Hold on this is going to be a long one folks! First Seattle....

Hello everyone! Gerry and I are back from our trip to Seattle and Alaska. If you are curious about the trip, keep coming back, I think it it will take a couple of days to recount our adventure.

The flight was dandy as evidenced by this pic of my sister Susan, me, and Gerry, on our way to Seattle to meet our sister Ann who was flying in from Denver. My niece (since this is a public forum I'm not going to use any of my other relatives names- not that I don't love you guys, but you might not care to have your identify revealed (!)

My sister Ellen, Ann's twin, with Gerry and me. Ellen lives in a beautiful home on the shore of Puget Sound. Beautifully landscaped, it even has two waterfalls, one is right outside Ellen's window.

The view from the front of the house, Puget Sound in the distance.

The walls on the first floor were painted a peaceful pale blue.

Gerry checking out the view of the gardens from the deck on the front of the house.


Mr. Basset Hound wants back in!

My niece and her family (all of whom we adore!!!!) get to enjoy this pond (resident eagle-not in photo-from their back deck. It was starting to seem as if everyone in the Seattle area has a wonderful water view!

I mean come on, Gerry and I enjoyed this view every morning as we ate breakfast--and we were staying at a Comfort Inn!

Between visits with Ellen we walked around Port Orchard and on our second day had a lovely lunch at the Victorian Rose Tea Room (Gerry was very good natured about eating there-it was totally a ladies lunch kind of place.) While there we witnessed the first of what would become two very scary incidents on the trip. A woman lunching with friends at the table next to us suddenly rose and began walking into the woods while flailing her arms around: she was choking, badly. One of her friends ran after her and then saved her with the Heimlich. A very scary and long couple of minutes, most especially for the poor lady.





My handsome/beautiful, talented family and their Labradoodles! Just wish all of my nieces and nephews could have been there!



On our last day my niece (thank you!!!!!) drove us all the way back to Seattle so we could catch a plane home/catch the ship to Alaska.



It was beyond hard saying good bye to Ellen. And I'd ask that everyone who reads this please keep her in your prayers.



Homeward/Shipbound



With a little time to kill in Seattle Ann, Susan, Gerry and I played tourist and walked around the Pike Street Market.




Early the next morning Ann and Susan set off to the airport for Denver and Chicago and Gerry and I were off to catch our ship to Alaska.