Friday: Girl's Weekend - Leavenworth

Many years ago, our friend group was interested in doing some sort of weekend getaway or girl's weekend. Due to schedules, money and time we were not able to do it back then. The bachelorette party trip to the Oregon coast was the shove we needed. We had such a great time and all agreed that we needed to do it every year.

We started the conversations early on when and where we wanted to go this year. We threw around several locations and ultimately settled on Leavenworth because it was about halfway between Olympia and Spokane. We looked at Airbnb's and Vrbo's and found a place to rent for the weekend. Our girl's weekend was shaping up to be awesome!

We came up with activities, our menu for the weekend and made time for wandering around town geocaching and playing Pokémon Go. We were all set for a fun weekend in Leavenworth the weekend after Mother's Day. As we got closer to that weekend, Lindsay decided not to go with us. 

I put in my leave for that Friday and Erika didn't want to drive so I told her we were leaving at a certain time to head on over. She was okay with whatever I had planned as long as she didn't have to drive. There was a possibility (depended on rain) that the Hwy 18/I-90 interchange would be backed up during that weekend due to construction. They were making a diamond intersection out of it to relieve the daily congestion. I was hoping it wouldn't be that bad. There was another way around through Hobart into Issaquah if it did get bad.

I packed up most of my stuff the night before just so I didn't have to do hardly anything the next morning. Ben got up and went to work and told me to have fun with my girls. I got up around the same time I get up to go to work to finish packing up my stuff into the Escape. I texted Erika that I was on my way, and she said she was ready to go.

We left her house around 8 and stopped at Fred Meyers to get a few things including coffee from Starbucks and we needed ice for our cooler. On the way to the freeway, I stopped at the Arco on Martin Way to get gas and Erika had forgotten some snacks at the Fred Meyer, so she went inside to get a couple snacks at the gas station. We got onto I-5 and drove towards Highway 18 off of I-5 because I wasn't paying attention and missed the 510 exit.

Traffic wasn't bad at all and was pretty smooth all the way up to Tiger Summit and then as we started to descend, that's when the traffic came to a halt. I was super annoyed and Erika played her game until her batteries died. We suffered through but finally made it to the on ramp of I-90 east after about a half hour delay. I haven't been through this part of Hwy 18 in months. They've gotten pretty far and I hope the next time we drive through it will almost be done.

I texted our group thread letting them know where we were. Nicole, Celeste and Megan were on I-5 deciding to drive through Seattle to get onto Hwy 2. I told them good luck with that. and Fitzy was going to work for a bit and then leave just before noon from Spokane to drive west on Hwy 2. Fitzy had a less of a trafficky drive. Erika and I made it to the top of the pass and was sad to see there was absolutely no snowpack on or near the summit. We were probably going to have a summer with a lot of fires. We also got to witness some stupid driving as well.

We got to Cle Elum, and I took Erika to get lunch at the Cottage Cafe and to get out of the Escape for a bit.  We checked in with everyone again. The girls were in Gold Bar and Fitzy was finishing up laundry and packing up. Erika and I sat in a booth and ordered a couple burgers and fries - they were delicious. Our waitress was nice, so we tipped her well. We paid, used the restroom and got on the road again. We took the US 97 spur and got stuck behind some slow people.

We made the turn onto US 97, and it didn't take us long to get up Blewett Pass and over to Hwy 2. We checked in with everyone again. The girls were going over Steven's Pass and had spotty service, and Fitzy hadn't left her house yet but was going to soon. Since we got onto Hwy 2 so early, I asked Erika if we wanted to go to the Walmart in Wenatchee because there will be more choices rather than shopping in Leavenworth, she said sure. It did not take us very long to get to Wenatchee.

We got to the Walmart and wandered inside for a little bit. We texted the girls to find out if they needed anything extra that they didn't pack. We got a couple of breakfast items, more drinks and for the life of us tried to find Starry for Celeste. Apparently stores in Central and Eastern Washington did not carry Starry. We paid for our stuff and then headed west towards Leavenworth. The girls had just arrived and were wondering around downtown doing Pokémon Go. Erika and I arrived in town and found the house we were going to stay in (but we were too early to check in) and parked on the street nearby...of course it cost money to park on the street. Lame. We grabbed what we needed and met up with the girls at the clock tower. We walked around with them while they caught critters they needed. I did an Adventure Lab with murals.

When we got to the other side of town, we made our way down to the Wenatchee River along the road, I told the group I needed to grab a geocache that was down there. The past two times I've been in Leavenworth I've had to DNF it because it was missing. This time, Blackbird Boulevard (GC76WM1) was there! I made my way down to the rock retaining wall and it was a fake rock. My friends that that was pretty cool. I got my name on it, took a photo and put it back. We continued on back up to the main road.

We all decided we needed a drink at Icicle Brewing while we waited for Fitzy to arrive to town and for 4 o'clock to arrive so we could go check in to our dwelling for the weekend. I had the Amber ale and Nicole, and I sat on the ski swing. Megan ordered a fancy charcuterie platter for us to share because she needed a snack. We finished our drinks and food and then walked the couple blocks to the house. It was now 4 and we could start bringing stuff into the house and get settled in. On one of my trips out to the car, I saw Fitzy drive by in her red car. She turned around and found a spot to park in the driveway. She said she wasn't sure if we were meeting at the house or somewhere else in town. I suppose we probably should have checked in with her when we were walking to the house.

Everyone finished up unloading our stuff and setting up the kitchen. We spent some time putting stuff in the fridge and Celeste made some deviled eggs while we hung out and chatted. The last time we were all together was at Megan's house last fall, so we had a lot to catch up on. We ate some of the eggs and Nicole said, it's Goosechase time!" We all squealed with joy!

We had a great time the last time we played. Nicole had made 100 questions, and we were split up into two teams. Since it was an odd amount, with Nicole being at the computer running the game, Erika and I were on a team and Megan, Fitzy and Celeste were on the other - just like at the bachelorette party. Our team names were the Butt Hoagies and the Bratwurst Bitches, I know, we're pretty classy.

For the next 45 minutes or so, we were all in and out the house, using random items as props for our tasks, taking funny pictures and goofy videos. There was a lot of laughing and Nicole was giggling at the table monitoring our hilarious antics. Erika and I got a 2-minute head start since we were down a person. We ended up winning it again in the end! Muhahaha! So far, Erika and I are 2-0 with Goosechase.

We settled down and Nicole started getting the burrito bowls ready to go. We all helped out in the kitchen, getting the burrito innards made, rice reheated or the veggies cut up. We made quick work of dinner and ate together in the dining room. These are the times I wished some of our other friends lived closer, so we could hang out with them as well. Nicole's burrito bowls are amazing! I ended up having seconds after everything was said and done. We all pitched in to help clean up.

Then we started games. We played Besserwizzer, Poetry for Neanderthals and Just One. We laughed a lot and made so many fun game memories. It started getting late and a few of us went to bed before we started Just One. We finished up games just before midnight and then we all got ready for bed.

I shared a room and a bed with Erika. I don't think the house had AC - at least I don't remember learning it did, our room didn't have a fan, and we forgot to open the window - if it did have an opening window, for some cool air to circulate through. The bed was queen sized and both Erika and I got super-hot and sweaty. We both did not sleep very well because it was so warm. That, I am used to a king-sized bed with more room.

Next Adventure: Saturday: Girl's Weekend - Leavenworth

A Squaxin Park Geocaching Event and Adventure

I was nominated early February to be the WSGA Southwest Washington Chapter Rep and was actually voted in at the beginning of March. My candidacy would last a year starting on April 1st. I was going to do my best to host as many events as I possibly can and be present at other cacher's events. Between my new job, working at the rental and our daily lives, I probably shouldn't have accepted the nomination. There was just too much going on, but I did it anyway.

There was a Blue Switch event at Squaxin Park (formerly Priest Point), and I wanted to go because I heard there was a group of people assembling to go grab Payback 10: It's All About the Journey (GCQYBW). I have put this one off for years. I was excited to find it with a bunch of people. I made sure to bring some clothes I didn't care if they got ruined with me.

This was my third caching event in four days. After work, I hustled over to Squaxin Park in Olympia, hitting every red light possible. I actually got there just before 5, with some time to spare and got a great parking spot! I grabbed what I needed and made my way over to the covered area and saw some familiar faces. 

While we hung out in the covered area, we chatted, caught up, shared stories, discovered trackables and even won a raffle item! Some people brought some cookies and chips to share and snack on. I had an M&M cookie and a bag of chips to tie me over until I went home for dinner. Ohjoy got our attention and talked about some of the caches in the area, specifically the one a handful of us came for. The Dips also had some advice since they the trek down and up recently. We all appreciated whatever tips they could give us. I knew we were going to get muddy.

Around 6:30, nine of us drove to the parking coords just north from where the event was. The coords took us two one of the two pullouts...just enough room for six cars if you did it right. I had already changed my crappy sweatshirt and pants; I just needed to change out my shoes. I grabbed some gloves because I heard we might need them because of the Devil's Club that lurks along the creek bed. You do not want to grab these. I grabbed my hiking pole and met up with the rest of the group near the "starting coords" and began our way down into the abyss.

In any crazy geocaching adventure through the woods there are always 59 hard ways in and one good way out. Of course, we took one of the 59 hard ways in (it actually wasn't that bad) and had to do some bush whacking. There were muddy spots and I definitely slipped a time or two, but we did all make it down to the creek. We were among the Devil' Club, errant branches, broken logs, nettles, soggy ground skunk cabbage and mosquitos. 

We spotted the natural bridge at the creek and took our time crossing it. We helped the people with balance issues make it safely across. We all made our way over to the other side of the creek and had a view of a huge maple tree with large holes. The tree was amazing. We found the cache without any difficulty, took turns signing our names, got a group picture, put it back exactly where we found it and walked back over to the log. 

Again, we helped those who weren't as steady cross the log safely and guess what? We found the correct way back up the side of the hill! 

We saw where the previous cachers from earlier that week came down and up. We followed it. There were a couple of muddy spots and broken trees, but we all eventually made it back up the hill and onto the road. 

We saw where we made our mistake and should have departed from the other pullout near where most of us parked. We thanked each other for the company, the fun adventure and everyone went home. It is always fun geocaching with other people.

You gotta be a little bit crazy to be a geocacher, however, this cache was not the hardest cache I have ever found or hiked to. I was challenged a bit, but it wasn't hard. Until the next one!

Next Adventure: Friday: Girl's Weekend - Leavenworth 

A New Job Opportunity

This wasn't the first time I started a new job on a Friday and if you were to sit me down a year ago and tell me, 

"Val, you will be in a different position, in a different program area, making 46% more money a year..."

I would have called you crazy and seriously laughed in your face. The reasons?  To start off, nothing like this happens to me, especially with work. I have been working from home for almost six years, had little to no contact with anyone at headquarters, therefore, not networking or putting myself out there. I was doing the same mundane thing with no advancement; my supervisor was taking things away making my day and my position less challenging than it used to be when I first started in that unit and I was just going through the motions at that point. I desperately needed a change. But, how? How do I blindly go into another job and hope that it's a good fit?

The decision to send one text to check-in about two years before started this whole chain of events. I had little to no expectation when I sent it because I wasn't sure if they even wanted to talk to me, let alone want me back into their life. I just wanted to rekindle a friendship that I missed due to a miscommunication and some unfortunate events.

Anyway, I believe it took a lot of courage on both sides to even start communicating again and once we did, it got easier and easier every day, but I know it will never be the same. Those days are long gone. We are older, been through different life changing things and here we are now, a chance to move forward.

The DJA was a good change of pace for me. I was able to be in the office once a week, meet new people, network and learn a new program area the best I possibly could. Of course, I hoped that it turned into a job opportunity but at that point, I was happy just to get a chance to do something different and fill my afternoons with actual work.

But a job opening did show up at the beginning of January and I got excited. I knew I would have to earn it. Nothing is guaranteed. I tried to learn as much as my DJA allowed. I asked questions and I tried to understand why we did the things we did in that unit. I started working on my resume, cover letter and going over possible interview questions. I wanted to be prepared for when the job posted.

I was given just enough information to keep it ethical. I also was taking a two-week vacation to Europe with Ben during this time. I was hoping that when the job posted, it didn't close while I was gone. I did worry about that. Luckily, it did post while I was gone but it didn't close until a few days after we returned. I was able to come home and put the finishing touches on it and send it off. I hoped for the best.

After a nerve-wracking interview and waiting until the end of March. I was told I got the job and I could feel all the nervous energy disappear. Except, it came with another problem that was out of my control. I will not go into specifics, but we did have to report someone to HR for their behavior.

My first day was interesting. Since it was a Friday, we were at home and for the next several weeks I would be in training with my new supervisor learning the other things I didn't do during the DJA. That included more of the challenging emails in the shared inbox, settlements, more wage releases, RTR's, refund requests, special projects and eventually citations and determinations. This unit did a lot for being so small and understaffed.

I know this sounds weird but after several years of not being challenged, bored out of my mind, being isolated and micromanaged, this new job was a literal breath of fresh air. I do believe that there is the right place at the right time for everyone. The stars had to align just right for this opportunity to present itself. This was the first time in my state career I felt like I was in a position that mattered and being treated how we should be treated as people. The best part is my supervisor lets us do our job!

We have several goals we'd like to get accomplished as the year goes on but the main one is to get some of the things we do in our unit caught up to at least monthly or weekly. I am sure we will hit several hiccups along the way, but we were determined. We might even get another team member within the year or so and possibly a 5th person bilingual position to fill eventually.

Here's to the new job opportunity and a chance to make positive changes to the unit!

New Adventure: A Squaxin Park Geocaching Event and Adventure

Easter

We were excited to finally have a little kid to do Easter with this year. Ben and I had to go to the storage unit to grab our Easter baskets, the eggs and the rest of the decorations. I spent the few weeks before Easter going to the Dollar Tree grabbing goodies for Easter baskets. Some people are harder to shop for than others. I go through this every year, and it sucks. I asked if everyone was okay with having BBQ chicken and everyone was good with it. Beans, fruit, potato salad and chips would be served with it. Mom said she would make cupcakes and provide some Cutie oranges.

Ben and I assembled the baskets about a week before Easter. I made sure everyone had a couple things in their basket. We kept them in the extra bedroom so the kitties wouldn't get into them...because they would, if we didn't put them away.

I went to the store to grab the final touches for the Easter baskets and the stuff for dinner. Grocery shopping always takes a huge chunk of the day away. I hate traffic, lines and wandering around the store with people in the way. Shopping shouldn't take that long, but it does. I went home and Ben helped me unload and put stuff away. We spent some time cleaning out the grill since it sat all winter long with the cover over it. It's another job I hate doing but it needs to be done.

I was hoping that we would be spared from rain on Sunday. There was a chance of it, and I hope that chance was slim to none. But with my luck, it will only rain when we were outside looking for baskets and eggs. I got together with Dad a couple days before Easter, so he could get some change to put in the plastic eggs. I had some change set aside and he brought over a sack of quarters, nickels and dimes while I was working one afternoon. Later on, that day, I got the eggs out and divvied them up into the eggs along with the candy eggs. Mom contributed a couple gift cards for our big prize eggs. Those would be harder to find.

The day of, we got up, ate a light breakfast to get us through the morning and started finishing up the house. Ben got the BBQ all fired up and started cooking the chicken about an hour before everyone started to arrive. I got the serving table ready and put the tablecloths on the tables. I put the Easter baskets outside on the back table and now we were just waiting for people to arrive.

Trish, Ed and Amy arrived with the potato salad, Mom and Grandma Karen brought their stuff, Erika, Zac and Brian arrived next and then Dad, Doug and Sonya. The chicken got done as soon as the last people arrived, so it was still hot. I told everyone the food was ready and to come grab a plate. The food frenzy began.  We chatted about all kinds of stuff. I shared more information about my new job that started later on that week, Doug was still trying to find work and had some leads, and I really need to get a highchair for Brian when he is at our house.

We finished up food, Trish and Grandma pitched in with the dishes while Ben and I went outside to hide the Easter baskets and the eggs. We were all excited for Brian to push his wagon around looking for eggs. He was getting better at walking but still needed something to keep him steady. Erika had also put a cute bunny button up shirt on him. I found some bubbles in our garage that Grammie bought years ago. 

Ben and I finished hiding everything and went back inside and got everyone's attention since somebody didn't listen to the rules last year. I explained the rules and made sure everyone was crystal clear on how we were going to do it. I gave them the yard boundaries and told them nothing was hidden inside the vehicles. We all went outside and of course the only time it rained was when we were looking for our baskets and eggs. Luckily, it was brief.

Brian was adorable pushing his wagon around. We made sure his basket was easy to get while Erika helped him find eggs. Sonya brought over some real eggs that she filled with confetti (cascarones). You smash them over your head to bring good luck in the upcoming year. This is something she did with her family growing up and decided to share it with us this year. It was fun and there were confetti pieces everywhere! I pushed Brian around in his wagon on the cul-de-sac and he had a blast! We also played with bubbles!

We gathered for the family picture before it was time for everyone to head home to get ready for the upcoming work week. It should be an automatic day off for everyone after a major holiday on a Sunday. Everyone came into the house and unloaded their eggs and basket into a bag. I put the Easter baskets back into the large garbage bag and everyone thanked us for a good time.

Ben and I cleaned up afterwards and put everything away. The late afternoon was nice, so I took a post-Easter walk around the park. It was nice to get some exercise after spending the last few days getting the house ready for a family gathering. 

I am excited to see how Brian will respond to Easter next year. Happy Easter everyone!

Next Adventure: Friday: Girl's Weekend - Leavenworth

Val's DJA

Late August 2024, I was given an amazing opportunity to work in another business area doing a Developmental Job Assignment (DJA). It came from an unlikely person from my past. I met her years ago at work and we became friends but had a falling out (of which I still don't understand fully on what actually happened) but we worked it out. She asked me if I wanted to do a DJA with her unit and without even thinking or hearing the rest of it, I blurted out, yes! I told her the only hang up would be getting my supervisor to agree to it. She said she would get some paperwork together and set up a meeting with my supervisor. I told her that I appreciated her thinking of me and thanked her for calling me.

My mind literally exploded and I was jazzed the rest of the day. I was getting a chance to try something different! I was excited to see where this went and the new skills I would learn along the way. I was not excited about bringing this up to my supervisor, but I had to bite the bullet and get it over with.

I met with my supervisor the following week, and she did not sound that excited about it but somehow, I said the right combination of words. She said she would consider it and meet with the potential DJA supervisor and the program manager. I crossed my fingers that everything went well.

Everything went well except a few bizarre things that were said during their meeting. I got the great news and all we had to do now is sign the paperwork and agree to a start date. I would be doing my actual job in the morning and then after lunch my DJA work, Monday through Friday. I was to go into the office on Thursdays. I was stoked this was actually happening!

My first day was October 14th and my DJA supervisor eased me into everything since I had no prior experience with anything that program area had to offer. I was going to be exposed to a lot of stuff and I was! The unit was months behind on just about everything. A lot of changes happened to the unit since 2020, and it was slowly recovering. I was brought on board during a weird time, and I was able to help bring the unit to a reasonable turnaround. Between the four of us (until one of the gals left in January), then there were three, we got a lot of work done.

Each piece I was given, I tried to learn as much as I could about it. I asked questions, I double checked to make sure I was doing it correctly, I asked for help if I came to a roadblock and I even asked other people in the other units we worked with for advice. My DJA supervisor kept giving me more challenging things to do but keeping it within the parameters of our paperwork. I felt like I was positively contributing to the team.

I was only supposed to stay until the end of January, but my supervisor asked me if I wanted to extend it out to March 31st. I thought it was weird because she was adamant about the end of January when she originally spoke to the DJA supervisor and the program manager. I agreed. Of course, I wanted this opportunity to go as long as possible.

Sadly, all good things come to an end. I was with my DJA team for 96 working days, and it really did end on March 31st. I had this to say:

"Today marked day 96, making it the conclusion of my DJA, working from home, in my sweatpants. I believe it is a fantastic program for many reasons - each experience depends on what the three parties agree upon (length, money, scheduling, etc.) 

This opportunity allows business areas in need to educate potential candidates about their work. At the same time, it gives candidates a chance to explore the field without fully committing to a job. It's a low-risk experience that offers valuable exposure to the work, collaboration, and integration with a new team.

Participants can gain new skills, learn new programs and expand their professional network. If positions are available, there's even a potential for advancement. Essentially, it serves as a working interview to assess the fit. And if it doesn't work out or isn't the right fit, there's no harm, no foul - you return to your job with additional experience for the future. I believe everyone should experience it if they find themselves needing a change or wanting to try something different.

I actually had a conversation with someone about this a few months ago and we both agreed - it's a great way to see if you want to actually work there.

I created an exit report, a daily schedule of what I worked on and a list of my pending items. At the end of the day, I had a quick chat with my DJA supervisor. I hope to learn more in the future.

I appreciate everyone who put the time, effort and the patience into making this happen for me. I learned a lot about stuff I didn't know, put it into practice and was able to refresh my memory on stuff I used to do many years ago."

I felt a little lost that first full day back at my old job because I was going back to not having enough to do. However, earlier that month, a job opening in that unit came along and I applied for it. I was nervous that I wouldn't get the job even though, I just finished doing a part of it for the last five months. I mean, there could be better candidates than me that also applied for the job. I submitted my application, resume and cover letter after working on it for several months and having a few people look over it. I'd say, I had a pretty good chance, but nothing was guaranteed.

What seemed like immediately, I got an email from human resources, letting me know that my materials made the cut and they were being pushed through to the supervisor to look over. I knew it would take a couple days to look all of them over to select who was going to move onto the interview process. I hoped that I would get an interview. Near the end of the week, I was notified that I was selected for an interview and was directed to go and pick a slot for the next week.

Everything about my being went into anxious mode and it stayed until I was contacted whether or not I got the job. It was on my mind all the time. I had a hard time relaxing to go to sleep. As the interview got closer and closer, it got worse and worse. I listened to podcasts in the park as I walked off my nervous energy...it helped a little, sort of. While I wasn't working making dinner or sleeping, I worked on interview questions and came up with answers to just about anything they could ask me. The day before the interview, I was out of my mind and wanted it to get it done and over with. It was slowly eating away at me. I couldn't prepare for it anymore. 

The day of my interview was difficult. It was hard to focus on my job and I got distracted easily. I called Ben's mom for some advice and for her to calm me down. She did the best she could, but it was nice that she took the time to talk to me before I put on one of my nice shirts. Yes, this is my first interview since 2018 and my first virtual interview in the comfort of my own home.

I did the best I could during the interview. It was so hard to not let the anxiety get the best of me, but it did. I answered all the questions the best I could and when the interview was over, I criticized myself all day long thinking I could have answered a question differently or I should have said this instead of this. I tormented myself for days. I still went into the office on Thursdays just to see if the DJA supervisor had anything for me to do in the afternoons. 

The rest of that month I played seesaw with my emotions. The interview panel had great poker faces when I did see them around the building on Thursdays. There are days I convinced myself that I got the job just to turn around the next day to second guess myself. It was a cruel ongoing battle that finally ended on that last Friday of March. That is another story, but I can tell you that I did get the job and I was looking forward to April 25th, when I start my new career path. I am forever grateful.

Next Adventure: Easter

Ben and Grandma Karen's Birthday Party

Since we were gone during Ben's birthday and life was crazy when we got back, we decided to combine Ben and Grandma's birthdays, since they were both belated. I had just got done with one of the busiest weeks of my life. For some reason coming home from vacation is harder than it sounds. I was fresh off of being nominated and won, to be the Southwest Chapter Rep for the WSGA, and being absolutely miserable preparing and anxiously surviving a virtual interview for a job I really wanted. I really could not wait until life slowed down a bit, but I don't think it will any time soon.

I asked the both of them what kind of food and dessert they would like to have and they almost didn't care what it was. Ben obviously needed it to be gluten free. After thinking about it for a few days, Grandma said she wanted ribs, mashed potatoes and salad. Ben likes food so he agreed to that menu. Desserts are hard when it comes to gluten free, so I decided to make pies since "Pi" Day was close to the party date.

I called, messaged and emailed everyone to let them know we were having a birthday party, where it was, what time and what kind of food we were going to have.

I've had some success with my Key Lime Pie, which isn't gluten free, (I would have to make my own crust) and found a gluten free Blueberry Chia on the internet a couple months ago and this party gave me a reason to make it. That Friday after work, I went to the store to grab the ingredients I would need for dinner and the pies. Just about everyone messaged or called me to ask what Ben wanted for his birthday. I had no clue and had them message him to find out. I deal with this during Christmas too. It's like people are afraid or don't want to take the few minutes to ask the person. It's weird.

Ben and I spent Saturday cleaning up the house and doing laundry. Later on, that afternoon, I made the pies so they would be ready the next day and I wasn't trying to rush. I put them both in the freezer to set. We did a few last-minute things before going to bed.

The next day, we got up and finished up the rest of the house. Ben prepared the ribs because they were going to have to be in the oven for a bit. He took the membrane off of then and rubbed them down with our pork rub seasoning. He wrapped them up in foil and stuck them on a sheet pan and threw them in the oven. As it got closer to 2:00, Ben helped me peel the potatoes so we could get them cut up and in a pot. I had no idea how many potatoes to make so I just cut up the whole bag of them and hoped for the best. The salad, I dumped it in a bowl and added some shredded carrots, some cheese and called it good.

As the food got closer to being done people started to arrive. We finished up the food and put it on the table. Once everyone arrived it was game on. We all nabbed some food and sat down. People asked us how our trip went since we haven't had a lot of time to share it with our family. We shared pictures and everyone passed Brian around. He is getting more rambunctious and is not too far away from walking.

We cleaned up and I grabbed the pies. We sang Happy Birthday to Ben and Grandma and dished up some pies. They both tasted fantastic! Both Ben and Grandma opened their presents and thanked everyone for coming and their generosity. 

Everyone gave out hugs and headed home to get ready for their upcoming work week. Ben and I spent some time doing dishes, vacuuming and putting the tables and chairs away. It was great to get together and hang out with family.

Happy Birthday Ben and Grandma!

Next Adventure: Val's DJA

Honeymoon: Euro Trip - Day 15

Our alarm went off bright and early at 5 a.m. I could hear Ray and Brenda moving around in the other room. I got up, did my bathroom stuff, got dressed and finished packing up my suitcase and backpack. I grabbed the rest of the snacks we bought at the store and packed those up too. Ben got ready and finished up his last-minute packing as well. We loaded up the car and started our 2.5-hour drive north to Lisbon. Ray tried to see if we could get a shuttle, but they were too expensive. 

Along the way, we ate our donuts, yogurt, bananas and oranges for breakfast. We chatted off and on, through an array of topics, while we drove. Ben fell asleep a few times when I noticed he stopped eating his breakfast. I worried that we were not going to have enough time to get to the airport, check in, drop our bags off and get to our gate in time. But then, I always worry about stuff like that.

We went over the Vasco da Gama Bridge and into Lisbon. We were making great time until we came to a standstill a few miles from our exit. It was morning traffic gridlock. I started to get even more anxious. Uh oh, were we going to make it in time? We got closer to the airport, and the traffic started to line up in the right lane for the exit to the airport. It inched along. We were so close.

We eventually got off the freeway, made our way through several roundabouts and followed the signs for the departures. Ray found a place to pullover, but it was so crazy, we grabbed our luggage from the back, made sure we had our backpacks, hugged them through the windows and thanked them for letting us stay and spend time with them. I told them that we would see them in June when they come to Spokane for Matthew's college graduation. I told them we would update them along the way and rolled our luggage towards the entrance to the airport. They drove off in their little white car back down to Pêra.

Ben and I went inside, made our way to the check in area for Delta. We got our bags checked; Ben got his fragile sticker put on his bag and the clerk gave us our boarding passes for both flights. I should have asked if our bags were going all the way through to SeaTac, but I guess we will find out when we got to Boston. We had to wait in line, went through security. I texted Liz to let her know we were on our way back home and asked if her surgery went well. My bag had to be screened further, luckily it was quick and nothing was wrong with it. 

We grabbed our stuff and looked or our departure gate. We hiked to that one while we did the adventure lab inside the airport. We found our gate, set our stuff down and relaxed for a bit. Before it was almost time to go, we both used the restroom and they set the area up for passport control. It was odd that they did it at the gate. We got through passport control and got in another line to board the plane. We found our seats and got comfortable. I let Ben sit at the window seat since I had it on the way to Europe. We had an eight-hour flight ahead of us, but least it wasn't a 10-hour flight like it was on the way over. Our flight left late due to congestion on the runway.

Ben watched movies while I needed to read my book for February. I was behind on my reading because of how busy we were in February. The last time I was at Costco, I had purchased another Freida McFadden book called The Crash, because the price was a steal! They fed us lunch, which wasn't that bad, and Ben had some gluten free options. 

For the next five hours of and on I read that entire book. It reminded me of the Stephen King book, Misery. I also dozed off a time or two. Ben did several times throughout the flight.

We finally arrived in Boston. You could see the airport as we descended onto the runway. We pulled up to our gate, and we were patient getting off the plane. 

Once we were able to, we went into Boston-Logan and meandered our way through the corridors to the international arrivals. We waited in a long line to enter back into the US. While in line, I adjusted my phone, so I wasn't on my international plan anymore. I noticed a text message from Liz, she said that surgery went well, thankfully, and to have a good trip home! I responded that it was great to hear her surgery went well and that we were in Boston, getting ready for one more flight. 

This was the quickest passport control we went through the entire trip. They scanned our passports, asked us a few questions and welcomed us back home. Ben and I had to go pick up our suitcases and check them back in, luckily, it was done right there with the clerk, so it was a fast process. Now, we had to go through security again, ugh! Thankfully, it was a speedy process and none of us or our bags had to pulled aside for extra screening. We walked to our gate, and it seemed to be far away from everything.

We got onto an escalator, went up, and at the top a Buffalo Wild Wings Go welcomed us to Boston (and our gate, lol), it was meant to be! We checked to see where our gate was and then walked back to BWW for an impromptu date night. We had roughly four hours to kill before boarding started. We ordered our food, sat down, ate our food and enjoyed the afternoon. Now I can say I've had Buffalo Wild Wings in Boston, Massachusetts. It was awesome!

While we were checking where our gate was, I noticed a Harpoon Brewery, could this day get ANY better? It sure can! Harpoon Brewery had my favorite beer of all time, UFO Wild Maine Blueberry! I was so stoked! I haven't had any since the fall of 2022 at the Cheers bar in Boston. When we were done eating, we wandered on over there and ordered myself a pint. Ben got a different beer to try, hoping it was a good idea. We sat at a vacant table and enjoyed our beers. Ben tried a sip of mine and agreed that it was delicious. 

We finished up our beers, used the restroom one more time and headed back to our gate. Boarding was about 15 minutes or so away, so we just chilled until it was our turn to get into line. We boarded, found our seats and I was next to the window this time. This flight was a little over five hours long. Most of this flight, I wrote in my journal and dozed off and on. At this point, I was so tired, I had no idea what time or day it was. I could not wait until we go home for a shower and to sleep in my own bed. At one point it was too dark to do anything, so we just slept until we were about an hour away from Seattle. Ben watched movies and dozed off.

We touched down in Seattle, we got to our gate, I turned my phone on and was glad to be home. I enjoyed the honeymoon, Europe and my time with Ben, but it was for a shower and sleep! I texted my family's group chat and Trish to let us know we made it to Seattle safely. We patiently waited for our turn to get off the plane; we used the restroom and made our way to the luggage carousel. We waited for my obnoxious orange suitcase and Ben's rollie bag. He was anxious to see if his expensive bottle of alcohol made it the 5,000+ miles from Portugal to Seattle. We grabbed our bags and let Josh know to come get us. He was parked in the cell phone lot. He rolled up, we threw in our bags, and we left to get onto I-5 south towards home.

Ben and I have been up for over 24 hours through several time zones. We were tired. We chatted about our trip as Josh drove. We got home just after midnight, took our luggage in, Ben gave Josh his whiskey and thanked Josh for driving us to and from the airport. We unpacked some of our stuff, got in a shower and went to bed around 1:30 a.m. For reasons beyond me I got up at 8:00 a.m. the next day. Being halfway around the world for about two weeks messes up your internal clock. For the next several days, I was getting up at weird times and going to bed at weird times. 

I finally made it over to Europe and I want to go back to experience different countries. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later.

Some notes:

We found 54 geocaches in 5 different countries.

We got a FTF in Portugal and found the oldest geocache in Europe (GC43).

I have now been to 11 countries.

This was Ben's first time out of the country besides Canada.

We drove our rental car 1,521 miles.

Next Adventure: Ben and Grandma Karen's Birthday Party

Honeymoon: Euro Trip - Day 14

When we got to the area to set up shop but there wasn't much left. There were other people with really early flights who had the same idea as we did. Ben and I put together a couple chairs and made a makeshift bed out of them. Nothing was open except a couple bathrooms and a stand serving coffee and alcohol, lol. Ben was on his phone while I wrote in my journal for a little bit. I got tired and fell asleep in the makeshift bed for a couple hours - it wasn't great sleep, but it was nice to shup my eyes for a bit.

Then what felt like a few moments later, Ben told me it was time to go check in and make our way through security and to our gate. First, he had to finish the tax paperwork and get that all squared away before leaving Ireland. Basically, whatever we spent in Ireland that was taxed we get the tax back upon filling out and submitting our form. This time checking in will be a challenge because Ben bought alcohol. 

We went to several counters to get checked in. We finally got to a counter that gave us a fragile tag and Ben had to check in his bag because alcohol can't be inside of a carryon. It cost us $35 to check a bag. Ben spent some time moving some of his belongings to the other bag and securing the bottle so it wouldn't break or leak. He had to take it out of the box and throw the box away. He was sad about that, but it was the only way it would fit inside the bag. We gave the clerk our checked bag and received our boarding passes.

We moved onto security and my carryon bag was checked further for some reason. We made it to the other side and headed to our gate, just to see where it was, and walked around for a few minutes. We chilled around the gate, used the restroom before it was time to board our flight. They actually had us leave the terminal and onto the tarmac to board our plane. It was cold waiting to board the plane. Once we got on, we got situated and waited to leave. We both were so tired we slept the entire two hours to Faro, Portugal. 

We descended into Faro and you could tell it was going to be a warm day. The sun was out and I was excited to get off the plane to enjoy our day. Ben and I were running on fumes, but we were on vacation in Europe! No time for sleep! We let Brenda and Ray know we arrived and that we had to go grab our checked bag from the carousel. For some reason it took forever but we grabbed it and went outside to meet up with them. 

We put our bags in the trunk and off we went. Ray said that we were going to go to Loulé to go see the castle there. It was a short drive from the airport. We got into town and Ray told us that they were getting ready for carnival, one of Portugal's oldest and most vibrant celebrations, featuring colorful parades, political satire and a festive atmosphere. Its origins date back to 1906, and the event typically takes place over three days leading up to Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras). The festivities transform the main street into a spirited area filled with parades, music, dance and food. Ray said it was too bad we weren't going to be around for carnival.

We found a place to park, and we went to the entrance to the castle. Castle of Loulé is in the municipality of Loulé. It is classified as a national monument since June 20, 1924. Three towers remain within the cordon of walls; the remnants of the town hall located within the structure. The Romans first occupied the site, then the remnants of a local castro around the 2nd century and transformed into a defensible military fortification and politico-administrative center. In 1969, it was damaged in an earthquake. It also has a museum inside that highlights the historical timeline and events throughout the centuries.

We paid our entrance fee and went inside. We looked at various artifacts, historical pictures and prominent people throughout the castle's history. So many of the things we saw were so old! We went up to the top of the castle to get the views of the surrounding area. We got down and left the castle to go across the street into the market. There were several townspeople selling their wares, art, clothing and food. It was fun to see the fresh produce and seafood. It would have been fun to purchase some of this fresh food and make it for dinner, but we didn't have the time for something like that. Maybe the next time we come visit.

We went back to the car and headed towards their house. We stopped by the grocery store along the way to pick up some more snacks, drinks and sandwich makings. We got back to their house and ate lunch. I was hungrier than I thought I was. The last time we ate anything was the night before at Five Guys in Dublin. I scarfed my sandwich. Ben and I changed our clothes and Ray and Brenda took us down to the beach in Lagoa. We did some sightseeing and geocaching that afternoon. 

They took us to the boardwalk to do an adventure lab, and a couple geocaches they've done within the last couple months, but there was one that eluded them. We grabbed +1 [salgada] v2 (GC88EV0), Duna Fóssil da Praia Grande (GCB1DJ5), Lagoa dos Salgados - Tsunami de 1755 (GCB1DJ8) and Lagoa dos Salgados [Pêra] V3 (GC9EN4M). We finished off the boardwalk at a virtual cache, Como um pássaro fora da gaiola (GCAJJZ9) where we had to act like a bird. We laughed a lot.

We walked back to the car, and they took us to another pottery store, Casa Grade-Arte to look at the pottery there and to get pictures with the giant Galo de Barcelos - Portugal's famous rooster. It represents faith, justice and good luck.  After the pottery store, we went to the Hiper Algarve - Brenda and Ray call it the China store. We went inside. It literally has anything and everything you could ever want except food; you go to a grocery store if you want food. We spent a while looking at what you could buy at the Hiper Algarve. 

We went back to their house and Brenda started making dinner. We had spaghetti, meatballs and salad. It was delicious. We drank Portuguese cider and beer with it while we visited about our side quest to Ireland and Scotland. 

Afterwards, we got cleaned up and started packing up our stuff for the long travel day ahead of us back towards home. At one point, we had their entire living room scattered with all of our stuff. We didn't get to bed until well after midnight. As soon as I laid down, I was out. I was exhausted.

 Next Adventure: Honeymoon: Euro Trip - Day 15