Pier 64 where we bought our tickets and boarded. It was very crowded due to the fact it was her last run. The scenery up the coast was indescribable and the crowded ferry was no problem because everyone was in a holiday mood and accommodating. Coming into Vancouver was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. A huge hotel faced the pier we came in on and there were flowers blooming everywhere. It was like a fairyland from another world.
We had a certain amount of time to get off and look around. As we walked past the hotel and peeked inside it was truly elegant…..we walked on, stopping to look in shop windows and finally one full of lovely china dishes lured us in. We each bought something to remember the trip and wished we had more time and money. People began to stream back to the ferry so we did as well. The next day the article was in the paper with a picture of the Margarita. I have the clipping somewhere in my mementos.
The next day, the Goddard’s (neighbors of Louis and Gail) took us on a ride around Lake Washington in their yacht and we saw the beautiful homes that line Mercier Island as well as across, where Louis lived. That evening, Bill (Goddard) treated us to music on their organ. With the lapping of the water on the seawall, the organ music, and twinkling lights from the Island, it wove a perfect ending to our day.
The next morning we drove up to the property Louis owned on one of the rivers and had fun rock hunting and looking around. The rushing water from run-off higher up, huge pines, damp smells and rocks washed up along the river’s edge made entertainment for some time. We all love rocks and hunting pretty ones. On our way back we found a cute little place called the Dutch Cup and we stopped for fresh blackberry cobbler. Yum!!!
Of course you can’t see Seattle without going up the Space Needle so we did that and ate at the Food Court again; we did all the things that we enjoyed and wanted aunt Mary and aunt Beulah to see. It’s fun watching someone’s reaction to something that has previously impressed you. We ended the day by going to Ivar’s for a seafood dinner.
We girls decided we needed to go back to Vancouver and do more shopping so we drove up this time with Gail’s help and spent the day. More dishes. I absolutely love English tableware. On the way back we stopped at a German restaurant and then back home. Louis and dad bummed around all day by themselves….I’m sure they were glad to be rid of us for a day. Shopping isn’t a guy thing. We had another two days in which to celebrate dad and Louis’ birthdays…..the last night there, Louis showed us his films taken on his trip to the South Pole and it was very impressive. We were so proud of him.
Morning light came and we left early before Louis and Gail had to go to work. Leaving is always sad for it’s a long way between Seattle and Missouri. We enjoyed the scenery of the Columbia River a good part of the day and stayed at Ontario, Oregon our first night out. We stopped in Mertaugh, Id. to see dad’s cousin Chris and his wife, Margretta….we were sad to find them both in ill-health. It would be the last time we would ever see them. We drove on to Ogden, Utah and stayed the night there and the next night in Ogallala, NE. The next day we traded driving on and off to Blair where we unloaded all the luggage; and aunt Beulah left for Omaha to spend more time with her sister before driving back to Arkansas.
Mom, dad and I left early the next morning for home. We were anxious to get back. Warren stayed home to work and take care of things while we were gone and was happy to see us when we drove in. He had called every day while we were gone so he had a good idea of the fun we had. I was so happy I went with them for dad and mom had a wonderful trip to remember…….and mom made it just fine.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
