Finne's Follies: Winding Up Our 2018 Spokane Visit

Our three weeks in Spokane, that turned out actually to be two weeks, came and went before I knew it, and before I could get in enough time with everyone. Somehow, that's how it usually goes. But the time we had was sweet.

My granddaughter, Leah, got most of my attention this time. She came to stay with us for a few days the first and last week of our visit. We swam in the pool, put together puzzles in the family activity center, and watched movies (Harry Potter...again). We also practiced our crocheting. Leah has taken a surprising interest in learning to crochet. She can do a beautiful chain so far. If you're reading this, Leah, keep practicing. You'll figure out single crochets in time-- don't give up!

Somebody else brought out our
food, so I handed my plate to Liz
and made her hold it while I took
her picture. Ha!

Savannah slept over one night and got in some jigsaw puzzle action, but her little sixteen-year-old life is busy these days, and her pre-existing plans got in the way of staying with us any longer than that. She's sort of interested in crocheting, too, but when you're sixteen, too many other things push out such homely activities as crochet. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if she picks it up as an adult and turns out some beautiful work. Anyway, she and Haylee stopped by for a little while on our last evening and at least we got to hang out a couple hours.

Liz finally got a day off of work last Tuesday, so we planned a get-together for that day. Liz is working her little buns off serving up food to strangers at the Outback restaurant in Spokane Valley. Mark and I decided to critique her work by going to dinner there on our last week. We have determined that she is an excellent server. If you ever have an opportunity to eat there, ask to be seated in Liz's section. And then leave her a nice big tip!

Everyone but Haylee (she had to work) came out to our campsite for our Tuesday cookout, and Chris (Liz's beau) cooked steak and chicken on a charcoal grill the size of my frying pan. We ate in shifts. It was delicious! The only down side was the yellow jacket problem. However, Mark was standing by with his bee catcher...

Mark & his bee catcher.
He actually caught four of them.

Haircut at House of Pop, Spokane

While I was there, I also took advantage of Haylee, the hairstylist. I was able to book into her very busy schedule at House of Pop for a much needed haircut-- the first since making the decision to grow it out. She did a lovely job. I'd been having trouble deciding on bangs or no-bangs. Haylee settled this question for me with her professional opinion.

As ever, I am sad to leave my Spokane kiddos (and grand-kiddos). But we're off to California now.

Stuck in the vineyard

Our next stop was an overnight dry camp at a Harvest Host winery in Yakima - Wilridge Vineyards. This little misadventure has more or less sealed our decision to drop Harvest Hosts as a camping alternative. In every case so far, we've found the roads in and out, as well as parking once we're there, to be difficult. This one was no exception. When we arrived, the staff recommended we drive through the vineyard to a spot "with a view." We probably misunderstood how far up the dirt road to drive and where to turn, but we ended up in the middle of the vineyard, caught in an impossible spot. The only way to get out of it was to disconnect the car and trailer, and back the coach up to the previous intersection. In the end, we parked in the parking lot, which was surprisingly level, bought a flight of wine each and took them out on their beautiful grassy lawn. Afterward, we headed back to our air-conditioned house for leftover pot roast and a movie.

Enjoying a flight of wine on the lawn.

The west coast fires have turned the air into a smoky fog as far out as Spokane. Yakima was the worst we've seen so far. The air was so dense, the sun looked like a harvest moon the morning we left. Our drive through the Cascades was disappointing, since we couldn't see any real scenery through the smoke. There was actually an active fire fairly near Highway 12, the route we took, and fire crews had set up a command center at White Pass, where there were facilities like a store and gas station,etc. The area on both sides of the road were dotted with pup tents that firefighters used for sleeping. The news is reporting a lot on the California fires, but there are hundreds of fires burning up and down the west coast, from California all the way up to Canada.

Pray for rain.

Our next stop was Chehalis, Washington, where we are now. I'll share our time here in my next post.

Stay tuned.

More pictures ...