Every November we head to Tacoma for the month to spend with my
family and to get our yearly "human & RV check-ups". My two sisters
and their families live there and our RV is registered there, so it's
our "home base" so to speak.
We came early this year
(in October) because my middle sister was recently diagnosed with
leukemia and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.
We
certainly had our variety of weather during the six weeks we were
there! Soon after our arrival, it snowed! That's the first time I've
seen it do that while we've visited, especially in October! It came
down all day long in big, fluffy flakes. It had me really worried
because I thought if it was snowing
now, then what was the end of
November, when we were scheduled to leave, going to be like? Would we
make it through the pass OK? My worries were wasted, because just a few
days later, the sun came out and we had warm, lovely weather that
melted not only the snow away, but warmed everything up beautifully! No
sooner did I get used to the sunshine, then the rains came...and
came...and came. Cold, drizzling, gray days..."typical Washington
weather".
What
did brighten our stay, was a
visit by our Canadian friends! Sherrie & Ken drove down from
Calgary for a few days. They had never been to Tacoma, so we had a
chance to share a wee bit of our favorite spots with them. Top of the
list, was Gig Harbor. Luck was on our side, and the day we had, the sun
came out in full force, making a great day along the harbor. Lunch at
Tides Tavern for fresh fish and clam chowder topped it off nicely. All
the trees were still showing off their autumn colors too, so that made a
nice impression for our guests!
One
of the things we do while "home" (besides all the doctor & RV
appointments) is play Wahoo. A good friend of the family brought a
board that his father made, over to my oldest sister's a couple of years
ago, and we play it all the time. Last year, when Jack and I were at
the campground in Surprise, he made several more boards (one for us, and
a couple to share with family). It's addicting! Last year, at
Thanksgiving, all the teens went in the back room and played video
games. This year I took one of the marble boards (knowing that one of
the teens liked it) and suggested that they give it a try. It was such a
hit, they all played, taking turns, staying in the room with all of us,
throughout the whole night...not a video game touched! Ha! Score one
for "old school" fun!
cards and a marble board game called
Thanksgiving
is always the highlight of our stay. This year was going to be even
better because the day before was my middle sister's 81st birthday - and
her making it this far, was a double celebration for all of us! To
have all of my nieces, nephews, wives, husbands, their kids, friends, my
two sisters and tons of incredible food all in a beautiful warm home
for hours and to listen to fun conversation and laughter is pure heaven
to me. The only thing that would have been better would to have had my
own children there as well. We did the next best thing, and
"face-timed" them on the phone. Such a fun thing the new electronics
are. My twin sons and their families were together in New York enjoying
full bellies, being three hours earlier. They were celebrating as
well, having a successful hunt the few days prior. Unfortunately my
daughter and grandson were nursing bad colds, so "celebration plans"
were not on the agenda at that end. I did see later that they were
enjoying "pie" though...and that being her favorite part of Thanksgiving
anyway, I'm thinking she got what she wanted after all!
We found that we had a "hitch-hiker" that came with us...I think from
Oregon on our way north, then had the run of the place while we were
tucked in at my sister's for the six weeks. We discovered the little
guy when we checked in on the rig one day and saw his "droppings".
Ugh. I had Jack go get a couple mouse traps and set them. It looks as
if it was only one, and we caught him, as I've not seen any signs
since...but for only one little guy, he sure did leave a mess! It's
reminded me of the movie "Home Alone"! While we were away, he certainly
had the run of the place, and made the most of it!! Wow! Now
I have
my work cut out cleaning out
every-single-drawer-and-cupboard! Ugh
We
spent a couple more days visiting with my two sisters, eating wonderful
leftovers, then it was time to leave and head south. I don't blog
while I'm in Tacoma...for two reasons, one the WiFi connection at my
oldest sister's is almost non-existent, and two, I try and spend as much
time "with" family as possible, knowing I can catch up on other stuff
once I leave.
As I write this, we are "on the road"
heading south as fast as we can to get to warmer weather! Sunshine here
we come!! I've bundled up with Uggs, sweatshirts, coats, etc as much
as I care to! I'm ready to shed this heavy stuff and dig out my shorts
again!
...on the road, Marie
