Lindsay had her location and venue all picked out. We were going to head up to Heronswood Gardens in Kingston. The last time I was up this way was with mom about two years ago. We drove up here to go geocaching and to grab a virtual called Frog Rock.
To save money, Nicole, Del, Ben and I were going to share a room at the Point Casino and Hotel (just south of the venue) during the wedding weekend and they agreed because the hotel rooms weren't all that cheap, however, when we split two days worth between all of us it was cheap. Del would make the reservations and we would pay him after the weekend.
Now to find shoes....
I hate wearing nice shoes because they are so uncomfortable but hey at least they are pretty! Ugh, grumble grumble grumble. I literally found my shoes two days before the wedding when I went to Olympia after work to search for them. I found some at the JC Penny's along with a bra that was the same color as our dress as recommended by Nicole. Okay, I was all set except to pack up my stuff an cram it into the Escape.
That evening as we were getting our stuff ready Ben got the call we were hoping he would have gotten a few weeks ago so he didn't have to miss the wedding. He and the Tenino Fire Department got their stuff together to MOB down to northern and southern Oregon. The Dalles and Medford were severely on fire and even made national news. Ben was so upset that he had to miss the wedding but we all knew that it could happen at anytime. This time it was just poor timing. Ben grabbed all of his stuff and headed to Tenino. They got to the site a few hours later. I called Lindsay and Nicole and told them that Ben would not be coming to the wedding. Everyone was sad but they understood.
I took Friday off so I could help Lindsay with last minute things and to travel up there without having to worry about work and running out of time to get up there. I got up early and headed to Lindsay's house. There were cars and people everywhere! I can't believe all of those people fit in her house! Anyway, I asked what I could help her with and she said probably transporting stuff.
For the next hour we crammed many bottles of wine, decorations and "randoms" in the back of the Escape. It was a good thing I had the room. She thanked me and told me she would see me up at the place. I left a little bit after 11. I had plans to stop and pick up a few caches on the way up.
I headed onto Hwy 101 and got off on Hwy 3 to drive through Shelton. My first cache, The Power of Love (GC6JXGK) was an easy park and grab right off the highway. Unfortunately someone had dumped off some deer or elk parts that reeked to high heaven. I hurried so I didn't have to smell it for too long. Gross.
I got back into the Escape and checked the map for the next one. We Didn't Start the Fire (GC6JAG0) was up the road in the small town of Allyn. It was at the fire station and one of the guys on shift was cleaning the front of the sidewalks for the upcoming pancake breakfast the next day. I found the cache quickly and he walked over to me and said, you found it! I thanked him and he continued on his way. I put it back and waited a long time to turn left onto the highway. Allyn was hopping today!
A few miles up the road I entered Belfair and it was pretty busy. I had to figure out where to park to get Birds of Belfair (GC6GFGP) without my Escape being in the way. The first approach I saw that it was going to be a bird house so it should be quick once I found a place to park. The second approach I just found a wide spot in the road and parked really quickly. That intersection was insane and I was hoping no one really paid attention to what I was doing. I made the find, signed my name, got a picture and got back in the Escape and headed to the next one.
Steel Identity (GC7PAW5) was heading out of town on someone's property. I really hate those ones because if the person is home and bored they will come out and talk to you. I don't have a whole lot of time to just chat today. I debated whether or not to get it and finally just decided to stop and find it quickly. I pulled in, found a spot to park and got out. The statue really didn't have a lot of places to check (and I knew it was magnetic) so I focused my search underneath it and bam, found the cache! I signed my name, put it back and was ready to hit the road in less than three minutes.
I got into Bremerton and the congestion increased like I knew it would. So I on purpose skipped Bremerton and headed into Silverdale. I've never really been in Silverdale except to drive through it on Hwy 3. I had put in coordinates for an earthcache called A Rock Eh? (GC18BJ4) and there were some parking coordinates provided. They also mentioned a trail head and a trail from the parking coordinates. I got to the spot and cachers before me had failed to mention that the trail head and trail was blocked by construction. I had to figure out another way in. I walked along the sidewalk and found the hard way in. I tried really hard not to get scratches on my legs but I failed and I was suppose to wear a dress tomorrow that shows part of my lower legs. I finally did get to the cache (the hard way) and answered the questions along with the picture of myself at the rock. I headed back and found out there was indeed an easier way but I would still have gotten scratched a little bit.
I decided I should probably get gas before I left Silverdale (mostly because I didn't know what the gas situation would have been closer to the reservation) and found a Arco at a decent price. I gassed up and saw there was another cache nearby I could grab before getting back on the highway. #75 Graveler (GC72R87) was in a rock wall between a fast food joint and a bank. I found its hidey hole, learned that it was a part of a Pokémon series, signed my name and went back to the Escape for the next one in Poulsbo.
The next two I stopped at because I was gathering trackables for my own travel bug hotel (which I was almost done with) along my way towards Kingston.
The first one, Owl Be There For You, Travel Bug Nest (GC607V3) was off the highway near someone's vet business. There was plenty of parking which made it really easy to spot the hotel. It had a lock on it as well. Upon opening it I saw the logbook right away but sadly no trackables. This was the third time this summer I stopped for a TB hotel and there weren't any inside. So disappointed. Silver lining: it was still a cool cache.
The second one, Cedar Glen Travel Bug Hotel (GC3Y9FE) was hidden on the property of a mobile home park. I parked in one of the available parking spots and walked over to where my phone was taking me. It took me a few minutes because my phone was bouncing all over the place and it really couldn't be very many places because we weren't suppose to disturb the landscaping. Then I had a duh moment and found it right away. Sadly this one also didn't have any trackables inside. I struck out again today.
A few years back, the Washington State Historical Society got together with geocaching to create a series of caches all over the state for their geotour called the WSHS 125. It was another passport and stamp adventure. I got a few of them but never had the time to go out and finish it. If I was nearby or going to be nearby one I always made sure I had my passport. If you finished you would get a pathtag. I saw that WSHS 125: Suquamish Museum (GC6J0F5) was really close to Kingston so I went and nabbed it on my way to the hotel. It was a quick find and not a lot of muggles were around.
I tried an earthcache right outside of Kingston but upon further review of it, I didn't finish all of the requirements so I have to finish it up the next time I am up this way. It was at a small peaceful park with a great view of the Sound. I sat there for a little while just thinking about everything that has happened over the past few months and how life changing they were.
I got a text message from Nicole and Del saying they were within minutes from the hotel and asked where I was. I told them I was a few miles out and that I would meet them at the hotel as soon as I parked. I needed to bring in a lot of stuff. I met them in the lobby, they handed me my key and told me where our room was. We borrowed the cart, took it outside and piled our stuff on it. Rolled it back inside, rode the elevator up and onto our floor. I was a little bit weirded out with the choice of carpet in the hallway. It definitely looked like someone dragged a dead body down the hallway.
Luckily we got there when we did because we had to get ready to go to the venue for the rehearsal and to get some of the flowers and decorations ready for tomorrow. I drove myself and Del and Nicole followed me. We were hoping that some of the other people were there as well. When we got there, we saw their stumpery (whatever that was) but we got a huge kick out of it and continued following the road. We really weren't sure where to go. We kept going until we came to an open field. We parked and got out. One of the workers told us we were in the right place so we waited to hear our instructions. Of course most of the people arrived after 6 p.m. but that didn't surprise us. Lindsay was notorious for showing up late to most everything.
Once everyone got there we went over who everyone was paired with, when we would walk down the aisle, where we would stand, briefly went over what the pastor was going to say and then how everyone was going to exit the garden. We unloaded all the decorations and wine out of the Escape and then spent about an hour working on the flowers and some of the table decorations.
Afterwards we all went back to the hotel and had the "rehearsal dinner" out in the courtyard. Steve bought pizzas and left his tab open for all the drinks (no liquor) we could drink. I grabbed a couple slices of pizza and a Pepsi from the bar and sat at a table with Nicole, Del, Sido and Barlow. We talked about a bunch of stuff and laughed most of the time.
At one point, Lindsay just couldn't put on that calm cool and collected face anymore. She broke down and I sent Nicole up to find out what was happening. Basically she was stressed out and heard some people criticizing some of the decisions she made. They were gone for a while and I thought they would be back so after about an hour I went up to see what was happening. They were working on bouquets. We hung out there for a while until it was time to head down to our room. We had a long day ahead of us tomorrow and we wanted to make sure we had plenty of sleep. I wore earplugs because Nicole and Del snore.
Next Adventure: Lindsay and Justin's Wedding
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