Happy Holidays

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2021

As I look over the past year I am so grateful for all the things I was able to do, the friends I shared activities with and for all the blessings in my life.  Life seems a bit more normal this year and I’m hoping 2022 will see even more things added to our lives, especially for me being able to travel.  I finally went to Vancouver after two years in November to see friends and renew my passport so I’m ready to hit the road.

I started off the year by taking a trip to Iron Springs at Copalis Beach which is on the Washington Coast.  After a few days with friends walking on the beach and exploring the area, I continued on down along the Oregon Coast.

It was wonderful just to poke along, stopping to see points of interest with no agenda. I actually had to go as far as Northern California to get back to I-5. That was a beautiful drive because it was through the Redwoods.  

It was during the big snowstorm that we had in Seattle so I came back to mounds of snow and lucky for me my wonderful neighbor had cleared my driveway or I would have been stuck out on the street. 

In March I went with some friends to see the migration of the Sand Hill Crane Festival around Othello in Eastern Washington.  It was fun tramping through the corn fields to find them and we also had an amazing experience when a mega flock of snow geese came at us and flew right over our heads.

I found some new and interesting hikes around Seattle and went to the tulip festival in La Conner with another friend which is always so beautiful. The trumpet-like flowers were on another walk in Fremont which is a neighboring community.

I spent about six weeks helping one of my friends go through her 47 years of living in the same house as she planned to move to Texas to a senior community and a very small apartment.  It was a lot of work but since I love organizing the world, we had a good time thinking it through. I made her a photo book and pictures of her garden as a remembrance of her life in Seattle.

My Zumba classes continued virtually but by summer we were able to have some of the classes outside.  Here is a photo of my class as we danced on the shores of Lake Washington with the sailboats going by.  It was so great to be with real people again instead always looking at people on the computer screen.  We have now moved indoors and still have to wear masks but it is great to be working out with the energy of other people.

In July Lilia Elena and Kevin invited me along on their vacation. We traveled around the Olympic Peninsula starting with Crescent Lake and Lake Ozette the first day. We drove out to La Push for dinner and stayed in the town of Forks made famous for the Vampire-themed  movies, The Twilight Saga, that were filmed there.

Next day we continued on through the Hoh Rain Forest, where we took some magical hikes through the huge trees draped in their green moss and then around Lake Quinault to Moclips and the ocean beaches along the Washington Coast, like Ruby Beach.  

From there we traveled to Longview so we could spend the next day at Mount St. Helen’s. Although the visitors’ centers were closed it was OK as we have all been there before. We did some great hikes and enjoyed a beautiful day exploring the national park.

We were supposed to go to Eastern Washington for another little trip but the North Cascades Highway was closed because of the forest fires so we only got to go as far as Newhalem for a daytrip. We did get to take the boat trip on Lake Diablo which is one of those beautiful emerald green lakes. They take you up the gorge to see the huge power dam that supplies some of the electrical power for the city of Seattle.  We did a few hikes around the area and picnicked back at Newhalem.

Not to be discouraged we finally did do the rest of our trip in October when we went to Winthrop and stayed at the Sun Mountain Lodge which turned out to be the perfect time as the fall colors were spectacular.  

The Lodge had been closed for a couple of months because they had to evacuate when the forest fires came so close.  The result was a lot of smoke damage to overcome before re-opening.  When we hiked around it was amazing to walk through the blackened earth and tree stumps which still smelled like smoke and realize just how close the fires had been.

In August I went with a couple of friends to the Seahawks Training camp which was fun.  It was a blistering hot day but so fun to get to see the players live.  My friend knew one of the players from when he was a kid at her school and was able to send him a note to let him know she was there which was kind of exciting. It has been a disappointing football season so far but since they have been to the playoffs nine of the last ten years and to the Super Bowl twice the fans shouldn’t complain too much.  There are 32 teams in the league and we have certainly had our share of glory.  The sports never end in Seattle now with our new NHL hockey team so baseball goes into football which goes into hockey and then repeats itself with some basketball thrown in.  I’m lucky to be a sports fan and get a lot of enjoyment out of following my teams.

I also went to a live concert to see Maroon 5. I really like their music although it was super loud and I’m not sure I like the concerts these days where everyone stands pretty much through the whole concert in front of you to film it all on their cell phones.

My friend Jan came from Arizona for a month. She always likes getting back to Seattle, seeing some of her family and friends and enjoying the weather here instead of the 110 degrees she left behind.  We managed a trip to Cannon Beach for a few days which is always so beautiful.  It is fun to visit all the shops and galleries. Some other friends of mine from Nevada were there also so we celebrated Kerri’s birthday one of the days.

In October we went to the Classic Car Museum in Tacoma which was really interesting. At the time of his death Harold LeMay had amassed the world’s largest private car collection. After his death the City donated 10 acres of land for the museum which contains some of his collection. The 350-car collection covers 165,000 sq feet of exhibit space with a restaurant, gift shop, lecture hall, restoration shops and a café. I particularly loved the old 1920s and 1930s cars which have been beautifully restored.  The stories about the cars and their owners would take you forever to read but we enjoyed the day and the things we did learn.  

One of the stories I was impressed with was the first woman to drive across America in her 1909 Maxwell.

I went to the Zoo Lanterns again this year and it was spectacular.  It was totally different than last year and seemed to be bigger than ever. The exhibit consists of more than 300 lanterns in the shapes of creatures from the Northwest, the jungle, the sea and savanna. They are made of fabric stretched over a frame and lit from within.  Some of them are even animated. It was a full moon, and a beautiful night instead of the pouring rain we had last year and a great way to start off the holidays.

The photo of the pink and white flowers at the corner of my yard is impatiens.  I have never seen impatiens grow like they did this year.  They must be very happy in that corner because they grew over a foot tall. 

And the fabulous red tree is across the street from me and I see it transform daily as it goes through all its color changes each fall.

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So all in all it has been a good year and I’m planning some travels for next year so will have more international adventures to report on for next year.  

I wish you all the best for the holidays and health and happiness for the year to come.  Laurie