A Perfect Day on Whidbey Island

Ebey bluff

Jonathan and I got a late start on our day trip. We arrived the Mukilteo ferry terminal at 1025 am. We managed to catch the 1030 ferry. That never happens!

Our first stop was Double Bluff Beach. It is a favourite of mine. We happened to arrive at low tide. We could walk forever. I found some pretty purple shells.

We had lunch at the Flower Café at Bayview Garden with Gwendy, a gal that Jonathan met through his volunteering for political campaigns.

Hanging baskets at Bayview Nursery

Next J and I explored Langley. We like the Start Store. Jonathan picked out a new shirt for himself and I was duly impressed. He's wearing it in the photo above. I spotted these hollyhocks in Langley.

Next was a stop in the town of Coupeville. Next we hiked/walked at Ebey Bluff. The views are amazing. 

We finished the day at Lakeside Bible Camp with a salmon bake with our friends the Nakinishis. We had no wait for the ferry ride home.

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Victoria At Its Peak

I was in Victoria last weekend. June is certainly the most beautiful time to visit Victoria if the weather is nice. I came for the one year anniversary of my dad's death.

I left on Friday June 19th. The Clipper was completely full. It was a holiday in the US (Juneteenth) so many people were travelling. I was seated next to a man who had a 40 minute work call. I was really wishing for noise cancelling headphones.

In Victoria as we were filing into the building to be processed by Canadian border patrol, someone spotted this harbour seal in the water right against the wall. 

Friday night I ate outside at The Penny Farthing. That was wonderful. I had fish. On Saturday morning I went to the local farmers market and bought strawberries for Mom. I ran errands in the afternoon. Saturday night I had dinner at Four Mile House in Esquimalt. It is one of the four oldest buildings in Victoria. Very spacious. 

On Sunday morning, I went to my parents' church. It was camp Sunday, just like a year ago. I appreciate the energy and enthusiasm of the staff of Camp Qwanoes. I have fond memories of Camp Chestermere where I was a camper and later a junior counsellor. I was able to say hi to many people that Mom knows.

Some street scenes in Victoria. I love the pink dogwood trees.

Deer are a common sight in Victoria. I saw 2 sets of mommas with babies. unfortunately, one was crossing Highway 17. They aren't the smartest animals. These were on a random street.

On Sunday night I ate at the Steamship Grill, outside on the patio.

On Monday morning I went to Butchart Gardens. I arrived at opening time - 9 am. I knew that in June the garden would be at its very best. I especially wanted to see the rose garden. I appreciated that the roses were deadheaded. I've been to many gardens where they weren't and it looks so much better with deadheading done. I even thanked the person deadheading!

I took a lot of photos. I think my new favourite flower is the fuchsia. One section had a whole bunch of hanging baskets.

Next stop was the sunken garden.

This tree house offers a great view of the sunken garden.

The rose garden is amazing. My photos don't really capture how beautiful it is.

Some roses I liked.

Sweet Mademoiselle

Even the pathway to the parking lot is pretty.

I stayed until 10:15 am and then headed back to the city. 

Mom and I had some legal matters to take care of in the afternoon and thankfully, it all went smoothly. We sat outside in the courtyard until it was time for me to return the rental car. I asked a man to take our photo but he was unsuccessful. I'm not sure what was going on. I asked another lady and she was able to get some photos.

I returned on the Clipper with smooth sailing. Here is my last selfie before checking in.

I'll be back in September to celebrate Mom's 99th Birthday!

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The Last Hurrah for Farm Chicks

remember to click on the photo to enlarge

The Farm Chicks held their last show this year. It has run for 26 years. I had wanted to go for many years but the timing didn't work out for me. It was the same weekend as high school graduation and before that I was driving kids to school.

When I heard that this year was to be the last show, I knew that I had to talk Mary into going again. We were last there in June 2024.

On Friday June 5th we left at 8:30 am from Woodinville. We stopped for lunch in Moses Lake at the same place as two years ago. We ate outside but it was windy. We made it through Ritzville without incident. It is notorious as a speed trap. 

We arrived in Spokane too early to check into our hotel. We explored some interesting stores on Sprague Street.

We had dinner at Clinkerdagger. Yes, that's the name. Mary picked it. We didn't have a reservation so we had to wait until 7:30 pm. We walked by the river and the falls to kill time. 

We got this photo of us on the pedestrian bridge.

While walking I saw an intriguing building in the distance and wanted to investigate it later.

Dinner was very nice with a spot by the windows. This was our view.

I had steak, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.

After dinner we went to look at the building. It is the County Courthouse.

Its the most beautiful courthouse building that I've ever seen! Here's a stock photo of the building that I found online.

Our hotel (Tru by Hilton in Spokane Valley) was good except the clerk wrote down the wrong room number so we got to a room and the key wouldn't work. It was fixed eventually but that was annoying. The towels were a bit thin. We had free breakfast at the hotel. I had granola. The coffee was not very good. I appreciated the quiet industrial area in which the hotel is located.

We arrived at the fairgrounds at 9 am when the show opened. There was a line but it moved quickly.

I enjoyed the sunshine on the other side of the mountains. Mary's friend Sonya moved from the Seattle area to eastern Washington (north of Spokane) a few years ago and she also came to the show.

I had some bad experiences trying to buy quilts. One was labelled 22 dollars and when I went to buy it, the vendor found another price tag on it for 50 dollars. They wouldn't sell it to me for the lower price so I declined. At another booth I found a quilt under a table and went to ask about it. They said it wasn't for sale. I was searching for vintage quilts in fairly shape that could be cut up and made into other things. There were a lot of shoppers. I think the turnout was so big because it was the last show.

I spotted this funny pillow.

Mary, Sonya and I had lunch together. 

Mary and I left at about 2 pm. We got gas and a coffee for me and hit the road. We stopped at a rest stop and changed drivers. We stopped at Thorpe Fruit stand which also has 2 floors of antique stalls. I drove through some rain after Snoqualmie Pass.

At about 7:30 pm we met up with Jonathan in Woodinville at the Mongolian Grill and I had a late supper there. Unfortunately, my backpack didn't get from Mary's car to our car and we didn't realize this until we got home. Jonathan drove back to Woodinville to meet Mary to get it. 

Here is what I brought home.

I bought a heart shaped pillow made from a vintage quilt, a small step which is useful for displays, a milk glass vase, a silk scarf, a hanky, a vintage Christmas card, two small quilt pieces, some fabric, and a vintage book on grammar.

Mary bought a metal bench for her garden.

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He Turns 21

So, my "baby" is now 21. We celebrated with dinner at Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse, in Lynnwood. We went there last December and I thought it would be a great place for C's birthday.

Here is a description of Fogo de Chao:

        an all-you-can-eat parade of grilled meats carved tableside by servers carrying giant skewers.

If you’ve never been, the experience feels a little like this:

• You get a small card with a green side and a red side.
  • Green = “keep bringing meat.”
  • Red = “I need a break.”

Once your card is green, servers continuously walk by with different cuts of meat and slice pieces directly onto your plate. 

Alexander and I did not have the meat, we just had the deluxe buffet. They gave us free desserts but only C and Eli wanted dessert. Christopher had key lime pie.

Earlier in the day, C and J went out to their favourite shooting spot near Sultan, which is off Highway 2. It is about an hour's drive. They prefer this spot because they can bring any target they like, which is not the case at a range. They brought 2 litre bottles of soda, steel targets, and a watermelon. The watermelon exploded and made a fantastic video. They had the place to themselves and had a great time. 

C plans to get together with some of his guy friends tonight. 

I made this for C. Mary created the pattern and I did the stitching. It is small, in a 4 by 6 frame.

He also received a new gun as a gift. Last year C "celebrated" his birthday by having jaw surgery. This year was much better! I'm still adjusting to the fact that I now have two fully adult children. I'm really glad that Alexander joined us for the whole week.

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Mock Rock 2026

C is just under the letter M. This is not my photo.

I traveled to LA on April 10th to attend Mock Rock at Biola. Mock Rock is a lip synch competition and a long standing tradition on campus. There were five teams who spent months choreographing, rehearsing, and perfecting a 10 minute performance which also includes a video. My older son helped 2 teams by editing their videos. 

Christopher was one of the leaders of Men of Honor team, otherwise known as MOH. Their theme was Alice in Wonderland.  

Students camped out in tents the night before to ensure the best seat in the house. Families came from all over to cheer on their kids. We also stood in line. I'm so thankful to have a connection with someone who is local (the sister of a Cedar Park mom) and she provided chairs and umbrellas for us. Two girls that C went to high school with were on his team.

I got in line at 1 pm but the other moms got in line at 11 am. I stayed out in the sun for about 5 hours. I did take breaks. 

I took an Uber (from the airport) for the first time and had a very good experience. My driver was in his 50s, very polite, clean car, and the music he played wasn't intrusive. We had a good conversation. He dropped me off at a Starbucks near to Biola. C came over and picked me up. 

While we were waiting, we moms wanted to make a poster to cheer on MOH. I decided to look for materials. After some dead ends, I found a large piece of paper and a marker. I wanted something red (to fill in the heart) but came up blank. I went to the room where the team was preparing with makeup, etc. I found some temporary red hair paint and that worked perfectly to make the red heart. My family was proud of my resourcefulness when I told them the story later. 

The mom who helps with cheerleading at Cedar Park did the lettering.

Some of C's team came along the line of friends and family and interacted with the crowd while staying in character.

The doors opened to the gym at 6 pm. Our group chose seats in the bleachers. We had a terrific view but bleacher seats get pretty uncomfortable after an hour or so. The show was over at 9:30 pm if I remember correctly. 

Alexander joined me a bit before 6 pm and we sat together. This was our view of the stage.

C and me before the show.

C's team in the bleachers.

A group of people from C's church came to watch. They just happened to be all Asian. 

There is a real mixture of ethnicities at his church. 

Before each performance, they showed an interview with the leaders of each team.

This is one of the official photos. That's C on the right with the plaid shorts.

Another photo taken by a real photographer.

I took this photo.

There were 4 judges and they narrowed it down to 3 team and then the audience voted using our phones. C's team didn't win. They placed 3rd among the 5 teams. 

After I retrieved my bags from C's building, A drove me to pick up some food and then dropped me off at my hotel. I'm happy with my choice of hotel. It was a 15 minute walk to A's house. 

On Saturday morning I borrowed A's car and picked up a couple of tops at my favourite store - Marshall's. I had forgotten to pack some of my tops. 

Once C was off work (selling tea), he picked me up. We spent some time on campus. It was fun to see how many people knew him and said hi. He was pretty tired so we just sat in various places around campus and chatted. 

On Saturday night, C, A and I had dinner together at Islands restaurant. 

It is similar to Red Robin. We were able to eat supper and get back fairly quickly. C had plans with friends and then had to do RA office duty at 10 pm. 

I was surprised to see it raining on Sunday morning. I did bring a coat. A picked me up and we went to his church. After the service, A went to do middle school ministry. I took his car and killed some time at Trader Joe's and Barnes and Noble. The rain had stopped after church.

A and I went to the Los Angeles Arboretum which was about a 45 minute drive. A wanted to go there since once of his favourite TV shows had filmed there. I'm always interested in a garden.

The place was huge! Here is me in the rose garden.

After A and I got back, I had supper with C in the Biola Cafeteria. I took this photo of C and some guys he is friends with.

Later we hung out in the library and I went to look at a special exhibit about Elizabeth Elliot. We went and got frozen yogurt off campus.

On Monday morning, I took A's car and drove to the closest beach. Seal Beach. 

It was a bit too chilly to really enjoy time at the beach. I'm still glad that I went. I like to explore new places and I love a sandy beach. 

As you can see, there weren't many people there.

I had lunch at Cava back near Biola, which C recommended. I liked it a lot. 

When I got back, I hung out at A's place for a while. C picked me up when he had a break and we had tea together in downtown Whittier.

Back at A's house I sat near A while he worked. He has a standing desk set up in the living room and that's where he works.  I was able to meet the two housemates that I didn't know previously. His housemate Sam said to me "you've raised Alex well." That's always wonderful to hear.

A drove me to the airport early so that he could drive back to his house to have dinner with his housemates. They try to do this once a week.

I arrived home to chilly weather, about 20 degrees colder than LA! 

p.s. A funny anecdote. My friend Jill's daughter was on another team at Mock Rock. I took a few photos of the daughter and sent them to her. On Saturday Jill and her husband and Jonathan were at a prayer walk in Seattle. As Jill was talking about the photos, a teenage girl who was nearby shyly said "are you talking about MockRock at Biola? A friend of mine is in that too." 

 

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