Aiieee, There Be Pirates Here!

We watched the most INTERESTING show on The History Channel the other night. Real Pirates Of The Caribbean. If it is shown again, please make an effort to watch. Lots of interesting facts...like Blackbeard was well-educated. Henry Morgan was granted clemency by the English king after a long life of debauchery and pirating. And that there were 2 female pirates (woot - as my daughter says... woot for women's lib!) Everybody raise their hand that has a broken water line somewhere between the main connection and their home connection...a minor 880 feet of line that has to be checked. The hubby has to call the testers (very expensive) that will use Ultra Sound to find the leak. Our bills for the last 2 months have been ExtremeLy higH and it looks like until we get it fixed, this month will be another expensive water bill. Why Us? Wow.

Looks like I'm the only one in the room that raised their hand.

Lucky Me! Tonight it rained in sheets. Black clouds in the sky. Extremely horrible for about 35 minutes. Then I got outside and took pics of the rainbow in the sky. Scrapped a picture of me and hubby sucking face on the beach at Port Townsend.

SO romantic, huh?

Sunday we stayed home to combat the heat (high of 92 degrees) and just relaxed. Greg watched his automotive entertainment programs and I did some digital scrapbook work. Then we went to the local grocery store in a nearby small town. Since the sun was going down and it had gotten cooler, we decided to walk the dog at the beach. BIG MISTAKE. Lots of drunk, slap-happy idiots were loading and unloading their boats. One guy almost ran over his two-year old kid. We narrowly avoided getting run over by a car driven by an obvious crack-head. And talk about the RV-ers and garbage around the lake. It was awful. I told Greg I was NEVER going down there again. Today I was lethargic and tired. Sort of running a low grade fever. Tried sleeping, but was unable to do so. Greg came home and worked in the shop til late. I made his stir fry shrimp.

Catching Up

Cherry Chip Crumb Cake

1 Pound Bacon

Cherry Chip Cake

Tuna Salad

Pea Salad

Vacuum

Wash Clothes

Wash Dishes

Then get caught up on my scrapping and emails. I had 250 emails in one and 394 in the other.

How can a house get so dirty when nobody lives in it?

Also having to read all the info on NDISB forums to get caught up.

I'll never be done.

Before we left on vacation, the doctor put me on a special medication to combat my endometriosis.

However, a few days into our vacation, I blew up like a balloon.

About 20 pounds were added to my frame.

My clothes would not fit...

After 3 weeks of two hours per day exercise on my bike,

I was feeling quite good about getting back into shape.

My tanning consultant complimented me on it; my husband noticed.

Now I have to start all over again.

How depressing.

Home Again

After a brief continental breakfast on the balcony overlooking the harbor and marina, we packed and made a quick stop for a photo op at the county building. From the peak of Port Townsend, the vista is teaming with myriad boats of every make and size. Tiny fishing boats for personal use, massive carriers of humans and vehicles, and fabric flapping sailboats. Boarding the ferry for a trip to Whidbey Island, we drove on the lower deck of the steel behemoth. Exiting the vehicle and climbing to the upper deck, we stood at the aft of the boat watching the seagulls dip and float on the wind. Our faces turned to the sun with the water surging and splashing us, we watched PT fade into the background as the Island stood furious before us. Disembarking 30 minutes later, we made our way overland to the 2nd ferry ride of the day from the tiny town of Clinton to Everett. After another exciting 20 minute ride, we drove through Everett and stopped in the town of Monroe to fill with gasoline and top off our hungry bellies. We picked up a snack lunch of KFC to stop at a wayside park beside the Skykomish River. Making the acquaintance of the park mascot, a cross-breed dog that shared in our repast and made friends with Isabelle, we sat in the shade for a while just soaking in the feeling of rest and relaxation. Continuing our journey, we made another brief stop at Deception Fall which lies just past Stevens Pass on Hwy 2. Isabelle was just the best baby dog as we had to walk among many people and children to reach the view of the falls. Unfortunately, the most putrid smelling outhouse was located amidst the splendor and beauty of this area. We drove through the town of Leavenworth which has been made over into a Scandinavian burg. To me, it was creepy. I did not especially like the buildings mimicking the actual Scandinavian architecture. It almost appeared to me like a bloated caricature cartoon city. The remainder of our trip was uneventful until we returned to Spokane, with the massive amount of roadwork occurring, we diverted through the middle of the town to skirt the interstate. A record 94 degrees in downtown Spokane gradually cooled to 74 degrees when we reached our home. We stopped at the local amusement park on the way to watch the very brief 7 minute fireworks ceremony which was quite a disappointment. Even though the house had been closed and everything unplugged, we still returned to a massive amount of dust and disruption. The waterline to the swamp cooler had broken, our weeds had grown a foot in the short time we were gone, and other things needed attention. We unpacked today and did loads of laundry, then ran to get a few necessities for groceries. Very happy to return and greet our local espresso stand! We took Isabelle to the vet to verify her skin condition she picked up at the beach was just mosquito bites; she then received her current shots and got her toenails trimmed. She was just as happy to return home as we were. She kicked up her heels after pooping in the woods, and ran merrily around all day long. Greg returns to work tomorrow. I can only imagine what will happen…

Harborside

We stopped in Port Townsend, WA overnight and ended up staying two nights. Even though the room was directly next to a marina wherein loading and unloading of boats took place from sunup to well beyond dark...It was very enjoyable. An enclosed deck gave us a breathtaking view of the bay. The town is a quaint victorian themed area. The thought that it was to be the west coast "New York" was held by the town fore-fathers back in the 1880s. However, when a depression ensued and the railroad fell into receivership, many homes were totally abandoned and beautiful enormous downtown buildings in the middle of being built were never completed. The town literally stood still until the early 1970s when it was rediscovered. Most places were well preserved and brought back with slight renatovations to now house shops, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment. On the bluff of the town, lies an enormous garden park. Originated by the uppper class women in the 1800s, they wanted a park of great reputation as in larger cities. Once housing gazebos, band concerts, and amphitheatre. We walked through flower gardens, an archway of blooms, and then down to the shoreline to observe the ferry docking, and see the lighthouse at the far end of the point. We visited the Port Townsend museum, 2nd floor temporarily located in a vintage building with a decidedly rolling and slanted floor! Young Parents! Take note!-I do NOT want to listen to your squalling, squealing children while paying a premium price to visit a museum. We had barely been there 5 minutes when this unfortunate incident happened. The mother of this child decided that she would follow ME around the museum. Wouldn't attentive parents have discerned the reason WHY this poor child was screaming? It so happened that it was about lunch time and obviously the baby needed to be fed and napped... But these rude people thought only of themselves and not a jot of ruining a quiet, idle time for others to browse a very interesting musuem of history. Our museum tour then took us to the Rothschild Home; a perfectly preserved home of the local merchantile agent who committed suicide in 1886 after the town went bankrupt. He left behind his wife, 3 sons and 2 daughters. The youngest daughter became a librarian, staying home for the rest of her life, becoming a spinster to take care of her elderly mother. Everything that was in the home from the 1800s is still there, ALL the furnishings, ALL the floor coverings, ALL the clothing. Very eerie stepping back into time. Partaking of a hotdog street vendor that had been in business since 1981, we returned to our hotel room to take a brief nap and recover from our extensive walking. After a brief respite, we then walked around the local boatyard and talked to the locals about the services & vessels being repaired there.

A Very Bad Idea

Driving thru Washington from Seaside, we traveled along the scenic 101 Hwy (the Coast Highway). With no rooms to be had in Aberdeen, we continued on to Montesarro. Which was a big mistake. The hotel just off the highway, was way too expensive and right next to an all night gas station. Rude drivers leaving their heaps of junk running, boom boxes cranked at 3AM, and doors slamming prevented us from achieving a full rest. Continuing on after a latte in this miniature burg (I am totally amazed by the amount of espresso stands throughout the NW-it is NOT unusual to find quad lattes in 20 ounces. Anybody drinking this much back home is in consideration of being a dope fiend, searching for a new high...) Anyway, we continued on the 101 Hwy to Olympia, picking up fresh Bing cherries for Greg. In Olympia, we made a detour for the dog elimination of bodily fluids. Walking along the waterside and observing many huge boats, it was hotter in the sun than the indicated 72 degrees, so I stripped off my sweatshirt with only my black Victoria's Secret bra for a top. Instantly feeling cooler, at last feeling it was truly summer! Arriving at a beautiful resort town-Port Townsend, WA and securing an enormous beautiful harbor view room, we unpacked and walked through the quaint Victorian town. PICS to follow. Oh. P.S. WASHINGTON-label your highways better. We were on 3 different highways for over 10 miles with no identification road signs. What about indicating on the road itself the designation...i.e.-Hwy 101; wouldn't that be simple?