Cent bourne

Found our 100th cache yesterday.

It was hot and humid for a couple days and difficult to do physical work outside. (Among other jobs, we have 12 yards of red-dyed mulch that needs to be spread.) So yesterday afternoon Kathy put together a picnic lunch for a caching trip for the three of us (she and Brenda had a shopping trip earlier in the day--too hot to work, remember).

A drizzle began to fall and the temperatures fell somewhat so not too bad outside. On our way. The ninety-ninth was a micro off 30 Mile Road, and we could not find another near our McD. Let's eat We went to a little park off 33 Mile Road, had our picnic under a shelter, then found the hundredth in a nearby tree. To celebrate we had Skinny Cow brand ice cream treats.

Traveling the Great Northwest

On Wednesday we took the Amtrak train from Seattle, where the train station is being renovated, to Vancouver which has a fine train station adjoining a bus station.  No problem with immigration and customs in Canada (on the train we saw cars lined up at the border checkpoint).  Not far from the Vancouver station is their Skytrain light rail system that took us to downtown.  It's interesting that there are no turnstiles.  Buy your ticket from a machine and board the train.  Notices are posted that you must have a fare receipt and I suppose some people cheat, but they must figure the savings in personnel and construction must outweigh losses in revenue.  The train is underground in downtown and we exited our station to walk about four blocks to our hotel

Our room overlooked the harbor and we could see float planes take off, land, and taxi to their marina below us--they are used to taxi people about the region and for sightseeing tours.  And a cruise ship got underway while we watched, backing out of its slip, then heading off toward Alaska.  Fascinating.

We walked along the sea walk, past the float planes, and eventually reached a marina with some very large boats.  One in particular caught our attention and another visitor with his two daughters told us he worked for the owner who is a self-made billionaire and had been on the boat once for a meeting.  He said it is nicer inside than what it looks outside.  One hundred fifty feet, at least.  Some of the other boats we saw are for sale and prices ranged from about a half million to  about one and a half million--but that's Canadian dollars I am reminded.  Later we grabbed a quick snack and went to an IMAX movie.  Next day we walked to the Gastown section of the city, saw the famous steam clock toot noon, then toured a classic Chinese garden in Chinatown before our return train trip to Seattle.

Thr following morning we walked to Qwest Field to buy tickets for the Tigers-Mariners baseball game, had lunch, then entered the stadium in time to see the Tigers take batting practice.  We became some of those folks we notice standing in the first row watching their favorite players and snapping pictures.  A couple rows in front of our seats were a couple and their two boys who were Tiger fans.  We found out the dad was back from Iraq about a month after a 15 month tour.  We had a great time though the Tigers lost.

Saturday we picked up Brenda from the airport and, on our way to James' house, we visited the Museum of Flight.  Planes from all eras of flight, an old factory restored, and some space flight memorabilia.  The highlight was a walk aboard a Concorde and an Air Force One.

The next day we left for Lake Chelan located east of the Cascade Mountains just west of the Columbia River.  We drove a northern route on US 2 through Stevens Pass (we returned to Snoqualmie Ridge via I-90 through Snoqualmie Pass) pausing to walk a trail to a waterfall and stretch our legs in Leavenworth; some compare it to Frankenmuth but there are important differences like not having its main street through the center of town.  On to Wapato Point Resort and our condo for the week.  Amenities include outdoor pools, a great view, beaches, and many water recreations such as jet skis.

The lake is 55 miles long and we took the Lady of the Lake boat trip from Chelan on the southeast end to Stehekin, a town of about 80 with only water access, on the northwest.  Great scenery, relaxing ride.  When the boat arrived we took a narrated tour (aboard a school bus) to the 312 foot Rainbow Falls.  We left the tour bus on its way back to Stehekin to eat lunch at Stehekin Bakery Company.  After lunch we purchased some goodies to take back to our condo and walked the two miles back to the boat landing where we visited the shops and National Park center.  On returning to Chelan we had dinner and then to the condo.

Another day we rented a boat and  toured some of the lake and had a mid-lake picnic--very comfortable for nine of us.  A little chop in the water kept us from wandering too far toward Stehekin.

We swam, hiked, played Wii games, and played with the boys.  James grilled and we ate out.  The ladies took the boys into town to see the movie Wall-E and eat popcorn and drink soda pop. We found geocaches along the Columbia River on a day trip north from Chelan to see some of the small towns there, and on our way back to the Ridge.

Joey joined us for a couple days--drove over from Spokane the day after one of his bicycle races.  We talked, went to the local coffee shop (this is a resort, not camping), played with the boys.  We were all glad to see him.

On our way back to Snoqualmie Ridge we saw forest fires still burning along the Columbia and the black remnants were visible for miles along our route--something we do not see in Romeo. Then close to Snoqualmie Pass James gave us coordinates to his cache and we found it in a park where we walked past rapids and a waterfall.

Spent Sunday night at James' and the following morning with Amy and the boys (she took her folks and Brenda to the airport earlier in the morning) and walked to get our coffee and rolls at the local Starbucks. Kathy and I left for our flight home.

A great trip.  A week with the whole family--fantastic.