Whereas our staycation goes wonky!

Our staycation turned into a topsy turvy week: Our 30 year old air conditioning finally decided to break beyond John's capability to fix it, so had it fixed to work temporarily and getting estimates to replace. Meanwhile it's been too hot to cook so choose Cattleman's for our anniversary and Cheesecake factory for John's bday. College course for James was a bust due to difficulty so dropped it and need to enroll him in something else. We did get him a new mattress set which will only take a couple weeks to be delivered. Yeah. Went to Naturwood shopping for leather couch and fell in love with a couple but they are too huge for our living room. Poo! Any changes such as different color or configuration will take 19 weeks to get done. Going to another store tomorrow to see what they have.

Did get a chance to go to Barnes and Noble and picked up a few books: Pierce Brown's Red Rising, Mark Pryor's Book Artist, Susan Mallery's Boardwalk Bookshop, and Alice Henderson's A Blizzard of Polar Bears.

Family Vacation: Lake Morton, Washington

We've been back a few days now from Washington, basically being lazy and recovering from our vacation.  Had an absolutely wonderful time.   A few months back during Brenda Novak's Diabetes auction I won the bid on a week long stay at Cherry Adair's guesthouse on Lake Morton.  We picked a perfect time to go.

The day we arrived it was raining, but cleared up after that and it was gorgeous, sunny and clear until the day we left.   We arrived to Cherry greeting us with fresh home made cookies and one of her beautiful schnauzer dogs, Chase.

The morning after we arrived, I walked out on the back deck and there was Mt. Ranier in all it's glory.   Found out later that you can't see the mountain 75% of the time because it's too cloudy.  We got to see it for five of the days we were there.  The grounds and garden of the property are beautiful and hubby took a million pictures.  I'll post a few on facebook to share. 

We had lazy days interspersed with fun filled days going to the Seattle Aquarium in which I finally got up close to a octopus and personal with the sea life in the exhibit pools.

Weird having it clasp my finger

Loki - 4 years old

Afterwards, we decided to hike up the Pike Street Hill Climb to Pike's Market. Little did I realize we were approaching it from the wrong end and when we reached the top of these steps, that we'd have to trudge up an equal amount of steps into the market.   None of us had the energy by this point and turned around, walked back down and went to Fisherman's Restaurant and Bar next to the Aquarium.  Delicious food and enough to bring home in a doggy bag to feed all three of us dinner the next night. 

Pike Street Hill Climb

Enjoying a shot of scotch

We also had the opportunity to go to the Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour. The day we were there, Boeing received certification for the new 787 Dreamliner.  During the tour we got to see the 747, 767, and the 787 in production.  We weren't allow to take any pictures during the tour since they do have some secrets to keep.  Check out their website though which has plenty of info if you are interested.  It was awesome seeing these planes in production. The plant is 98 acres so in order to get from one end of the plant to the other, you have to take a bus.  Boeing uses a huge cargo plane called the Dreamlifter to transport airplane parts and two were on the grounds.

On our last day there, we went out paddleboating around the lake.   I had to bribe James and the incentive was getting to see girls in bikinis.  *grin*  

After we took a short trip, Father and I went around the lake.  Here's the view of the property from the lake. 

I also got to have a long chat with our lovely hostess about writing, books and life.   

Me, Cherry, Chase, James and David

Family Vacation: Arizona

Bullhead City, AZ overlooking the Colorado River and Laughlin, NV

Hello, my darlings.  We made it back safe and sound from visiting my parents in AZ.   It's taken me the past week to get caught up with mine and James school work, work and household stuff.   We had a wonderful time with my parents.  Very relaxing actually. We did a whole lot of nothing which was a nice break from all our busyness.   Mom is recovering from her stroke and getting around with a cane now, although it is slow going for her.  Dad has turned into a regular Suzie homemaker, taking on all cooking and cleaning duties.   We gave him a break and took over the kitchen for a few days while we were there. Enjoyed getting to spend time with my sister, Annie, who I hadn't seen for eons. 

Aren't they cute! 

Dad, Mom and Annie!  So adorable!

My folks have a regular animal sanctuary in their backyard with all kinds of rabbits, roadrunners, chipmunks, and other types of birds hanging out.   We actually got to see a day old bunny who disappeared after a day or so.

Kind of fuzzy taken since taken with my iphone at dusk

Another bunny hanging out in the back yard

Getting something to eat.

 Hello! 

Mom and dad own a modular home in an over 55 mobile home park for family and friends to stay when they visit. It was very comfortable. The park owner's allowed us to stay even though we were under 55. Very accommodating.

Our home away from home!

Beautiful day in the neighborhood!

While we were there, we visited the historic mining town of Oatman, AZ on route 66 where semi - wild burros, descendants from the burros of the mining days have the run of the town.  They are generally pretty friendly and love carrots.  However on the day we were there, a wild male burro who generally doesn't come into town was there and taking on the male burro who thinks the town is his.

Dominant male of the town

Strange Burro who wanted to take over. He got run out of town.

Look at me, dad! 

The Oatman hotel is an interesting spot with over 60,000 dollar bills tacked to the walls and ceiling.

Painted on the side of the building and which presidential actions closed the mine.

You'll just have to drive around me to get out of town!

The first three days we were there, they were having an unseasonable heat wave and the temperatures were 100+.  Fortunately it cooled down the last couple days we were there.   For the first time we flew Jet Blue airlines and I have nothing but praise for them.  Very professional and friendly staff, clean planes with comfortable seats and plenty of legroom, plus free drinks and snacks.  It was seamless, stress less travel both ways.  I highly recommend them.  

Family Vacation: Pajaro Dunes

Pajaro Dunes

We have just returned from a fun filled week on the coast. We went to Pajaro Dunes which is a private beach community located between Monterey and Santa Cruz. We rented a beachfront condo and had fun in the sun, playing on the beach, whale watching, reading and relaxing. We celebrated our 12th anniversary and Father's 50th Birthday. Back in the 70's Father's family owned one of the condominiums and built House 55 so it was an walk down memory lane for him.

Pelican Point Condo # 20

Shot Father took of James on the balcony from the beach

The living room and our view

We had the most amazing time and most of the time we had the beach practically to ourselves. The first morning James and I got up and got to see dolphins and sea otters playing in the surf. They would actually ride the waves coming into shore.

The dunes is also a national Marine Sanctuary, so we saw tons of birds and we just had to go out and check them out. They were following schools of fish down the beach and feasting.




We went on a 3 hour whale watching tour through Monterey Bay Whale Watch which was actually James first time on a boat. Happy to report he isn't prone to sea sickness. We saw seals, sea otters, dolphins, humpback and blue whales. It was interesting to see the schools of krill swimming around and the whales surfacing to scoop up a whole slew of them. We also got to see jelly fish and moon jellies.

Dolphins

There She Blows

Blue Whale

At a certain point, we gave up taking pictures and just enjoyed watching the whales and the boat ride. After the boat ride, we wandered around fisherman's wharf and had dinner at Isabella's Italian Seafood restaurant. Delicious and highly recommend it!

Beautiful Sunsets!

Took oodles and boodles of pictures to experiment with and will have plenty to share for wordless wednesday and a whole lot more, including a funny story to tell about James and encounter with a pelican.

Goodbye Ocean!

Arizona Vacation

We're back! It was an interesting drive, pretty much a straight shot up I-5 - thanks goodness for cruise control. Crossed over to highway 99 via 46 through Lost Hills. Will never stop in Lost Hills again. We dropped by McDonalds for a bite to eat and have a restroom break. Flies all over the place, inside and out. Yeech! Continued up hilly CA-58 to Mojave and got to the Best Western Desert Inn around 8:00 p.m. Very nice clean place, right across from a very busy train track. Good thing we like the sound of trains.

I'm so glad we didn't decide to stop the night in Barstow. When we got back on the road in the morning, it was another hour's drive. I-40 was more of the same - straight shot up through the hills.

We listened to a couple audio story books by Jim Weiss - Giants and Uncle Wiggly. James is a good traveler but hates to stop until we get to our location.





We arrived at my folks house mid afternoon. My mom was just getting over that horrible bug that leaves you with a hacking cough. So we took it easy and had a wonderful, relaxing time.




The wind was blowing like crazy on Wednesday so we took it easy. Drove down by the Colorado River by Davis Dam. I got out to take some pictures and was almost blown away. We went over to Perkins for lunch and then over to Walmart to pick up some goodies.



Thursday, Grandpa, James and I went over to Lake Mojave and tried our hand at fishing. The wind was still blowing like crazy, but grandpa had promised James he take him fishing.




The fish were biting, but not in the mood to be caught. Twice, the buggers chomp off the fish bait and the whole hook. Then, when grandpa cut the bait into smaller pieces, they just nibbled those off.




We went over to the marina which is a protective area for the fish. On the way, Grandpa coached James on how to call the fish.







The fish hang out by the dock and beg for food. They swim close enough to pet, but if the ranger catches you, they will fine you.






Friday, we went over to Keepers of the Wild. It is an animal sanctuary for endangered animals such as lions, tigers, wolves, etc. Very interesting place started years ago by Jonathan Kraft. Most of the animals have been abused or abandoned by owners and brought to Jonathan to take care of. We went on a safari tour and one of the volunteer's, Sarah, told us about each of the animals. Check out their website to find out about some of them.





Saturday morning, my cousin came over with her adorable 7 month old granddaughter and we visited for a while, before taking off for home. We spent the night in Bakersfield at the Best Western Crystal Palace. Nice place but not very sound proof. We arrived home Sunday afternoon around 1:30. We had a good trip and it is nice to be home.