When it rains....it pours....

Doggone it!

When Sam and Keiko were here yesterday, our outlet in the kitchen suddenly died. It's the outlet where our microwave is hooked up.

We called the electrician. He'll be here on Monday.

$$$$

Today, my mother called out frantically that she found termite poop under the back door. My brother came and helped Art take the door down to check it. They agreed it needs to be replaced.

I just sent an e-mail to a contractor for a new door.

$$$$

Arrrrrghhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Sam and Keiko

Sam and Keiko arrived safely after a 6.5 hour red eye flight. We picked them up at their Waikiki hotel and Art drove them to the Waikele Outlet Mall about 5 minutes away. Busloads of tourists are often dropped off there.

Before they left Japan. I told Sam there was a Coach Outlet close by. When he mentioned it to his beautiful, fashionable daughters, they were thrilled. It was definitely a place Sam said he and Keiko needed to go to.

While they were gone, my mom and I were busy getting dinner on the table. We had her crab casserole, 6 (3 is not enough for us)bean salad, green salad, ogo (seaweed) salad, grilled vegetables with parmesan cheese, corned beef slices, rice and flan for dessert made with soymilk.

When they returned, we saw that a delighted Keiko had purchased 3 handbags. Her daughters would get to choose from them and she would take what was left over. She marveled at how cheap the prices were. I was doubtful. My mother and I took a look at the price tags and nearly fell over. It was 60% off the regular price but it was still too much for us. Then again, my mom and I are not exactly what you call stylish. I can just picture my daughter nodding her head with resignation. I'm so excited that they were able to find such lovely (because they were very, very lovely bags) gifts to bring back.

They're in Maui today. Gosh! They must be exhausted! My brother is coming for lunch to help us finish some left overs.

Tomorrow we'll take them around Honolulu. We're figuring Iolani Palace? State Capital? Tantalus Lookout? Pali Lookout (Where King Kamehameha sent his enemies down the mountain)? Ala Moana Shopping Center? Walmart? :-)

I hope they'll be able to stay awake.

Guests From Japan

Sam and Keiko are coming this morning. Sam and Art became friends when both were students at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. They met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Morris who were those very special, incredibly beautiful people who went the extra mile to extend love and understanding in this world. I wish there were more people like them.

I say, "I wish" because I haven't been able to extend myself quite as much as they did either. They took in foreign students from around the world, from Japan, Burma (Myanmar now) to some countries in Africa. Many of those students became lifelong friends with each other and with the Morris'.

The Morris' have since passed away as well as their accomplished, beautiful daughter, Sharon. This fall, we expect Sam, one of the Burmese students and Sharon's husband who is a minister to come and stay with us.

But today, Sam and Keiko will be here and we can hardly wait to see them so that we can show them some Hawaiian aloha. When we were in Japan, Sam bubble wrapped us during our time in Tokyo to make sure there were absolutely NO bumps in our stay. I just hope we can do the same. Unfortunately, we won't be able to provide nice weather. We're stuck with vog (volcanic smog), hot and MUGGY weather. Sigh...

Meanwhile, my mother is busy in the kitchen preparing her secret hospitality weapon, a crab casserole as only she can make it. We know that Sam and Keiko must have landed now and are probably on their way to their hotel. We're waiting for their call and can't wait to see them again.

Honoka'a Boy

Art grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii in a small town called Honokaa. He was a Honokaa boy who grew up with friends and relatives always around. His mom and dad owned the Sweet Shoppe Restaurant. Art says he's washed more dishes than I'll ever see which is probably why he's forever finding what I missed when I wash the dishes. His father also ran the theater which is featured in this book by Leo Yoshida. Art says he helped to operate the projectors as well.

A broken hearted Japanese college student apparently went to live in Honokaa some years ago after Art left and formed a beautiful friendship with an older woman who was the mother of Art's classmate. This fellow then left Honokaa and wrote a book and that book was made into a movie (called Honokaa Boy) in Japan. My mother has read the book and says she's surprised that actual names are in there.

Isn't it amazing that you think your town and your lives were just ordinary stuff of life and suddenly it's made into a movie.

I guess all our lives are really books that could be written. I guess that's why I love reading the chapters of your lives.

Inventing a Boot Cast Cover

I had this problem.

We don't wear shoes in the house in Hawaii. We didn't in Illinois either but anyway, it's something we grew up with.

It was getting to be such a chore to clean the bottoms of my boot cast every time I went out of the house. Since I sleep with it on, we didn't want to bring outside dirt into our bed either. A little bit of thinking and I had the idea to make this denim covering for my boot cast. I put an extra tough material on the bottom to keep it from tearing and it's worked great.




Depending on how many other people break their foot or leg, I could go into business. LOL!

Toro Nagashi (Lantern Floating)

Although Memorial Day in most places is about honoring the sacrifices of our brave Veterans; in Hawaii it is more than that. It is also a time to remember and visit gravesites to honor our family and friends who are no longer with us.

There is even a Floating Lantern Hawaii ceremony in Ala Moana for people of all races and religious affiliations.

“Lantern floating is a time-honored Buddhist rite, originating in Japan, conducted in order to pay respects to our ancestors and to comfort the spirits of the deceased. During Toro-Nagashi, or “lantern offerings on the water,” candle-lit lanterns are individually set afloat on the ocean and are said to ferry spirits “from the sea of delusion to the shore of salvation.”



Moreover, the lanterns carry our heartfelt prayers for those who have sacrificed their lives in war, victims of water-related accidents, natural disasters, famine and disease, as well as loved ones and ancestors who have passed away. Through the lantern floating ceremony, the sincere prayers of everyone are united… prayers for a future in which harmony exists among all people regardless of one’s race, religion or culture.

Because of this sentiment and goal, Lantern Floating Hawai’i has become accepted as more than just a Buddhist tradition, more than something only related to Hawaii in nature. It is a human thing."



It always saddens me to hear of religions who refuse to allow everyone to have their own beliefs, who believe their way is the only way...

I like the idea of the lantern lights in the water showing, even for just an evening how to come together.

Memorial Day Remembrance

We had a busy day visiting grave sites to pay our respects in anticipation of Memorial Day.

In the afternoon, Art and I went to visit his Aunt Gladys who lost her husband a month ago. My mother had made some nishime for Art to bring over. Nishime is a Japanese stew with bamboo shoots, chicken, fish cakes, potatoes and other vegetables. It's Art's favorite dish and we knew Aunt Gladys would enjoy some because it's not something you would make yourself due to the preparation time involved as well as the quantity it makes.

As soon as we got there Aunt Gladys asked about my foot. I'd broken it just the day before Uncle's memorial service which was this past Saturday. She had lots of stories about friends and relatives she knew who had also taken some terrible falls. She was thrilled to receive the nishime and told Art he was very lucky to have such a wonderful mother in law. I wanted to ask how she was but didn't want to break her cheerful conversation with a question that might bring her down.

When it was time to leave she said I was lucky to have such a wonderful husband.
I smiled and said, "I know."

"I wish I'd told him more often how much I appreciated him," she suddenly sighed. Her smile faltered just a bit and her eyes grew sad.

"He knew," I reassured her.

"But wouldn't he have loved to hear me tell him much more often? We should let people know how much we appreciate them, how much we love them.... while we can."

Therefore, to all those people out there who I love so dearly, thank you... thank you... thank you.

Class of 97-98

An invitation to a reception for students at the school where I taught 1st grade in Illinois was forwarded to me here in Hawaii. I'm looking at this old class photo and it brings back such memories. There's that bright child who will be the next President Obama, another who will be a corporate CEO, yet another who will be a nurse, a teacher, a comedian, an actor...

I have sent in my regrets with a letter to the students telling them that contrary to what they may have heard, the world is a beautiful place full of new friends to be made and opportunities waiting. It's also a world of responsibilities and I did tell them that I've broken my foot so they should watch where they step.

This Boot Not Made for Dancing!

I'm happily back from the hospital after meeting Dr. Chen, my orthopaedic doctor. There were a bunch of good news, bad news.
I can put weight on my foot when there's no pain -- there is
It will take 8 weeks to heal -- 4 months before there's no pain
I might be able to do line dancing...some day -- he'll tell me when, a month from now.



We found it interesting to see where the break had occurred. Dr. Chen said I should stop kicking my husband around. I told him it was the chair's fault.

"Unh hunh..." he replied, "Suuuure..."


They sent us down to the foot brace department where Sonny fitted me with a fracture boot. Dr. Chen had offered the boot OR a cast. I jumped at the boot. Wearing a cast in the hot Hawaiian summer weather would have been NO fun at all. Art asked Sonny if he had the boot in pink. That's my hubby, always looking out for me.

Sonny was fabulous teaching us how to strap the boot, clean and maintain it. I loved Dr. Chen's knowledgeable expertise.

Somebody said Tripler Army Hospital had the unfortunate nickname of being called Crippler because of a rather unfortunate and tragic error. It reminded me of an episode on House where he used a permanent marker to write on his leg before surgery "Not this leg." On the other leg he wrote, "Not this one either."

Whatever the case, I'm very pleased with my care at Tripler. Everybody has been so nice, friendly and helpful.

Hunh?

On Friday, in the emergency room, a corpsman asked if I wanted a pain killer because the broken 5th metatarsal was bound to hurt me later. I said I'd take it later if I needed it. "OK, sounds good," he said.

10 minutes later another corpsman comes with a pill and says I need to take the Vicodin. "But I said I'd take it later," I informed him.

"Nope, you need to take it," he says with friendly concern.

So I take it.

Another corpsman starts wetting plaster and wraps it around my foot. He finally gets it all set and the Physician's Assistant (who I thought was the doctor) says, "No, you have to form the splint AROUND the toes. It needs to all be covered."

Muttering to himself, "Would be nice if they would make up their minds," the corpsman gets more plaster to rework the splint around my toes.

"You need to keep your foot elevated and iced for the next two days," the P.A. says and hands me the instructions. I just read those instructions yesterday. It says:

Apply ice intermittently (15-20 minutes at a time 4-6 times daily) today,for days as needed. Elevate affected areas above chest level as needed and until released. No weight bearing for one weeks.
Follow-Up: Return to the emergency department if not better. Follow up with an orthopedic surgeon Thursday in six days as scheduled. They said I should just walk in and sit down after 1:30 PM on Thursday because ER patients are first come, first served.

Hunh? They released me at 10:00 at night and I was going right to bed. Does he mean I should ice it 4-6 times in the 2 hours left to the day? Elevate my foot as needed until released? How do I know how long I need it since it doesn't hurt. (Unless I hit it.) Hunh? One weeks? Hunh?

I just got a call from Tripler Hospital saying I should come in this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

"But, but..." I stammer, "They told me in the emergency room that I should show up on Thursday after 1:30 on a walk-in, first come, first served basis at Ortho."

"No such thing," he replies and then talks to somebody else...maybe a superior? "Do you have a cast on?"

"No, It's a splint. A hard splint."

"Nope," he reiterates, "You need to come in this afternoon or 8:30 tomorrow morning. We don't do walk-ins."

Hunh?

Arrrghhhh!

OK... maybe I won't sign up for line dancing until I know for sure and I've seen an actual orthopedic surgeon.

I'm elevating my foot today and maybe I'll ice it some more since I don't exactly know for sure what I should be doing.

The last line on my discharge paper says: Understanding of the discharge instructions verbalized by patient.
I must have lied.

Stir Crazy

I liked having a day of being pampered yesterday. I got to do my blogging, some reading, the Crossword...

Today: I read the Sunday paper, blogged, iced my foot, read a science fiction book, blogged, checked out hulu.com (which had House by the way),iced my foot, listened to Pandora.com, talked to my son and daughter, blogged, went downstairs for lunch, had a visit from my brother who brought me a DVD of his favorite songs (a lot of them) and a CD of Leonard Cohen songs, had a visit from my nephew Barry and his wife, Miho who brought us some huge apples, blogged, stared at the green walls around me (this is normally Art's office), took a shower, iced my foot, back to bed with my leg propped up...and blogging again. Having visitors broke up my day but being cooped up in bed with my leg up is getting pretty old.

They said I just had to do the leg elevation until today so tomorrow I can do a bit more. I think. I did notice my foot is still swollen.

A hint to my kids: I have a feeling I'm not going to like being in a nursing home.

The Ides of May: No Tree Roots?

Letter to my children: (and my blogger buddies, of course)

Dear Tif and Jon,

I don't understand it! There weren't any tree roots which is what usually makes me fall. I wasn't outdoors. What the heck!

Last night I was putting books back on the top shelf of the bookcase where Dad had secured our new TV in case of an earthquake. I was standing on a chair. (Dad said I should mention the fact that there was a step stool I could have used right behind me.) I don't know what happened next exactly but as I was coming down I fell and twisted my right foot. Like I said, no tree roots, no rocks but somehow I managed to fall anyway.



Almost immediately, a big lump began to form on top of my foot. Dad iced it but I couldn't put any pressure on it without excruciating pain so we decided to go to the Tripler Emergency Room. Remember when Dad had to go there a couple of years ago and we went in there at 4:00 PM and came out at 3:00 AM?

"Don't worry," I told Dad, "I'll be fine. They'll probably tell me I just stressed it and send me home. It doesn't even hurt anymore."

We arrived at Tripler Army Hospital at 6:50 and checked in. Dad brought books for both of us to read and we figured we'd be in the waiting room all night since there were no parking spaces when we arrived.

At 8:00, X-rays were taken by a corpsman that Dad and I both agreed reminded us of Cuba Gooding Jr. He kept up a hilarious running banter the entire time. He also nearly made me scream (not with laughter) when he manipulated my foot to get a better angle. I asked for the lead protective apron since I've had thyroid cancer. "You've had cancer? Well...isn't radiation supposed to cure cancer?" he asked with a smile. "You're not pregnant are you?" I really liked this guy.

At around 8:45 I was in the examining room where the doctor said he had good news and bad news. The bad news was that the 5th metatarsal bone was fractured. The good news was that it was not displaced.

My foot is broken? How can that be? I've never broken a bone before. That's Jon's department. What about the 3 extra weeks of line dancing I just signed up for this month? I'm supposed to register for the next 10 week session of line dancing starting in mid June. Arrrrghhhhh!

Because I've got osteopenia, healing may be a bit slower; more like 8+ weeks rather than 6, the doctor added.

A splint was moulded onto my foot, I was given Vicodin for pain, given lessons on how to use crutches (NOT easy) and out the door by 10:00 PM! Incredible!

Did I mention that your grandmother is totally freaking out? She's acting like I've somehow been hit by a bus, contracted deadly swine flu and needing to be bed ridden for the rest of my life. Sheesh!


I'm not allowed to put any weight on my foot and I'm discovering how difficult it is to manage what I've taken for granted. I now have an even greater respect for people who are handicapped. You don't realize just how lucky you are until you can't do something.



I have to keep my foot iced and elevated until tomorrow. I think I'll go to sleep now. The Vicodin is making me very groggy. I refuse to take it anymore.

I'll be better by Monday. I have to go sign up for that line dancing class.

Well, kids and all my blogging buddies...
I love you all.
Be very careful where you step.
Mom/Kay

ASU B.S.? (This title is my husband's idea.)

Arizona State University refused to present President Obama with an honorary degree when he went there to be their May 13th commencement speaker.

"An ASU spokeswoman seemed to fan the flames further when she told the State Press that it would be inappropriate to recognize Obama because "his body of work is yet to come."

I suppose their standards are a lot higher than other colleges and universities I've seen who have bestowed their hallowed honorary degrees to rock stars, newscasters, etc. ASU has given honorary degrees to a couple of their governors and to Sandra Day O'Connor (3 years into her 25 years on the Supreme Court), a Canadian prime minister, etc.

Obama graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Law School, where he also served as President of the Harvard Law Review. Harvard Law School is supposed to be the best Law School in America. I imagine he won't be terribly hurt that ASU refused to give him their honorary degree.

I guess I've always viewed those honorary degrees as a token of appreciation. I'm glad President Obama took the high road and gave his speech with grace. I believe all this controversy merely made ASU look petty (in my eyes, direspectful as well)and enhanced our admiration for President Obama whose speech showed humility and dignity.

Made a Decision!

My daughter, Tiffany called me on the cellphone while we were standing at the television section of the Best Buy store. Art and I have been seesawing back and forth trying to decide which TV to buy. Art is reluctant to get cable so it was important that we get a TV with a good tuner to catch those elusive television signals from somewhere up in the air.

"Hi, Tif, we're at the Best Buy looking at the Sonys. Don Quixote's has a sale on the 32" and Best Buy will match the price. We decided not to get it at Don Quixote because they have no return policy if the tuner is not good. Best Buy has a 30 day return policy."

"Mom," my daughter says with a sigh, "I know you're not going to buy a TV. You and Dad won't buy anything until you've researched it to death and looked at every single set on the island. Then you'll wait for a sale..."

I suppose our daughter knows us very well but we talked to a very knowledgeable Best Buy associate who told us all about picture brightness, tuner, etc. and we decided to take the plunge.

We haven't set it up yet. I'll let you know if we're able to get more than 3 stations. At the very worst, I may end up doing more reading instead.

When I called Tif a few minutes later to tell her we'd bought the TV, she laughingly said, "Mom, you didn't buy the TV just to prove me wrong did you?"

Now then....if it does work OK... do we buy a blue ray or a DVD player? One had a wireless capability. One had Netflix connectivity. Arrrrghhhhh!

Kiddie Leashes

When my son was very little, I used a leash to keep him close to me. He didn't want his hand held all the time because he wanted to be free to explore. However, if something intrigued him, he could dart out without warning to investigate. Hmmmm... he hasn't changed much in 29 years.

Our solution to this was to put a leash on him. The leash was comfortable and kept him safe. When I was out gardening I'd leash him to the tree while I worked. I know. I know. The neighbors used to kid me about it. However, we lost him twice and that terror lives with me still. Both times... once in the care of a friend and once when he was out shopping with us, I died a thousand deaths.

I see here that Tif has KC in a much cuter leash. The monkey backpack actually masks the fact that when Tif is outside she can reattach the leash to it. I'm still a firm believer in the child leashes and wouldn't hesitate to use it. I don't think we needed it much on Tif but Jon... oh yes... definitely. I wouldn't mind using one on him now if it would keep him safe.

Yes, yes, I'm just kidding.

Skyping Mother's Day

Our son, Jon and his Sarah webcammed us on Skype this morning to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. We had such a fun conversation planning for their visit in July.

Jon also sent me a You Tube video of our nephew, Shawn. Shawn's stage name used to be B.B. Shawn and he's had several CDs out under that name. He's since dropped the B.B. part which was given to him when he was first discovered. This second You Tube video shows Shawn himself.

Jon says one of the first things he and Sarah would like to do is to watch his cousin perform in Waikiki. That will be a lot of fun since we never get to see Shawn at our regular family functions since he's always working.

And speaking of Shawn here we are with his mom, Nancy, dad (my brother, Dennis) brothers Cody and Barry with his wife, Miho. It's been a lovely Mother's Day!



From having the house quiet everyday, July is promising to be quite hectic with Jon and Tiffany both here with their families. I can hardly wait!

A Mother to be Proud Of

Today is Mother's Day and I just wanted to tell my daughter, Tiffany how proud I am of the mother she is to our granddaughter, KC. Tif has always been a person who thought of others even before herself and I'm seeing her raise her daughter with that same selfless devotion.

When Tif was a little girl, I wondered what sort of mother she would be. I find she is raising KC much as we raised her... with a great deal of love and firmness.
Tif has used every opportunity to provide KC with a variety of situations from trips to museums, zoos, shows, libraries to lots of play dates with friends to ensure that her knowledge of the world develops as much as she can absorb it.

Most importantly I've seen Tif exert firmness and discipline so that KC can be secure in knowing her mom has things under control. I just marvel at Tif's patience and unwavering love. Much of her daughter's care is left to her since her husband is often away on business. With all this taking her attention, she still makes sure we know she is thinking of us with calls, e-mails, thoughtful presents and Skype webcam calls. My mother says we are certainly blessed and on this special day I just wanted to wish Tiffany a very special Mother's Day. You make us proud, Tif!

Happy Mother's Day Everybody!

We had a very delicious, wonderful surprise today. My brother, sister-in-law and nephew, Cody sent us this gorgeous fruit bouquet. It came just before lunch so we really made a meal of it. My mother and I had no qualms about scarfing up the chocolate covered strawberries in one sitting. Shame on us but it was worth all the calories.
Thank you, Dennis, Nancy and Cody!

We gave Mom the azaleas to remind her of our trip to the Pacific Northwest. She's still in awe of all the incredible flowers and gardens we saw everywhere. Tomorrow my brother's family will be coming to celebrate the day with us. Then we'll take my mom for an After Mother's Day meal out on Monday.

I almost let Mother's Day get by without a to-do but my brother and sister-in-law awakened me to realize that we needed to spend some time to appreciate and recognize how lucky we are to have each other.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there! Have a glorious day together!

Bedding Done for the Night

A look back at Art adding extra supports in the middle with plumbing pipes.


The bed was almost done.



It's finally finished! Here's the bed we bought on Craig's List, stripped, polished and sealed.

I had the worst time finding a bed skirt reasonably priced in the islands not to mention 18 inches high so I checked Overstock.com. I found something very reasonable but they didn't mail to Hawaii. Therefore I had them send the bed skirt to my daughter, Tiffany in Chicago and she mailed it to me. It looks fine although there's a seam in the middle of the side panel which is pretty crappy. Still, Art says nobody will notice unless they're looking for it. I don't see why Overstock won't send to Hawaii because they can use flat-rate boxes for these small items. Ah well, thank goodness for daughters who are willing to help out their ol' mom and dad.

Now then, I just need to find some tall night stands and we'll be all set in that guest room.

Pet Peeve

Sheesh! It must be the heat getting to me. I must still be used to the cooler weather of the gorgeous Northwest. From wearing three layers of clothing every day, I'm sitting here in shorts and tank top being crabby.

We were out shopping today and I went to the bathroom. It irritates me when I see women using more than a sheet of paper towel to wipe their hands. For goodness sakes! I try to use the air blow dryer if I can, and shake the rest off. I would never think to use more than one paper towel. Today, I saw a woman unroll almost 3 feet of paper to wipe her hands. Then she took another 2 feet. Come on! How many more trees did she want to cut down anyway? I'll bet she'd be the first one to complain that another bathroom did not have enough paper towels in their dispenser. I used to teach my first graders NOT to use more than one sheet. You wouldn't think grown ups would need lessons, too.

Forgive me.... I'll go drink some water and turn on my ceiling fan to cool off. No, I won't turn on the air conditioner, just the ceiling fan.

Oh what the heck! I'm going to turn on the A.C.!

Looking Back to our Last Day in Washington State

We drove through Tacoma on the way to SeaTac airport on Monday. Unfortunately, the Washington State History Museum was closed as well as the Glass Museum.





The Chihuly Bridge of Glass was very impressive. Although the museum was closed, seeing Chihuly's Bridge of Glass and other outdoor sculptures still made the stop very memorable.



We enjoyed a FREE ride around Tacoma on the train.



Patty and Paul, our most gracious and super excellent hosts in Washington told us that after they dropped us off at the airport, there was a huge torrential downpour that lasted into the next day. Paul told us before it was his fault for saying they'd had very little rain lately.

After over 30 years of not seeing each other, we still smile to think how we managed to share our homes with each other within a month's time. Well...it'll now be their turn to visit us again in Hawaii.

And now.... I'm chomping at the bit to see what you've all been up to...after breakfast.

Safely Home!

Hi Everybody,
Thank you so much for keeping me company on our trip to the gorgeous Northwest. My mother is still in awe of all she's seen. She said she'd always thought Japan and Hawaii were the most beautiful places on Earth but now that she's seen more of the world she has come to the happy realization that there is even more grandeur to discover.

Today, we've got the Farmers Market, Bank, shopping, ETC. to do!
Yikes!

I can't wait to calm down so I can visit you all and see what you've been up to in my absence.
Love you all,
Kay

Day #10: Dosewallips, Brinnon, Port Townsend, Fort Worden

What an incredible day!


Paul and Patty took us on a day trip to see a number of beautiful sites around the Hood Canal. We ate lunch at Brinnon's Dosewallips State Park and loved seeing the bird life in the area. There were lots of herons and eagles.


Our next stop was Whitney Gardens and Nursery. What an amazing place! These yellow tulips were the first flowers we saw and we were surprised by the strong delicious scent. Patty asked about the bulbs and was told that they'd bought it at Costco!


I've never seen so many rhododendrons.









Port Townsend is a Victorian seaport that supplied gold seekers in the turn of the century who were on their way to British Columbia. Today, it is a quaint town filled with Victorian antiques, coffee shops, etc.


Fort Worden was an army base during WW I and WWII. It served as a backdrop for the movie, An Officer and a Gentleman.


Patty mentioned that Scot's Broom was an invasive plant that could be a nuisance. Still, we couldn't help but agree that it was quite pretty.

Our trip is just about over. Tomorrow, Paul and Patty will be taking us to a museum before we catch our flight back to Hawaii. It's been an incredible trip! Wow!

Day #9: Keyport, Port Gamble, Poulsbo, Seabeck

We got up this morning to see the weather forecast for the next few days. Is it only Seattle where the forecaster has so many creative ways to describe rain?

Today: Mostly cloudy and cooler with a shower
Tonight: Occassional rain and drizzle
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a passing showers
Monday: A couple of showers possible
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, rain possible; windy
Wednesday: Chance for a couple of showers

Because of the expected showers, rain or drizzle Paul and Patty thought a museum would be a good place to start our day.



The Keyport Undersea Museum had so much to see and learn. This friendly diver suggested we have our photo taken with him (or her).



Even Mom was fascinated by all the different diving helmets and types of torpedoes that submarines use.



I thought this was very interesting. Did you know that the Trident Nuclear submarine was this long?



Our next stop was the quaint town of Port Gamble. I felt like I suddenly stepped into Maine. Mom and I had a lovely corn chowder there.



We saw these pretty blue flowers everywhere but nobody knew its name.



And then there were these green flowers.



We enjoyed seeing this Camperdown Elm tree. Patty said it was great that the leaves had not all come in so we could see what the trunk looked like.


It really is a beautiful tree. It rather looked like a weeping willow tree from the outside.


Port Gamble had a lot of antique shops that sort of reminded us of Galena in Illinois.


This map showed Port Gamble where we were, Silverdale (Art's finger is pointing to it.)where Patty and Paul live and Poulsbo where we were going.


Poulsbo is called Little Norway. We enjoyed having some pastries and coffee there.


It was still drizzling but we loved seeing Seabeck Scenic Beach Park. It is oyster season and you can collect a maximum of 18 oysters. We didn't.


We made it back to Patty and Paul's before the rain fell in earnest. Seasoned Washingtonians, they grilled us delicious salmon steaks in the rain.

We're glad we were able to experience the famous Northwest rains. Let's see... what's tomorrow?
Mostly cloudy with passing showers?
We'll see if the forecasters are correct.