Washington Stops
I decided on two stops in Washington State to limit the long drives. I found a KOA in Spokane which made both days around 4 hour drives which seemed manageable. We slept in and then got on the road to Spokane. We got in around lunch, set up camp, and set out to run some errands. My laptop had died a few days earlier so we found a Best Buy to get help from the Geek Squad. Sadly, they confirmed that the laptop was officially dead (sad) so I am now blogging on my iPad with a small keyboard. Somehow things like to break for me on this trip. We also had a nice lunch at Panera, did a wine tasting at Latah Creek Wine Cellars, hit the mall to find a dress for the wedding, and finally went to Walmart for some things we needed like mattress pads and a dust pan.
Fun teepee made on the beach
A great bottle of Huckleberry wine.
We enjoyed the relaxing day and returned to camp to make dinner and repack our suitcases since we were going to start wearing our nice clothes instead of hiking attire. Spokane was a nice area and I wouldn't mind returning there sometime to explore and enjoy the area.
Now it was off to Seattle to meet my aunt, uncle, and grandma. They live in Silverdale which is across the sound from Seattle so we decided to hit my favorite winery outside Seattle before heading to them. I love Chateau St Michelle Rieslings so I was excited to visit the winery and try other varieties. It was a very large winery and it produces all of the wine on property although they have vineyards across the state. We did two tastings each (Riesling and White for me) and then went on the free wine tour. The tour took us through the bottling area (sadly it was't running) but was cool to see. This winery was impressive and I was thrilled to see it.
Now off to fight rush hour traffic to get to Silverdale in pouring rain. I don't recommend it, but we had to do it. What felt like 3 hours later, we arrived at my aunt's house and happily left the trailer in her driveway for 2 days. It had been a few years since I had seen my aunt and uncle so it was great catching up. We went to Red Robin for dinner and enjoyed catching up back at the house. Callie was afraid of Grace, their 17 lb dog, which was entertaining but I think they would have gotten along if we had a little more time. We even watched the VP debate, which only made me mad and sad. Also we finally got to sleep in real beds!
We slept in the next morning and Gary made us waffles for breakfast (yum!) and we ran to get Callie's nails cut since I ran out of time to do that at home. Then it was time to pick up my grandma and have some fun for the day. Cherrie had taken the day off school so we had time to get out and explore the area. We decided to head to Port Townsend for lunch and to explore the beach. We had an excellent lunch at a diner in Chimacum and then went to the beach. I wish I had this beach near home. It was small but beautiful and very relaxing. I could have sat there on the beach for hours with a book. The water was clear and the hills surrounded the water and there was even a nice lighthouse. We walked down the beach for a bit before heading back to the car to find a winery.
My mom, aunt, and myself on the beach
Cherrie, Grandma, and Mom
Nice lighthouse on the beach
We finally found an open winery on the third try (my fault but the other two looked nice despite being closed). The winery we found, Finnriver, was perfect. It was a winery and cider place with orchards and vineyards on property. They had a huge outdoor seating area with different games set out in the field. It would be perfect for a group to go hang out for the day. The ciders and wines were good and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. Too bad it isn't in Virginia. Highly recommend it for anyone in the area.
Finally, we went back to the house for Gary to make us a wonderful dinner. We again were able to catch up a little more and enjoy some much needed family time. My grandma has dementia which makes discussions difficult. She had been mostly quiet all day and listening to our conversation but we engaged with her more while sitting on the couch. I love my grandma, but she is like the movie Fifty First Dates. She has some long term memory and remembers us all the time, which I should be thankful for. Short term discussions though are hard for her. She just can't remember much from 5 minutes ago. She asked about my trip many times and when we dropped her off, she even asked if I was on the trip alone, despite spending the day with my mom and I. She forgets that Callie is my dog, that my brother is engaged, and other things that she had been told several times before. She likes to repeat the same conversations over and over. No matter how much you try to be patient, it is hard. I found myself giving shorter answers on the 3rd and 4th time answering the same questions. It is horrible and there is nothing she can do about it. I feel horrible for her. She mostly sits in her apartment since she can't remember her way around or any of her neighbors. Despite all of this, I am happy that I was able to visit with her. She seemed happy to see my mom and I. She is 86 and you never know how long she will keep pushing through so I wanted to ensure I spent some extra time with her.
We had a great time with the family in Silverdale, even if it was short. It is amazing how much more I would like to do on this road trip that I don't have time for. Who would have guessed that 5 weeks wasn't long enough for a road trip. It was now time to move on to Portland to celebrate two of my friends getting married.