Spokane Trip: Spokane to Lacey

Sleeping wasn't restful. I had set the alarm for 8:30 and started getting ready for the day. I had to nudge Ben so he would start getting ready as well. We had to pack up our stuff and get it out to the Escape. I got dressed and did my bathroom stuff. I went back upstairs and started rolling up the sleeping bags and folding up the blankets. We made some piles and then started taking them out to the Escape...luckily, we didn't have to take them very far.

We sat on the couch and waited for Willmarth and Mandy to show up. He said they would be there between 10 and 10:30ish. They pulled up around 10ish and knocked on the door. This was the first time since we got to Spokane, we were able to see and visit with him. I would have liked to have visited more with him, but I had no control over that. We met Mandy for the first time. He had mentioned her back in March for the first time. He had been seeing her for the past 3-4 months.

He had told us that she is a librarian in Deer Park, loves Star Wars, Disneyland and is slowly being immersed in sports since she wasn't familiar with any of them. He said he has gotten her to watch basketball with him as of late. She introduced herself and she apologized for her ER visit she had to do when we got there. We told her it was okay and then started talking about all kinds of things - from growing up in Rainier, to basketball, to meeting Ben, to the wedding and the things we liked to do. We covered a lot of stuff. She said that Willmarth has told her all kinds of things about me. I replied, hopefully good things, haha.

Willmarth asked if we were ready to go have breakfast and we all agreed that it was time to go. We drove separately to the Kalico Kitchen, which was about three miles south of the apartment off of Monroe. Apparently, the owners are huge Gonzaga fans. Once we got there, we found a couple places to park and discovered it was busy. We walked up to the front and luckily got in within 10 minutes. We were escorted to our table and ordered drinks. I got an orange juice and Ben got a coffee. We visited some more while we looked through the menu.

I ordered a light meal of hashbrowns, 1 sunny side egg, toast and two bacons while Ben had a scramble. We continued talking as we ordered. I told them about the last 6 months of my dramatic DJA and it turning into a job while Willmarth told us about his work journey over the past couple years. Our food came and we kept on sharing our stories and how life was going. It was fun talking to Mandy and getting to know her a little bit.

Willmarth paid for all of us and we thanked him. We all got back into our vehicles and headed back to the apartment where we visited some more. It was approaching time to get going since we had like a six-hour drive ahead of us. We thanked him for letting us stay at his tiny apartment and that hopefully we would be able to come over to Spokane again for another visit soon. 

We gathered up the rest of our stuff and took it out to the Escape. We left around 1:15. We stopped at the Conoco to fill up with gas since it was one of the cheaper ones around, without having to cross over into Idaho, grab ice and make our way to I-90 west.

The drive west was boring, and Ben fell asleep a few times. I just listened to my podcasts. We got to Vantage and decided to get out of the Escape, walk around a bit, soak up some sun and enjoy the scenic overlook of the Columbia River gorge. Ben found the earthcache that was there. I had told him I found it years ago during one of the many back and forths from Spokane.

At the top of the hill before going into Ellensburg, we stopped at the Ryegrass Rest Area to once again, get out, stretch and use the restroom before the mountain part of our trip. Ben fell asleep a few more times and kept myself company with my podcasts and music. 

We got into Cle Elum for some gas and to use the restroom inside the Safeway. 

The rest of the trip was uneventful except a few stupid drivers here and there. We got home around 7:30, unloaded the Escape, took showers and started a load of laundry. We got ready for our work week as well. It was going to be a rough one because we both were not feeling all that great. We both got colds from somewhere. It surprised me because I hardly ever get sick. We both went to bed early hoping our colds won't last too long.

Next Adventure: The 3rd and 4th of July

Spokane Trip: Caching with Brenda and Ray and Dinner with Fitzy

After a miserable night sleeping on the floor and getting up in the middle of the night with a throat/sinus thing, we got up around 8:30, got ready, ate yogurt and toast, Ben managed to get up and also got ready. He was sore and I had to rub that icky Tiger Balm all over him. It sure does open your sinuses in that unpleasent way! 

He made a fried egg and had some toast with it. We cleaned up after ourselves and texted Brenda and Ray that we were on our way.

We left North Spokane around 10:30 and drove to the South Hill to pick up Brenda and Ray, they were staying at Brenda's mom and dad's house. We pulled up and Ray came out saying that we were still waiting for Brenda. She and her sister went and had a coffee date that morning. We visited with Ray until Brenda rolled up. They both hopped in and we started our geocaching adventure for the day.

They've been waiting a while to update their dog park Adventure Lab since one of the waypoints changed and they had to update it.  They gave us directions on how to get to that dog park. The park was busy, but we stayed in the Escape while Ray got out to get what he needed to update their Adventure Lab.

On the way back down from the top of South Hill, we saw a cache we didn't have and were driving right past it. Brenda and Ray already nabbed Crestline Rock Garden (GC9JDKB), but they told us we could stop really quick and get it. Everyone stayed in the Escape while I went out, found it, got our names on it and quickly walked back. It was a fake rock hidden around rocks. Luckily, it was easy to spot once I saw it.

We searched the geocaching app for an Adventure Lab to do and that took us to a five waypoint one in Polly Judd Park. It was a smaller park with a tiny parking lot. We did manage to find a parking spot with Ray's handicapped pass. There were some people having a kid's birthday party underneath one of the covered areas. This Adventure Lab took way too long because one of the waypoints took us forever to figure it out. It was poorly worded, but we finally managed to figure it out. We walked back to the Escape and went to the next closest cache.

Downtown Abbey (GC4658D) was in an old South Hill neighborhood covered in trees, one-way narrow roads and strange confusing intersections. We managed to find a place to pull out of the road and Ray and I got out and walked the rest of the way to the guard rail. We found it quickly, got our names on it right away and put it back before cars drove by wondering what we were doing. We got back to the Escape and decided to drive further down the hill near the hospital.

We were on the backside of MultiCare Deaconess Hospital. Luckily, the street wasn't busy. We found a place to pull over so Ray and I could get out and search. The High Road (GC2HD3E) took us a few minutes to find. It was hidden well but missing a lid. We got our names on it and on our way back to the Escape, we saw a wild turkey waddle by.

We wanted to wander around Riverside Park to do some of the virtuals and the 12 waypoint Adventure Lab. Of course, parking was insane, so we found a place to park at a nearby store and hoped that we wouldn't get in trouble or have the Escape towed. We went inside the store to make it look like we belonged there. I made sure to grab my phone charging battery because something was seriously eating up my battery. It never really has done that before. Hmmm.

We walked into the park from the west and found where the 12 waypoint Adventure Lab, Art in Riverfront Park began. This one took us a while to do but we set aside the time to do it. We figured we would do it in a reverse clockwise rotation and take pictures of the art we needed and number each of them. The park was super busy and even the events center was showing a play that afternoon. We had to duck and dodge around everyone.

Ben and I did the Meet Me at the Clocktower (GC7B9R1) virtual cache, but I didn't read it entirely and had to do the rest of it online. I was super lucky there were photos online that depicted the answer I needed. I got a phone call from my non-Spokane friend Megan asking me a couple questions. I was on the phone with her for a few minutes. Ray, Brenda and I convinced Ben to slide down the giant Radio Flyer wagon because you just HAD to if you were at the park and he's never done it before.

We continued gathering waypoints as we wandered around the park and the finally, my phone died. I let it charge up with the portable charger I brought along. Ray and Ben would have to do read the info and take pictures. We all walked over to the pavilion to do the Pavilion in the Park (GC9P54V) virtual cache. We had to find a quote on the wall; find out how far away the ice-skating park was to the pavilion and take a picture of yourself or your group inside the pavilion giving a thumbs up or a peace sign.

We continued around the park and finally got all the pieces we needed to finish the 12 waypoint Adventure Lab. We did have a hard time trying to get the answer at the totem pole. We still aren't sure, to this day, if we did it right or not. We did have some great laughs though. We walked back to the Escape, and it was still there! Yay! 

We piled in and drove out to the Valley to the Azteca for a light lunch. I messaged Fitzy to let her know where we are in our day. She was in Post Falls with Chaise's family hanging out after the wedding the previous night. She said she could leave whenever we wanted to meet up with her. She said we could hang out whenever and that there is no hurry. We told her that we were almost done and that Brenda and Ray had to be back soon to do some family stuff.

We got back onto the freeway and drove back to the South Hill. Along the way, we chatted about the good times we had in Portugal and the next time they would be in the States, they said probably in about a year when they come over to visit Brenda's son, who is stationed in Hawaii with his family. They were excited about visiting Hawaii. They thanked us for taking them around Spokane and hanging out. We gave out hugs and told us to make sure we kept in touch. It would be nice to go visit them in Portugal again someday.

We let Fitzy know we were done and could meet her wherever she wanted to go. She suggested the Iron Goat because they had some gluten free options. We told her we would be there soon and just leaving the South Hill area. The Iron Goat was on the west side of downtown Spokane. Luckily, there was some available parking nearby. We got there sooner than she did and hung out inside the car until she got closer. There were some homeless people around and just kept our distance for safety. She said she was almost there, so we walked the block into the restaurant and found a table.

She joined us, Fitzy and I grabbed a beer and Ben got a cider. 

We chatted for a while on what has been happening in our lives, Fitzy told us about the wedding and some of the stuff she and Chaise were doing and thanked us profusely for being in Spokane to let the dogs out the other night. She appreciated that we were able to help her out with them and that they behaved for us. We also ended up sharing a pizza a little while later. It was great that we got to meet up with her that weekend.

We went back to the apartment in North Spokane and Willmarth still wasn't around and we tried texting him again. We both got cleaned up and played several rounds of dice while we waited to hear back from him. He finally texted us back apologizing for not being around very much that weekend and that he wanted to meet up tomorrow to have breakfast at the Calico Kitchen. He and Mandy would meet us at the apartment before we went. I told him it was a plan and to see both of them the next day.

Ben and I got ready for bed. We were both feeling a little worn down.

Next Adventure: Spokane Trip:  Spokane to Lacey

Spokane Trip: A Visit to Pullman

We got up around 7 a.m. and got ready. We made some breakfast - scrambled eggs, toast, yogurt and bananas. Willmarth had limited stuff and we had to improvise. We cleaned up after ourselves. We put the food away in the tiny fridge and washed the dishes we used. There were some extra dishes that he had left in the sink and we did those too. We weren't sure when he was going to come by the apartment.

We packed up the stuff we would need for the trip down to Pullman and got ready to go. I was disappointed in the weather. It was cold for this time of year in Eastern Washington. We left around 8, headed down Division and merged onto I-90 west. I honestly did not see the meter and blew right past it. I hope we didn't get a ticket. I guess we will see if we get one in the mail.

It was a short drive on I-90 until we had to merge onto Hwy 95 south towards Pullman. I have driven down Hwy 95 so many times over the years while at college. The drive is pretty mundane surrounded by fields as far as the eye can see of wheat fields. However, this time of year they're green. It rained a little bit on the way down but went away as soon as it came down.

We rolled into Pullman just before 10 a.m. and immediately drove over to where my old place on D Street is and found a free parking spot by the soccer fields. We got out and grabbed what we would need. It was a bit chilly for a middle of June day in Eastern Washington. We walked up the hill and around the corner towards the CUB. 

There weren't that many people on campus which is my favorite time to visit WSU and Pullman. Any other time during the year it's insane and full of people and traffic. We decided to go into the CUB to go visit the Bookie. I needed a new sweatshirt, and we needed to get Ben a sweatshirt now that he is a Cougar husband, lol. We spent about 45 minutes looking through all the merchandise. I found the sweatshirt I wanted, and Ben found himself one as well as a T-shirt. We paid and used the restroom.

We walked down to the Cougar Pride statue to take a picture of us with Ben's new sweatshirt. Why? Because we absolutely had to! We walked back down Colorado to D Street to get back into the Escape. I wanted to drive to the visitor's center over by the city playfields. 

When I was a student back in 2002-2007, the now visitor's center, was a Pizza Pipeline. We parked the Escape and went inside. I grabbed a map and a free WSU football poster from the season that just finished. We took some fun pictures as well.

I took him down to the city playfields, where we used to practice and play games when I was on the WSU club fastpitch team...many years ago now and tried going to the Trailside Taproom but it wasn't open until later on that evening. Instead, we drove to Moscow to get some gas since it was $3.47 in Idaho vs $4.15 in Washington. I know, it's sad. It will probably get worse as time goes on!

I wanted to grab a virtual cache at the University of Idaho campus. I have been eyeballing this one for years and decided today was the day to go get it. We got as close as we could, parked, Ben stayed in the Escape while I jumped out really quick to go get the info we needed for Famous Trees (GCCDED). The answer was on a cement plaque in front of an old tree. I had to find out who planted this tree. President Theodore Roosevelt planted that Colorado Blue Spruce towering in front of me. Absolutely wild.

We got our gas at the Sinclair and headed back into Pullman. On the way there, we talked about getting some lunch and I knew just the place. Yes, it would have been Cougar Country, but Ben can't have food like that anymore. Instead, we parked downtown near the Paradise Brewery. I've wanted to go to this place for years. It was a winery while I was at school but glad it's a brewery and restaurant now. It used to be an old post office which is a registered historic building. We went inside to see what kind of beer and food they had.

I had An Amber of Paradise and Ben had one of the ciders. I figured, since I was in Pullman I had to have the Cougar Gold mac n cheese. Ben had a gluten free turkey club with the house chips. I have to say, the food was delicious. We will be coming here again whenever we find ourselves in Pullman in the future. We paid for our food, used the restroom and went back to the Escape.

I had promised Ben that I would take him to Sunnyside Park to play the disc golf course there. I remember playing disc golf years there years ago while I was in town visiting my friend Starrla while she was working with the WSU. We drove up the hill and parked in the small lot. We grabbed what we needed and made our way to the first tee pad. I noticed the disc golf course had been moved around.

It was very windy, we were full and it was hilly. We were there for a while enjoying the day. At hole 12, Ben threw his disc and it took a really bad roll. It rolled down the hill and into the pond at the bottom. We spent a good half hour looking for it. Sadly, we didn't find it. (*Update: Ben was contacted via text message that someone had found his disc in the pond. The guy mailed Ben his disc back.*) We continued on with the course. We also did the Adventure Lab in the park as we played.

Afterwards we used the restroom and while I waited for Ben, I went and found the only geocache in the park, Sunnyside (GCXKK3). It was a bison tub hidden on a small tree. I had to wait a few minutes until the people who go out of the car next to mine walked away before I could grab it. 

By that time, Ben was done, we jumped into the Escape and drove back down the hill into downtown. We took Hwy 27 north through the small towns such as Palouse, Oaksdale, Tekoa and Rockford. The highway dropped us right into Spokane Valley.

We continued over to Fitzy and Chaise's house. We parked and she told me how to get into the house and how much food each dog gets. Seamus was excited to see us, but Radar wouldn't stop barking at Ben. Fitzy had told me that Radar likes to bark at males. We gave them their food with a sprinkle of cheese on top. I had to feed Radar away from Ben so he would stop barking. After they were done eating, we let them outside to go potty. Sadly, I could not leave their house without Seamus sticking his face in my mouth. We gave them pets and treats before we left.

We made our way back up to North Spokane to Willmarth's apartment. We could tell he was there earlier because there was a new table in the living room. We checked in with him letting him know we were back. He texted us that he was still with Mandy making sure she was okay from the night before. He said he wouldn't be coming home that night. I was sad because I wanted to visit with him.

We showered, ate some snacks and played dice and Phase 10 before giving up and going to bed. Ben's allergies were kicking his butt. In the middle of the night, I woke up feeling terrible. I have never felt the sensation of my throat and sinuses being on fire. I was seriously worried that I might have to go to the emergency room that night. I took some Tylenol and drank a bunch of water...that seemed to keep it okay, but still uncomfortable. I was able to eventually fall asleep again.

Notes:

Tried a new brewery and a beer
Ben got his first Cougar sweatshirt and T-shirt
I've never actually been on U of I's campus until now
Had to go to Idaho to get gas because it was cheaper

Next Adventure: Spokane Trip: Caching with Brenda and Ray and Dinner with Fitzy