Washingtonians once again

So, all good things must come to an end — I don’t know who said that, and I don’t know why it has to be true, but it seems to be.  Our wonderful cross country road trip is over, and we are in our new home in Redmond.  It has taken four weeks to get enough breathing time to write this, and we are still surrounded by boxes, and uncertainty about where things are going to go, and what remodelling projects our new house needs, but eventually we will get there.

When last I wrote, we had arrived in Boise for Saturday night.  Sunday morning, July 25, before leaving for Redmond, we waited an hour for breakfast at “Goldy’s,”  a Boise institution near the Capitol building.  Boise appears to be a clean, compact city.  Because of the Pandemic, as people realize they don’t have to be living in big cities to do their jobs,  smaller cities are growing by leaps and bounds, and Boise is a hotbed of home sales and rapidly rising property values. I’m glad we had the chance to see it. 

Outside Goldy's

Idaho Capitol

When we arrived, we found that our wonderful daughter-in-law Amy and our granddaughter Lucy had unpacked the kitchen items, and made the beds, so we were able to sleep in our house from day 1.  That was an incredible task, and I want to publicly thank them.  Also, I want to publicly thank Brian for all his help in purchasing, inspecting, and closing on our house, and Max for pulling weeds.  Their help in all facets of this move has been so invaluable.  And, while I’m thanking family, I have a big shout out to Kara and her family for putting up with us for almost the entire month of June while we planned our trip. It enabled us to attend Toby’s High School graduation which was a wonderful event, although I’m not sure how 18 years went by so fast. And since I’m thanking kids, I will thank Stefanie, Ashley and Paige for their moral support through this whole move, and Stefanie especially for actually putting this blog together for me.  We are looking forward to being able to “cross the pond” again to see them in person.

Two key reasons for moving to the Northwest

So, some observations of our trip from the point of view of the baseball angle.  In my humble opinion, of the four stadiums we visited, Cincinnati was the best.  Although it was very (unbearably) hot, the views were spectacular.  We could see the Ohio River, and across it into Kentucky.  The food was best at Target Field in Minneapolis.  I had a sausage-dog that was to die for.  St. Louis and Denver both had areas right outside the stadiums that were baseball themed dining and entertainment venues, but both of the stadiums  themselves did not seem very special, and in St. Louis it was $17 for a very average  hot dog and a bottle of water, which even by ballpark standards is kind of outrageous. 

While we were driving across the country, we, of course, had to count license plates.  We saw plates from every state except Hawaii, New Hampshire, and West Virginia, plus Washington DC, and Alberta (which must have snuck in before the pandemic).  

So, now we are again Washingtonians, and if we ever get organized, we are going to take advantage of everything this area has to offer.  If you are friends from elsewhere, our house is always open, and if you are a Northwest friend, “we are back,” and dying to see you.  

Home at our new front door!

And…Once a road-tripper, always a road-tripper, and we are already planning our next trip for next Spring, when hopefully everyone will be vaccinated, and things will be back to normal.  

On the home stretch

Sadly, the sightseeing part of our trip is over, and we are just headed on a beeline into the Seattle area. So this morning before we left the area, we drove to “downtown” Park City just to get a feeling for the town.

Downtown Park City

General Store and more

Last night we had dinner there, but it was dark and  raining hard when we left the restaurant, so we didn’t stick around. Today I was reminded of how I used to love ski trips, even day-trips. Even though I was a terminally intermediate skier, I loved everything about the experience of skiing itself, and the whole ambience surrounding a day on the slopes. Here’s hoping that next winter we both will be able to experience it again.

But we did have a little bit of learning today. About lunchtime we were passing through the town of Elwood, Utah, and decided to stop at JC's Country Diner for lunch. I felt like I had stepped back in time 100 years. Even the prices seemed like from way back in the last century. Two sandwiches, each with a side, were $12.51, including tax.

JC Diner

Inside JC Diner

So here we are in Boise for the night, a city neither of us has visited before, trying to decide whether to get up early and go straight thru to our ultimate destination, or do some Boise sightseeing, and arrive Sunday.  Getting up early does not come easily to either of us, so we will know tomorrow what we decide.

Beautiful Arches

This morning we visited Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. The beauty of this place is stunning. As usual, my photos don’t do it justice. One of these days, I should take a photography class, because memory fades, but beautiful digital photos do not. 

Double Arch

Skyline Arch

It was blazing hot inside the park, which made it more difficult to get around, so we did not actually hike to any of the arches (5 years ago we definitely would have), but had to rely on viewpoints. In addition to arches, there were many other formations resembling such diverse things as “3 Gossips,” “Parade of Elephants.” and “The Courthouse.”  Also, several formations were called “Balancing Rock,”  with one rock precariously sitting atop another.

One of the Windows

Parade of Elephants (takes a little imagination)

Not sure the name - but I love it!

It was an educational morning, and delightful, except for the heat.

Three Gossips

After leaving the park, we drove to Park City, in Northern Utah, just because we had been hearing about it for years, and had never been here, although we had skied in the area. It’s hard to judge the town, though, because we got caught in a sudden rain shower before we could walk around. Hopefully, before we leave in the morning, we will have a chance to check it out.

And then, it’s off to the Northwest!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Carl and I awoke this morning with the realization that it was our 53rd anniversary! Somehow, with all the activities of our road trip, the days all have melted together, and it was hard to keep track of exactly what day it was. Fortunately, we remembered in time to wish each other a happy anniversary, but not in time to even get cards. But we were together, doing something we both love (traveling), and isn’t that what an anniversary should be? We got messages from all our kids, and it was nice that they remembered!

Meanwhile, we left Denver, after a breakfast at our new hangout, the Pig and Sprout. Since we may never get to Denver again, it is probably our old hangout. The scenery in the Rockies was stupendous again, and again my photos just can’t do them justice.  

One day,  I will learn the intricacies of an iPhone camera, to be able to take and edit photos to maximum effect.  Our big adventure today came thanks to GPS. Our route today was SUPPOSED to go West on I-70 from Denver all the way into Utah. A large swath of I-70 was apparently closed, and so we had to rely on the (as we call her) “crazy GPS lady.”  She got us to a narrow country road that was at times so narrow that a flagman was required to keep it down to one lane. I think we could have found another route if we had had a map, but somehow our Colorado map had disappeared, so were at crazy lady’s mercy.

We did finally make it to Moab, Utah, where we are spending the night, with the anticipation of visiting Arches National Park tomorrow. Our first look at Utah on I-70 was not promising, nor was our second. My thought was “Why does anyone live here?”  It was dusty, dirty, flat, and basically not attractive at all. The fact that it was over 100 degrees  did not help. But after several miles, some beautiful scenery, in the form of rocky plateaus and outcroppings appeared, which meant we were getting closer to the National park(s) we want to visit tomorrow. Can’t wait to see what the day will bring.

First looks at Utah...

Carl found a place at the top of a hill in town here to have dinner. The place was called The Sunset Grill, and it had magnificent views from every table. Again, my poor stab at photographs I hope shows the beauty of the area.  We mentioned that it was our 53rd anniversary, and the whole room applauded. And our waitress, a stunning young woman from Greece, brought us a piece of delicious chocolate mousse cake, with a candle that wouldn’t  stay lit.

53 Years of Smiles

Happy Anniversary to Us!

So, all in all, not so romantic, but a really great anniversary. Tomorrow, the Arches NP

Take me out to the ballgame

The big building behind we think is the US Mint

Since we spent our first day in Denver on a day trip to Estes Park (yesterday’s blog), we decided to spend today learning a little about the city. We were told about a free bus that goes through the heart of the city to the civic center, and we hopped aboard. We went to Civic Center Park, which was a little sketchy, but which enabled shots of the State Capitol, and either the Firefighters Museum or the Denver Art Museum.  We weren’t sure, and it was actually too hot to go check.

Capitol Selfie

State Legislature building - with convenient food trucks

Seen at the bus stop we used to get into central Denver. How convenient, and you don’t hear any screams about voter fraud in Colorado.

After a yummy snack in a Mexican restaurant in the downtown area, we headed back to our hotel (located, we have learned, in the LoDo neighborhood ). And get ready for our real reason for being in Denver—watching the Mariners play the Rockies.

Carl cheers the Ms at Coors Field

Enjoying the game

It was a great game, by which I mean of course, the Mariners won. 6-4: The tying run was at the plate in the bottom of the 9th, which made it even more exciting.

Marco saves his best performance for us

Tomorrow, it is off to the desert of Utah, and then we head for home; we are actually looking forward to the challenges of getting our new house ready

Rocky Mountain Missive

Today we decided to take a day trip from our base in Denver to the Rockies. Our original intent was to go to Rocky Mountain National Park, but the scenery on the way was so beautiful, we just drove to Estes Park, a small, (but very touristy) town on the edge of the park, and stopped there. I’m not sure what we could have seen in the park that we didn’t see on the way to Estes Park. (I did not take any photos of the Main street of Estes Park, because I think everyone has seen the collection of Ice-cream stores, coffee-shops and T-Shirt emporiums that make up a tourist town.)

Estes Park - not the Main Street

On the road to the park, we passed through Boulder, home of the University of Colorado. It is a medium sized city, not the cute college town I envisioned. I think I got spoiled by Dartmouth and Hanover NH for so many years.

Hazy Skyline

One thing that is very sad is that the air pollution in this area is so strong, that we could barely see the mountains well until we were up close. It reminded us of LA when we were growing up. But once we saw them, the mountains and valleys were breathtaking, and I’m afraid my photos don’t do them justice.

On the way back to Denver, we got in a good old-fashioned rush-hour traffic jam. It’s been years since we’ve experienced that, and one thing I did not miss in our 12 years in Woodstock.

One final thing-a big shout-out to our grandson Max and his 9-and-under Select League baseball team for winning their league championship! He is a Johnny Bench in the making.

Baseball Max

Kansas, she said!

In my last blog entry, July 16,  I had mentioned that the next day (yesterday in real time), we would be visiting the Arch, and I would write about it on the 17th. 

Well, yesterday was a perfect storm of everything going wrong, and reminded me of the book by the brilliant Judith  Viorst, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.”  To start with, when we arrived at the Arch, we had intended to ride up to the top for the great view of the whole metro area, including the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. We arrived at about 11 AM, and the next ride available was 4:45!  No way would we be able to wait that long, since we wanted to be in Denver by tonight, and it is a 12 hour drive.  

So, no ride to the top for us. We did walk around in the museum at the base and saw some educational exhibits about the Louisiana Purchase, which as a history buff I did find very interesting. 

So, after missing the view from the top, we took off from St. Louis hoping to make it at least as far as Topeka, Kansas. But, as luck would have it, we had a Zoom commitment at 5:30, so we could only go as far as the Kansas City eastern suburbs. The hotel we booked at the last minute  through Hotels.com turned out to be a fleabag dump, and our Zoom meeting, which was our synagogue’s annual gala, was very emotional for me. Because  we have so many dear friends in Woodstock whom we will miss terribly, I had to turn off the video so no one would see me sobbing. 

And to top everything off, we went to possibly the worst Mexican restaurant I’ve ever been to, with severely watered down Margaritas, and flavorless fajitas.  So, I needed 24 hours’ perspective to write about my Very Bad Day.

Today, even though we had to drive 9 hours, was a much better day ( it had to be). We drove from the eastern KC suburbs, all the way through Kansas, and halfway across Colorado to Denver.  I found the scenery to be so calming and beautiful-who knew Kansas could elicit those feelings. So different from Vermont or Washington, because you could see all the way to the horizon with no interruptions. 

Kansas horizon

And, count me among those who find modern windmills beautiful, especially when there are a group turning in unison. I did find an ironic twist to seeing a huge “Trump 2024” sign in a field of windmills.  Without making any judgments, I seem to recall him saying that those windmills cause cancer. Just sayin'.

Windmills at work 

Along the way we did stop in Abilene, KS, to check out the Eisenhower Library and his Boyhood Home. It was closed because of covid, but we were able to get some good photos.  Abilene seems to be a town that time forgot.

We arrived in Denver at about 6 local time (I do love turning the clock back!).  It is our first time in downtown Denver, and it seems to be a very vibrant city. Lots of activity on a Sunday night. Many restaurants and pubs. And there must be a lot of people living downtown; right in the neighborhood are a Whole Foods and a CVS.  We are looking forward tomorrow to doing more exploring.

Downtown Denver at 8pm on Sunday

This is a long entry, but it is two days worth!  Hopefully there will be no more Horrible Days.