Trip to Washington

Location, At Home

I am really behind with this blog as it has been almost 2 weeks since the last entry.

So, what has been happening since the last entry? Well, the bathroom is all painted and yes, I did need to get a can of Orange Peel spray and touch up the texture coat. I applied a coat of primer over that, then two coats of Glacier Bay satin enamel to finish. The color is between a green and a blue. Just like glacier ice looks like as the light changes. This all got completed before we left for Washington on Tuesday the 3rd of June. I also got most of the RV waxed. All but a small portion of the rear cap.

We left at 11 AM on Tuesday on Horizon Air which is a feeder line for Alaska Airlines. They fly CRJ-700 commuter jets. Nice aircraft with leather seats and they do serve snacks with juice or wine and Micro brew beer. In this day when few airlines do extras, Horizon gets my vote.

Clyda took this picture as we were boarding the airplane. The irony is that Michael has been accepted for school at Washington State University so we thought the plane decals were fitting for our trip.



We spent 2 days with Debbie and Thomas (friends of our son Tim) our friends also, in Portland, OR. The weather was rainy and cold but we managed to see the Rose Garden, downtown Portland, the river walk area and the new gondola. We also went wine tasting in the Yamhill valley and looked at a house Debbie wants to buy. Thomas was a gracious host and took us to two of the restaurants in the chain he works for. Fabulous food! Thanks Thomas and Debbie.

On Thursday afternoon, Debbie drove us to the airport and we caught the Horizon shuttle to Seattle. Our flight departed late but it is only a 55 minutes flight so that was ok. After spending an hour getting our rental car, being shuttled to the car agency, etc, we got on the road about 6 PM. It was probably better that we were late so the commute traffic could thin out. After driving for an hour we stopped for dinner at a nice restaurant called Maxwell’s in Marysville.

Another hour’s drive found us at our destination in Lynden, WA at Clyda’s sister Candi and her husband Mark. We were in Lynden last summer for three weeks with the RV. The real reason for this trip was to celebrate nephew Michael’s graduation from high school on Friday.

The weather was cold and showery all the time we were in Lynden but it was not raining for graduation which was good as everyone stood outside the gym afterwards to meet and greet friends. Lots of folks show up for graduation and the gym was packed. Along with Mark and Candi and Clyda and I were Marks parents John and Mryla from CA and Michaels sister Dawn who is a student at Seattle University studying ultra sound. More on this later.

Michael is an honor student and a member of the National Honor Society, a wood worker who has built several end tables and book shelves for his mother, has helped build a portable building as part of his school work and helped a friend build a house on Lummi Island. We did get Michael properly graduated. I don’t think he stopped smiling all day.



Michael will spend his first year in general studies at WSU (Wazoo) and hopes to enter the Architectural program starting his sophomore year.

Dawn has been going to school for 3 years and last fall was admitted to the Ultra Sound program at Seattle University. She was a last minute admit so had to scramble to find housing, get her grants and loans arranged and move to Seattle all within a few days. She is on the Deans List and loving the program. After a 4 week summer school she will be working a one year residency at the hospital in Bellingham. We are very proud of both Dawn and Michael and all they have accomplished the last few years.

The remainder of the trip was spent visiting and eating. Mark smoked ribs, chicken and salmon while we were there and was it ever good. Thanks Mark and Candi for a great week.

The return home wasn’t quit as nice as the alarm went off at 3 AM yesterday. We were out the door by 3:15 and arrived at the car rental lot by 5:30 after filling the car with gas. I should mention that the rental car was a Suzuki crossover (small SUV) which is the same design as Clyda’s Equinox. GM owned part of Suzuki until a few years ago so I guess they used a common design. We were back at the airport and through security by 6 AM. After a nice breakfast at Anthony’s Fish House, (thanks for the recommendation, Mark) we boarded about 7:45 and departed about 8:15 for a 2 hour 20 minute flight.

We arrived home to fog but at least it was warmer than Oregon or Washington. Neighbor Paul picked us up and we were back at the house by 11 AM.

After a nap, I picked boysenberries and later went to the Elks lodge for dinner. I watched the last half of the NBA finals. The Lakers managed to pull out a victory.

Today I worked in the bathroom putting all the hardware back on the walls and installing a GFCI outlet and new switches for the lights and fan. The outlet is wired to an outlet on the same wall in our bedroom so that is on the GFCI circuit also. I replaced the tub controls with new hardware which looks really nice.

I painted the baseboard and touched up a spot over the tub and painted the heat register to match the walls. After the paint dries I need to caulk along the baseboard and around the sink back splash and around the back of the tub. The caulk isn’t bad around the tub but it does need freshening up to match the rest of the room. It is amazing how much time I spent in this little room. There is no such thing as a quick paint job when all the other items are factored in.

Painting and waxing

Location, At Home

After my morning walk and a bowl of cereal for breakfast, I finished removing the wall paper paste Clyda had worked on in the hall bath. I did some repair around the tub with spackle and will wait for that to dry before I put on a primer coat. I am hoping that the primer will cover any imperfections created when the wall paper was removed. If that doesn’t work then I will need to pick up a can of Orange Peel spray for touch up.

I managed to get some waxing done on the RV before lunch. Not as much as I had hoped however. I would like to get it all waxed before Tuesday when we leave for Washington.

After lunch I sanded the few spots that needed it and taped off all surfaces I didn’t want to paint. The bathroom is small so it doesn’t take long to roll on a coat of paint. It will dry until tomorrow.

I finished the day by picking 11 baskets of berries which is the largest amount I have picked at one time this year. Clyda decided to make a small cobbler for dessert tonight. Yummy!!!

A warm day

Location, At Home

Boy, has it been warm here. The temperature on our front porch in the shade was 90 degrees today. It was really hot out in the sun. I should cool down some over the next few days.

I’m not sure what I did yesterday. Oh, I know, I started moving rocks and plants from the flower bed next to the fence that needs replacing. I don’t know where we will put all the junk, er, stuff but it all needs to be moved. I know what I would like to do with it but doubt if I get a vote on the outcome.

I restacked the fence boards and it looks like they are drying nicely but some have cracked. I checked with the local big box building center and they agreed to exchange the bad for new ones. I’ll take them in tomorrow and see if that really happens.

We are in the process of buying a new guest bed soooo, that means moving the old bed to another room and moving out the futon which we have not been able to sell. We also decided to paint the room and replace the baseboards. We washed the walls, spackled the holes, and will paint tomorrow.

Of course, one thing leads to another. I will replace all electrical outlets and switches with updated hardware to match the rest of the updated electrical hardware in the front part of the house. The base boards I have already and they match the front part of the house also.

If it is warm again tomorrow, painting looks like a good job. I will let you know.