Excitement, Exhaustion, Emergency Room, Exhalation

 June 26 - July 6, 2021

Gig Harbor - Sequim, Washington

I come from a very small family. An only child of parents with a total of three siblings who gave me three cousins. All boys. We were all very close as children but eventually lost track of each other over the years. My paternal cousin David is the one I haven't seen in nearly 50 years and he's the one I found last year! He and his wife Laurie live in Gig Harbor and that's why we're here for a few days :-)

Gig Harbor RV Resort is another disappointing Sun Resort that is hardly a resort, with terraced sites of weeds and gravel among tall trees. Thankfully we get partial shade although it means no satellite. 

We have lots of plans for the area, most of which don't happen for a few reasons. The extreme heat is an unhappy surprise. David and Laurie's return from California is delayed. We make two 160 mile round trip drives to buy a new-to-us Jeep. We miss getting to see friends Rebecca and Michael in Olympia, but plan to see them when we come back to the area in a couple weeks.

The very best though is Tuesday when we visit with David and Laurie and son Jake at their beautiful home. Having family is exciting for both of us, and we spend hours getting caught up. Jake has done a lot of genealogy on our family that adds to the fun conversation. I fail to get any pics which I hope to remedy when we have dinner later in the week. Sadly that doesn't happen either. Another attempt will be made!

While we're very happy with the new vehicle, we jump through a dozen hoops to confirm residency for the registration, and then fail to get the hitch transferred. It's absolutely exhausting. 

Originally from Canada, we named him Dakota after the Dakota Toads indigenous to his home.  The Copperhead color is a little different from Piper.

At the same time I'm finalizing travel plans for Bill's mom's memorial in California. 

Thursday we drive separately the 80 miles to Sequim, Washington. We're supposed to be at GilGal Oasis for six nights, but the next morning we're back in the Jeep driving to SeaTac and a flight to Fresno, California. It's our first time on Alaskan Airlines, and we're very happy with the service and the seating room. Tessa gets comfortable under the seat in front of us for the non-stop flight. Cousin Cindy is there to pick us up at 2:00. 

When we left Sequim it was once again a lovely 68 degrees. Of course Fresno is 100 degrees and awful.

Lots of family (unlike me, Bill has plenty) arrive for the lovely Saturday service and gathering afterwards. It's wonderful to see everyone, but I'm hot and tired and catch a ride to the hotel after dinner to cool off and relax. Bill stays to party with his boys and a few others. 

Sons Nick, Corey, Richie and Travis, and nephew David with Bill.

The hanging-out-in-the-AC crowd.

The everybody-else-is-by-or-in-the-pool crowd.

Granddaughter Reese with daddy Travis contemplating a swim.

Dad is happy that Corey brought the Cribbage board :-)

Perhaps the coolest pool toy of forever - a bucking bull!

We don't have a car so when Bill has a health issue in the middle of the night I have to call 911. He's taken to the emergency room while Tessa and I wait to find out what's happening. Fortunately it's a recurrence of an issue he had seven years ago, and after treatment and a new prescription, cousin Cindy picks him up, then me, and we're back at her house for breakfast. 

Another uneventful flight, but I lose Tessa's vest in the parking lot (arghhhh!), and by the time we get back to Sequim at 7:30 I'm completely fried. Soooo glad to be home.

It would have been closer to the airport to delay our drive to Sequim, but being the holiday weekend, and since I knew the rig would be very safe at the little urban RV park, it was the better choice to keep our scheduled stop. It also means that when the trip is over we're in a beautiful area that we love. July 4th we stay close to home, have a delicious lunch at Baja Cantina (the best Mexican food we've found on this route), and are asleep before the fireworks finish around us. 

Tuesday we head to Hurricane Ridge. Many others have the same idea, but the parking lot has a few openings, and we're able to enjoy the incredible views of the Olympic Mountains. Surrounded by such natural beauty I finally exhale. 

Line to enter the national park.

Fog wisps into Port Angeles.

We spend some time in the cute town of Port Angeles, and stop at the lavender fields. There's so much to love about this area.

Even though we still have to get the hitch installed (we're getting a new Blue Ox to replace the Roadmaster), which will return us south to the busy of the city, before that we're back on the water in Port Townsend, Washington. Let the exhalation continue!

Back in SoCal Ezra and Mommy pick apricots from their own tree!