Back in Arizona...

We made it back to Arizona and have settled in at Aunt Karen's for the next few months while we "work". Ugh!
What great memories we have of the last great American road trip!! We figure we did about 15,000 miles during the 3 1/2 months. Despite the high price of diesel fuel, it was definitely worth it!

Visiting the kids--Brandon in Salt Lake City

After leaving Christina's in Boise, we drove down to Salt Lake City and were able to catch Brandon on his day off. (He works at the Salt Lake airport in the tower as an air traffic controller.) We spent a couple of hours over lunch and even got to meet his wife, Ellie, who made a special trip out during her work day. It was great to see him, but the visit wasn't long enough...

Visiting the kids--Christina in Boise

We headed south from Coeur D'Alene to spend a long weekend with daughter Christina in Boise. We had a fantastic time visiting with her and her friends and catching up. 



Liz even managed a pedicure with Christina's encouragement and support--something we thought her extremely ticklish feet would never support!

 Liz also got a session with makeup artist, Christina!

Looking for land in Idaho...

We left the Seattle area and headed east toward Idaho along I-90. 

 We spent a few days camping in a primitive site near Coeur D'Alene.

We spent some time looking at properties and land in the area...some place to consolidate our "stuff" which is scattered about the country and perhaps someday become "clods" (cruisers living on dirt). We think we've found a 20 acre parcel we like...

A visit to Uncle Gary & Aunt Gloria in Poulsbo, Washington

After the weekend with Daryl, we headed over to Poulsbo to visit Alan's Uncle Gary & Aunt Gloria at their summer palace in Poulsbo (they winter in Carefree, AZ). Their piece of paradise is located right on the water and we enjoyed a fantastic time exploring the area, digging clams for a chowder feast, picking black berries, and visiting the wooden boat school. There's a large Scandinavian influence here--and we even heard some pretty authentic accents, don't you know.

Liz, Aunt Gloria, Uncle Gary & Alan in Poulsbo

 

Beautiful deck!

What a view...

Uncle Gary & Alan chop wood

Digging for clams...

Starfish come in all colors...



Back in the USA--Seattle, Washington

We returned via ferry from Vancouver Island, picked up our trailer where we'd parked it at a friend of Jim & Renate's, and headed south toward Seattle. We spent the Labor Day weekend with Daryl in Seattle, celebrating Liz's birthday together.

 We attended a facinating event--the return of the Vaux's swifts to the Monroe Elementary School! A large crowd gathered on the lawn of the school to await sundown and the arrival of the swifts. We enjoyed a picnic while waiting. At sunset, the swifts began to circle the chimney of the school, spiraling ever faster. Then, as the last light faded, the first swifts began entering the chimney and it looked like a tornado or funnel cloud as the swifts entered. The last one entered and the crowd cheered, then all was silent and the swifts were settled in for the night. It was amazing to witness their "stop" for the night as part of their migration. Wow.

Catching up with cruising friends on Vancouver Island

We left our trailer in Vancouver (the city) and took the ferry over to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island to meet up with our old cruising friends, Jim & Renate of Emerald Seas. We crossed over to the Bahamas with them during our first season aboard Kokopelli. They continued south into the eastern Caribbean while we headed toward the western Caribbean.
We spent a fabulous couple of days catching up on their cruising adventures while hiking and exploring the area and enjoying their gorgeous home overlooking the sea...