The Little Town of Leavenworth, Washington

I'll start today's commentary as we set out from Seattle across the state of Washington. Mountains and trees! Don't see too much of them in Texas, so I reserve the right to be impressed. Our Tour Director gave us an ample number of stops on today's 330 mile ride. There are lots of parklike rest stops and here we are at one of them.


Around noon we pulled into this little Bavarian Village, a town called Leavenworth. After the gold rush was over this became pretty much a ghost town. So several years ago the citizens got together and did a "makeover" into a tourist attraction with lots of shops, restaurants, a park and pavillion. It's still very much under construction and lots of fun strolling the streets.


As you can see, it stretches for about 6 blocks down and maybe 4 blocks in. There was a large outdoor art show going on with booths of paintings, photography, jewelry, wood carvings, etc. Graham grabbed a bowl of soup in one restaurant, Bill and I opted for an ice cream cone and lots of walking!

You know me, ever on "Westie watch" when I travel and I really hit the jackpot here! This happy fella was one of three doggies I spied. He was ready to jump into my arms! Had a very congenial owner too.

This one caught my eye because it's a sight I've never seen before. I first saw the dog in the back seat of a Jeep. Next thing I knew, he was out cycling with his owner! I've never had a Westie who could keep up with a bike!

As we walked the streets, Bill and I heard the sounds of an "oompah" band. So we meandered toward the center of town and this pavillion to find what appears to be a family of musicians and lots of folks sitting on grandstands or picnicing on the meadow beside the pavillion. This is where we found Graham, who had already purchased a CD of their music!

All too soon it was time to get back to the bus. As we made our way we passed by this lovely building and, lo and behold, it's a Starbuck's Coffee shop! That was expected in Seattle, and we'll see them a lot on this trip, but none in such a pretty setting as this!

That's going to do it for now. I'm still poring over the hundreds of photos, just from my camera. Still have to look through Graham's, sort out the duplicates, delete the out-of-focus ones, and then look for Bill's to arrive in the mail! I'll get another batch out soon. Enjoy!

Working Through Our Pictures

I'm just starting the process of editing our photos from the trip. These are from our lovely hotel in Seattle the afternoon we arrived. No rain!! And the flowers are in bloom all around the hotel.

These were taken right at the entrance. We had a couple of hours to look around Seattle before our introductory meeting with our Tour Director, Russell, and the other 35 members of our group. The hotel is just five blocks from the water, so we walked down to get our bearings. The difficulty was in climbing back up the steep streets back to the hotel. (We found out at the end of the tour that there is a much easier way back just three blocks over!)

Next morning we set out on our eastern trek across Washington state.

This is the area where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed. Russell said the house that Tom Hanks' character lived in is for sale - got a million dollars???

More to follow....

Back Home in Texas

Just a very short post to say we are all back home, safe and sound. The trip was fabulous and I can't wait to give you a more detailed report. I was never able to upload pictures from any of the hotel computers, so hold on to your hat in the coming days!

Hello from Jasper

Well, Bill and I are taking the afternoon off to catch up on some email and stuff. So I thought it would be fun to blog just a bit and tell you where we've been (if I can remember it all!) We are half way through our tour and it seems we've been on a bus forever!

First, we started our trip from Seattle last Sunday. It's been five years since I've been in Seattle and the streets are just as steep now as then! We huffed and puffed back up the hill - wait, Graham and I huffed and puffed trying to keep up with Bill.

The next morning we piled on our coach with 35 others and our Tour Director and set out for Spokane. On the way we stopped at the Grand Coulie Dam. Spokane is a beautiful city, and the river behind our hotel was very high and swift. We enjoyed a wonderful champagne reception and meal with the other guests on our tour.

Next morning we set out across the panhandle of Idaho and into Montana. We went to the Lonesome Dove Ranch for a barbeque and Montana "experience" with a storyteller and his wife who sang, fiddled and told tales about Montana.

Then on up into Canada, into Banff National Park and the city of Banff. There is still snow on the mountains and in some areas yet on the ground. Glacier National Park was wonderful. Our Tour Director said this group has had more wildlife sightings than usual and we have gotten lots of fabulous pictures. I'm unable to upload them from here, so you'll have to wait another week and then I'll overwhelm you!

Today we're in Jasper - a great climax of the trip was our rafting trip this morning on the Athabasca River. The rapids were just enough to thrill our bunch of "frisky geezers" - the new AARP term for senior travelers! So tomorrow starts the second half of our trip as we turn west toward Vancouver. We have crossed the Continental Divide twice as we've traveled through the Canadian Rockies. Can't wait to see what unfolds.

Here's the Video

Here's the promised video of Adrian playing with his Daddy in the pool.

Little Swimmer

We are making the most of our two days between the Moza's returning home from Romania and our leaving for Canada on Sunday. Here is Adrian taking his first swim with his Mommy and Daddy. Looks like he's going to be a natural!

I took several pictures and gave them to Meredith, so check her blog in the next day or two to see some more! Even have a cute video that I'll try to upload. Meanwhile, we're packed and almost ready to leave in the morning. Hopefully I'll have lots of beautiful pictures to share upon our return.

Treasure's Haircut

Treasure went to the groomers today and got a lovely haircut. She will be so much more comfortable as the temperatures are rising. She had a new girl do her grooming. And this is her beautiful haircut...









In all the years I've been taking westies for haircuts, this is the first time we've come home with bows in our hair! Like I said, she had a new groomer, a cute little gal with a foreign accent, who obviously adored Treasure and wanted to make her look pretty! Well, you can see how much she loved the bows! I did her a favor and took them out right after the picture.


Now, you do me a favor and be sure to tell her just how pretty she looked after her haircut!