I haven't been to see my family in Washington in a couple of years, and with my only remaining sister getting on in age (88), it was high time I get up there for a visit! Jack wasn't up to taking the RV up there, so that left me with flying.
We usually visit in the fall when it's cold, so I thought it would be nice to see it in springtime when the flowers were in bloom. I thought May would be nice a break from here and just maybe not to rainy there. People here leave in April to "go back home", which about 70% seem to live in Washington, so May seemed like a good time to go! I knew I would miss the tulips in bloom (something I've always wanted to see), but hoped I would catch the daffodils (no such luck).
Being retired, I forget when holidays are, so completely forgot about Mother's Day, and booked the Tuesday after, (thinking that flying on a Tuesday would be less busy). It wasn't until long after I had booked that someone asked me if I was going to celebrate Mother's Day with my sister? Ugh. I ended up calling her and telling her we would have to "do it late"! Sheesh!
My sister now lives with her youngest son and his wife, and they gracefully made up their spare bedroom for me. What a lovely room, I even had a mint on my pillow to greet me!
I have to say, Washington was lovely...all the flowers were in bloom, the grasses were green the trees were all in leaf, spring had absolutely come! I even got lovely sunshine most of the days I was there, and was able to sit outside and have iced tea while enjoying the birds and butterflies fluttering by!
Of course my sister and nieces had lots of activities planned for me. The first being a whole family gathering at one of my niece's homes. A wonderful casual dinner so that I could catch up with everyone and get all my missed hugs and news.
We went to the movies, out to lunch, and to visit her friend's to see their "project". They have been covering a tree with crochet pieces! My sister crochets the pieces (all in different patterns and colors) and her friend Mickey puts them together and attaches them to her front yard tree trunk! It's called "yarn bombing" and it's very popular in Tacoma. It's really quite pretty and fun!
We caught up on the "special occasions" of my birthday and Mother's Day by going to a really nice dinner at The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant that I have wanted to try for eons. What a delight it was! The service, the food, the place, everything was fantastic! What a treat! Way more food than we could eat...but we sure tried...the valet even gave us warm cookies as we departed, now that's service!
We also made a trip further up north for the day to see my sister's oldest son and family. It was a lovely drive, full of sunshine and a nice visit. We even made time to stop and see some funky art and antique shop in Mt. Vernon on our way home!
As with all visits, this one ended all to soon, and it was time to go home. With promises to come again and hugs all around, I headed back on the plane (not my favorite way to travel anymore). It may be spring in most parts of the country, but in Arizona, it's "summer" as the heat has arrived in full force...the "triple digits" as we call them, are arriving and we are in for a hot one! Oh joy!
...kicking back in Arizona, Marie
