Spokane Trip: Lacey to Spokane

I started to plan a long weekend over to Spokane after we had chatted with Brenda and Ray on WhatsApp. They were coming over for their son, Matthew's, college graduation. They were going to be there for about two weeks, and it aligned with the Juneteenth holiday. Juneteenth fell on a Thursday so citations were cancelled. That meant, we could take a long weekend if we wanted to. I chose to. I used my personal leave day to take that Friday off. Ben's days off weren't free so he had to take the two days off.

I messaged Fitzy to find out if we could stay with her, but she said she wasn't available that weekend because she was going to be officiating Chaise's brother, Jake's wedding, in Newport most of the weekend. I messaged Willmarth to see if we could stay with him, to save a little bit of money, and he told us that we were welcome to. He gave us his address again just so we had it. 

The night before we got most of our stuff packed up and ready to go.

We got up around 7, ate a quick breakfast - I had a bagel and yogurt and Ben had some oatmeal - we packed up the rest of our stuff and put it into the Escape. We left around 8. We got onto I-5 and had no problems; it was slow around the interchange at Hwy 18 and when we got to I-90 there wasn't a huge back up like we thought it was since they were beginning to work on that interchange.

We stopped at North Bend at the Safeway so Ben could use the restroom. Ben got some coffee while I got a couple snacks because meat sticks and cheese sounded good, and some Kleenex for Ben since his allergies were kicking his butt. 

We got back onto I-90 and drove through the mountains, into Ellensburg and over the Columbia River towards Spokane. We did not encounter any traffic, but we always see some dumb driving. 

We stopped at the eastbound Winchester Rest Area to do the new Washington Apple Adventure Lab that I contributed to. It published a few weeks ago. To me, it looked more like a back end of a cat rather than an apple, lol! I started calling it the cat butthole series. We sat in the Escape and did all the waypoints. 

It took about 20 minutes to do all of them. Then we figured out the final coordinates to the final physical bonus cache, WA Apple - Bonus Cache (GCB7JHR). It was east of the parking lot about two hundred feet away from where we parked. It was an ammo can tethered to a the bottom of a large sage brush bush. It was a fun bonus cache. We put our names on the logbook and made sure everything got put back correctly. 

We walked back to the Escape and grabbed our food to make lunch. We found a vacant picnic table. We ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with some chips. It was windy but I am glad it was warm.

Once we were done eating, we threw away our garbage and put our stuff back in the cooler. We merged back onto I-90 and gave Trish a call to check in and let her know how we were doing. We lost here somewhere before Ritzville where the cell service is a bit spotty.

I wanted to grab a bunch of caches on the Frontage Road that parallels I-90. It should be quick since these roads aren't used as often. We got off at the nearest exit, and I had Ben get out and find them. We grabbed S Frontage #1 (GC9P9GW), S Frontage #2 (GC9P9GZ), S Frontage #3 (GC9P9H8), S Frontage #4 (GC9P9HF), S Frontage #5 (GC9PVYC), S Frontage #6 (GC9PVYP).

We continued down Frontage Road and grabbed whatever cache was available as we moved east. We nabbed Oreo's 3rd Cache (GC9P9HM), Oreo's 6th Cache (GC9QYEQ), and Cross Road (GC9PH1B).

We grabbed S Frontage #11 (GC9QYEM), Public Fishing and Hunting (GC9YHKP), S Frontage #9 (GC9QA4F), S Frontage #8 (GC9PW0M) and Oreo's 2nd Cache (GC9NYBM).

After the last cache, we followed the road and the geocaches ended at the Love's. This was exactly where I was going to stop anyways for gas. We pulled up to an available spot; I pumped gas and wiped the bugs off the windshield. We went inside to use the restroom and to grab some drinks.

We got back onto I-90 and continued until we got into Spokane around 4. I texted Willmarth that we made it to Spokane, and we were going to go play disc golf somewhere then get dinner if he wanted to join us. Ben looked for a disc golf course that had some good ratings. That took us over by the Spokane River between North Spokane and Spokane Valley at a course called Jamboree Park.

We didn't realize they were getting ready for league play soon but the guy told us we can play ahead to get at least a round of 9 in. We thanked him and started in on the course. As we approached the end of our disc golf adventure in the pine trees, I was getting hungry. I had looked up earlier where the nearest Buffalo Wild Wings was and there was one in the Northtown Mall, which wasn't too far from where we were.

We grabbed our stuff, walked back to the Escape and hit the road. We found out what side of the mall the restaurant was on, parked and went inside. I'm glad it wasn't busy for a Thursday night. We ordered our drinks and then our usual. We didn't get as many as we normally would because we didn't have the capacity to store leftovers. Just before our food came, I got a phone call from Fitzy. She asked if we could do her a favor the following evening. Because she and everyone she knew in Spokane were at a wedding, no one would be around to let their dogs out and feed them. I told her we would after we were done down in Pullman. She said that was fine, gave me the info and thanked us. We ate our food.

We paid and headed up to North Spokane to Willmarth's tiny apartment. The drive seemed familiar and when we pulled into the apartments, the apartment complex seemed familiar. Isn't this where Brenda and Ray lived before moving to Portugal? Why, yes, it was! Such a small world. Willmarth had given us the code to get in just in case he wasn't there when we arrived. We took a couple trips and settled in upstairs. His place was pretty much empty, and he didn't have a bed.

We drove to the Walmart, which was less than a half a mile from the apartment complex to pick up a few things he didn't have in his apartment. We headed back and tried getting a hold of him with the various phone numbers I had for him. He did eventually get back to us because his girlfriend, Mandy, who lived in Deer Park, didn't feel well and had to have the paramedics come to her house and evaluate her. They ended up going to the emergency room for a few hours. 

We showered and got ready for bed around 11:30. Ben's allergies were kicking his butt. We were hoping to hear back from Willmarth, but we never did that night. He did tell me that he would be at work most of Friday and that we had to find something to do. I knew exactly what we were going to do most of the day.

Notes:

We found 100 AL waypoints and 15 caches
We played at a new disc golf course
Ate at a new Buffalo Wild Wing location

Next Adventure: Spokane Trip:  A Visit to Pullman

Father's Day

I asked Dad what he wanted to do for Father's Day this year. I didn't ask Zac because he really doesn't care. He just shows up eats and hangs out. Dad said he wanted to be at the rental, eat food and shoot BB guns. I told him I could make that happen and asked him what kind of food. He said he wanted BBQ chicken, potato salad, beans, chips and Jell-O. For dessert, he said ice cream sandwiches.

I let everyone know where it was, when it was and what we were going to have for food. The weather was supposed to be decent so I asked Erika to bring her pop up so we could shield people from the sun. We were also going to celebrate Sonya's birthday since it was earlier in June. The Friday before, I went grocery shopping for the stuff we needed. Thankfully, we chose a really easy meal to cook. All we had to do is prepare it beforehand. Mom volunteered to make potato salad. As always, I told everyone to bring their own drinks. I did give everyone permission to bring their dogs BUT they had to clean up after them.

That weekend was busy. I had my first WSGA meet and greet event at the park on Saturday, followed by a visit to Fred Meyer and The Dollar Tree, the stopped by Erika's. I went home and prepared for our evening at Nicole and Del's house for D&D. We were over there until around 11 p.m. We got home, did a couple things to prepare for the next day and then went to bed.

The next day, I got up, went for a walk around the park and then got home, ate a quick breakfast and started getting everything ready and packed up. We stopped by Walmart for a couple of quick things we didn't have and headed into Rainier. 

We got there just before 1 and let Dad know we were there because we had no idea where he wanted to set up the BB gun area. We got the car port ready - set up the tables and chairs and made sure we had enough plates, silverware and bowls. Ben got the chicken ready because it was going to take a little bit to cook while, I got everything else all ready to go. I put the stuff in the fridge inside the house until we needed it and the ice cream sandwiches in the freezer.

I texted Megan if she wanted to come over for a little while she could. I knew she didn't have the boys that weekend and let her know she was welcome to come by at any time. She said she would consider it after she was done with whatever she was doing that day. 

People started to arrive just before 2 and a little after. Erika and Zac put up the pop up and I grabbed the camping chairs out of the shop to set up for the people who didn't bring their own. Doug brought Charlie over. Everyone got settled in and chatted while we were waiting for the food to finish. I had the fire pit set aside just in case it got cold - I didn't think it would since it was such a nice day.

The food was finally done, and I had everyone grab plates and pile food onto them. We all sat around eating and visiting. Once we were done, we showed people where the bathrooms were inside the house and gave people a tour of what we've done so far. At this point, part of the ceiling tiles were put up. Dad still needed to do some repairs on the roof, and they were going to take a while.

Megan showed up shortly after and hung out with us for about an hour or so. She held Brian majority of the time she was there because she needed her baby snuggles. She said she didn't need any food even though there was plenty of it. It was nice that she did stop by even though it was for a short amount of time. 

During that time, we had the father's open their gifts and then had Sonya open her gifts. Dad then, rallied everyone to grab a BB gun and shoot the targets we had set up. There were old beat-up Army men, pop cans, actual paper target and other nick knacks we have collected over the years. Of course, Ben had to bring his air soft rifle.

As it approached 5, it was time for everyone to gather up their stuff and head home. Some people had to go feed their dogs and get ready for the upcoming work week. Trish, Ed and Amy had about an hour drive ahead of them. Everyone thanked us for a great time and headed out. Ben and I helped Dad put everything away before heading home ourselves. We got home just after 6:30. We got cleaned up, washed some laundry and put stuff away. 

Happy Father's Day!

Next Adventure: Spokane Trip: Lacey to Spokane

WSGA Southwest Chapter: My First Event at Rainier Vista

In late January, I was contacted by the WSGA president asking me if I wanted to be a chapter rep this next year. This wasn't the first time I have been contacted throughout the years about being a chapter rep. Back then, I had the time and not the money and now I have the money and not the time. I bit the bullet and told him I would. It would be a great experience even though I didn't have a lot of time to spare. But I was sure going to try.

I had to update my WSGA password and log in information and renew my WSGA membership. I think the last time it was updated was back in 2021? 2022? Then life got busy planning a wedding and renovating a house. I was also in the midst of finishing up a DJA and applying for the job opening. Everything was happening all at once. The noise in my head was loud during that time. Frequent walks in the park listening to podcasts helped a little bit.

I was nominated as the Southwest Chapter Rep and I had to write up a little blurb about myself and after about a week of the WSGA members deciding who to vote for, the polls closed and we waited until the middle of March to find out if I got the position or not. Of course, that is when I was preparing for my job interview and I was out of my mind for a couple days.  

That afternoon I looked at my email and posted on Facebook:

"Just checked my email, you are looking at the new WSGA Southwest Chapter Rep!"

It was great news after the day I had earlier. I had just finished a virtual high anxiety interview conducted by three people I knew. My mind was shot that day, and I constantly played the questions over and over in my head criticizing every answer I gave. 

I had plans for the year. I really wanted to try to represent every area of SW Washington the best I could. I did have to remember that the WGA Campout was in my region, and the 25th Anniversary Going Ape event was being held this summer. It was going to be a busy year with geocaching events, possibly starting a new job and continuing to renovate a house.

I knew I wanted to host a geocaching event at the park next to the house. I also wanted to incorporate an Adventure Lab as well. It will bring more people to the park knowing they will get something out of it other than just an event. I tried to host my first event back in 2020. I had a great idea of having my 10th geocaching anniversary at the park, but Covid derailed that and I didn't make the time to do it until now.

I created a cache page for my event, but I didn't know it had to be from the SW Chapter geocaching account. I messed that up, but the WSGA president didn't care too much as long as we were getting events up out there for people to go to. I picked out the day, the time and where it was going to be.

The day of, I had Ben help me load up the car with a table, the WSGA tote with the banners, information, swag and raffle tickets. I made sure I had a cool logbook and a space for people to share stories, laugh and hang out. We got there a little bit early (the weather was even great) so we could set everything up. I had made an Adventure Lab in the park a few days prior and made it live just as the event started.

We had a great turnout - about 20 people came to hang out and talk about geocaching. A few people went to go do the Adventure Lab while others stood around sharing stories. We were there for a little over an hour and were even able to have a raffle drawing for random prizes I found in my WSGA tote. I received it from the prior chapter rep, and it desperately needed to be restoked.

It was different actually going to a geocaching event that I hosted. It was weird having people come up to me instead of me going up to other people. It gave me a different perspective on a hobby I have been doing since July 2010. It was also nice to see that I have the support of my geocaching community. I just wished I had more time on the weekends to do more. We will see how the rest of the year goes and if I can hit my goals I have set up for myself.

Next Adventure:  Father's Day