Friday, June 4
About a month ago we asked Trish what we were going to do for Amy's birthday this year. She is in the process of getting rid of her WorldMark timeshare so no more trips to where we stay with that timeshare anymore. Last year's trip got canceled due to Covid. They were suppose to go down to Klamath Falls in Southern Oregon for a week and Ben and I were suppose to go down there for the weekend and spend some time down there with them. It sucked but it's just as well that she is getting rid of it because it is costing her way more in monthly dues than actually getting her worth out of it. It was time to bite the bullet and find out how to get rid of it once and for all. Trish said that we would talk about specifics of Amy's birthday in the next few weeks.
As it approached a week beforehand, Ben and I called her to ask what she decided we were going to do for Amy. She said some sort of activity outside like a hike or something. We were on board with the idea but was Amy? Amy seemed to be interested but she ultimately didn't care what we did even though it was her birthday. We talked about two possibilities, Pinnacle Peak in Enumclaw and Mud Mountain Dam which was outside of Enumclaw. We didn't think that Amy or her boyfriend David, would be able to do Pinnacle Peak so we decided on Mud Mountain Dam. There are a few trails there that don't gain elevation and if they are they're minimal.
As far as food, Trish said we will be having pizza on Friday night and burgers and hotdogs on Saturday while we were at the park. She picked up all the supplies at the store and some party decorations at the Dollar Store. She asked us to bring a tomato, lettuce and whatever else we wanted to bring so I also decided to bring pickles, because I like pickles on my burgers and they never have any, and some beans. Ed brought chips. We also brought drinks too.
That week, I went to the store to go shopping for her birthday present and Ben and I never know what to get Amy for her birthday or Christmas. She is the most difficult person to get stuff for and I hate getting people gift cards. Then I remembered that she spends a lot of money on bottled water from work. I asked Ben, what if we get Amy a Nalgene? He loved that idea. It will get her to use that instead of buying bottled water all the time. It's a win for her and a win for the environment. I also added a few things that I've had inside her gift bag so she didn't just get the Nalgene.
That Friday, we worked and then packed up our stuff. Ben came home at a decent time and packed up his stuff. We took his Edge. There was no traffic which was nice for a Friday around 6ish. We stopped at the Safeway in Bonney Lake for gas, I went inside and got a tomato, beans, pickles and a maple bar for Ben and I because it was National Doughnut Day. Safeway maple bars are my favorite and I can't help myself when I go into a Safeway. We headed to the house.
We pulled in and unloaded all of our stuff and took it inside the house. Trish was so excited to show us her new deck. It wasn't quite done but it would be done by the weekend. It was missing some of the boards on the steps. She said she has been waiting like 26 years to have a deck. She could not wait to get patio furniture and host parties on it.
She was still upset by her choice to hire a "unknown" person to come do her lawn. The yard looked terrible and this has been about six weeks, when he said it would start looking okay. She has been trying to get a hold of him so he could come fix it. She hasn't had any luck. I told her she should have asked Ben and I before she went ahead with it.
Amy had the pizza going in the oven so we had a meat lover's and a Mediterranean style pizza for dinner. Amy opened her presents from us and she really liked the Nalgene. We told her it would cut back the amount of money she spends on bottled water, it's pretty indestructible, reusable and can be washed in the dishwasher or by hand.
Trish realized she forgot to get ketchup and ice so she sent us back to the store to get those items. We got back and played a round of 10,000 and I won! I haven't won that game in a while. It felt good. We all had to get up somewhat at a decent time so we all got ready and went to bed.
Saturday, June 5
The next day we all got up before 9, so we could get dressed and quick breakfast of quiches and cinnamon rolls. The weather looked promising outside but had to remember we are going towards the mountains and they tend to make their own weather. Trish and Ed go to the park early, around 9) to make sure we got a table and a BBQ pit so he just chilled there until we left.
Meanwhile, we got all of the stuff packed up into the two vehicles and Ben and I set off while Trish and Amy went to go pick up David. We thought we'd be clever and take a back way near the Rainier School to avoid traffic on Hwy 410. That soon backfired on us and we had to back track and eventually get onto 410 in Buckley. The weather was still decent.
I checked the geocaching app to see how many were along Mud Mountain Road that were easy to get. There were a couple of them but we had time to grab one on the way through. We knew we were ahead of Trish, Amy and David. I haven't been out this way since the last time we came through here in September 2016. Wow! It's been that long?! There were three along the road but we only had time to grab one, I looked to see which one was a quick park and grab. KC Geo-Poker 2013 #9 (GC4JX4W) was indeed a quick park and grab. It was hidden in the guardrail next to a gated off area so there was plenty of parking off the side of the road. As we were signing it, Trish, Amy and David drove by. Ben and I just waved.
The weather was still okay. We might make it through the day unscathed.
We pulled up to the parking lot and found a place to park. We started unloading our stuff and taking it to the covered picnic area that Ed has been guarding since 9 a.m. The wind started picking up so it made it hard to put the table covering on the picnic table. Luckily, someone remembered tape. We get everything organized and you could tell Amy and David were bored to death. The outdoors aren't there cup of tea. However, it's good for them to get out once and a while and do character building things. It started lightly raining so we decided to play a round of Phase 10 while we waited for the rain to die down. Amy and David use the restroom and then want to sit in the car waiting for the rain to subside. It got worse. It was pouring down rain now and the wind made it even grosser. We had to make the call. Today wasn't a day to BBQ in the park but we sure tried. We helped Trish put everything back into the vehicles and we drove back to the house. We were all soaked.
Along the way, the weather miraculously got better and Ben and I stopped at the bottom of Pinnacle Peak for a cache. We both noticed that they put a lot of work into this parking lot. It actually had a parking lot now instead of pullouts along the road. They did a great job and it looked really nice. Anyway, Mt. Peak Parking Lot (GC79FEB) was another easy park and grab. It was hidden beside a large rock off to the side. I sign our names and got back into the Edge.
We got onto Hwy 410 and drove the short distance into Buckley. There was one more we could get that was an easy park and grab. The Mountain Man Geocache (Troop 557) (GC8FD5P) was hidden inside of some Rhododendrons off the side of the Foothills Trail. We signed our names and put it back better than we found it. I could see this cache eventually disappearing.
Ben and I drove home the back way so we didn't have to continue driving on Hwy 410. We got back to the house, settled in and helped Trish prepare everything. It was after noon and everyone was ready for some food. The weather was nice in Bonney Lake but not at Mud Mountain Dam.
We got the BBQ prepared, I made beans, got the plates, napkins, silverware and the rest of the food set out. Ben was outside making hot dogs and burgers. Trish had made her famous potato salad, she had fruit and cupcakes for later. We ate, chatted about random things, cleaned up and played dice and Phase 10. I played terrible in both games. We also brought Throw Throw Burrito and had a blast playing.
We ate cupcakes and David gave Amy a necklace for her birthday. It was getting late and we had to gather up all of our stuff so we could head home so we could take care of our kitties. We gave out hugs and told Ben's mom we'd be in touch for the next gathering.
We got home at a decent time, the traffic wasn't bad and fed our kitties. They were happy to see us. We unloaded our stuff, Ben played his game for a while since he hadn't been on in over a week...plus he had to catch up with Josh. I watched some DuckTales, worked on my blog and ate some popcorn. When we got tired we headed to bed.
The weekend didn't go as planned (sucky weather) but we had some back up plans so it turned out alright. Amy's birthday has been a little different over the past two years since Covid but maybe soon enough we can go back to the beach in the next year or two (not with WorldMark) and spend the weekend there.
Next Adventure: North: Shop Hopping and Picking Up Caches
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