Dad's Birthday Party

Dad's birthday was coming up and so I asked him what he wanted to do and what kind of food to have.  He originally said a BBQ at my house but I told him that it was suppose to rain so he changed his mind to Dirty Dave's pizza at my house.  He wanted to make it as easy for Grandpa to attend as possible.  Instead of going to a restaurant with everyone it was easier just to have Grandpa come to the house so he isn't uncomfortable.

We set a time for everyone to come over and texted everyone.  Everyone got back to me saying they would come and if they needed to bring anything.  I just said a present if you want and your own drinks.  I called mom to tell her what we were doing.  I told her if she wanted to pick up the pizza and cake I will get everything else done at the house.  Mom picked up Grandma, the ice cream cake and the pizza.  Dad brought Grandpa, Zach and Erika were already here and Doug and Jenn also showed up.

Earlier that week I had bought Dad some new Long Johns since his were getting pretty raggedy.  

Everyone showed up around 2ish.  I had the Seahawks game on and they were playing against the Saints in the background of our birthday part.  Drew Brees had gotten hurt so they had their back up quarterback playing.  I thought we had this in the bag because Brees was out.  Nope, we did not play up to our potential what-so-ever.  We ended up losing 33-27 but we definitely made a gallant effort there at the end but came up short.

After food, Dad brought over the package of leftover balloon animals from when we went to the beach back in December 2016.  We talked about how weird it was when Mom, Grandma and I walked into the beach house to see weirdly shaped balloon animals on the ceiling.  We spent a good hour or so making balloon animals in my living room.  For some reason, I couldn't make a simple dog animal balloon because I couldn't get my proportions correct.  It looked so wonky.  After some adjustments here and there I finally completed my first balloon animal.

We got the ice cream cake out of the freezer and put candles on it.  We sang happy birthday to dad as he wore the birthday hat.  The birthday hat was first worn by Erika several years ago while she was in Germany.  Grammie had sent it to her in the mail and Erika kept it all these years.  We started using it back in 2018 and everyone has worn it since.  Dad opened his presents and enjoyed every single one of them.  

We cleaned up, Dad had to take Grandpa back to the house so he could sit in his chair and everyone went home.  It was a nice gathering and I was glad whoever could come made it out.  Until next time...which will probably be Thanksgiving over at Kevin and Karla's house in about two months.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Next Adventure:  Hosting Oktoberfest

Sounders Weekend

Ben asked me a while back if I was interested in going to a Sounders game.  Of course I am always interested in going to sporting events.  The Sounders were doing well this year especially in the second half of the season...right when it counts.  Ben called Michael and told him to get tickets to the game so we could hang out with him and Elaine.  We were all going to sit with the Emerald City Supporters (ECS) in the south end zone.  The Sounders were going to be playing the New York Red Bulls.  We called Ben's mom and told her we were coming over for the weekend and she said sounds good.  Ben had to work late on Friday night at Lowes so we decided to leave on Saturday evening because he had a kid's fireman event also at Lowes that he said he would participate in.

I spent part of the day finishing up my travel bug hotel that I had to redo after we moved.  I mostly had to wait until I had the tools to put it up and fasten it to the post.  It was finally finished now I had to see if I could use the same geocaching page.  It turns out I had to make a new one because it wouldn't get published since it was too far away from the old house.  It took me a while to make the new one and move all the trackables from the old cache to the new cache.  It wasn't going to publish until probably October because of the errors I made.  Ugh...

Ben came home, changed into his normal clothes, told me about his day and showed me some pictures.  We packed up an over night bag and added all of our Sounders gear.  I made sure to pack some warm clothes because you never know what the weather will be like in September next to the Sound in Seattle.  We told Erika we were going to be gone until Sunday evening and to make sure to feed Calvin.  She said okay and we hit the road towards Bonney Lake.  

Since it was September, we got onto I-5 and then opted to go the back way to avoid Puyallup Fair traffic on 512.  I asked Ben if we could find a few caches along the back roads of South Hill and he said sure.  I pulled up the app and saw a few we could grab on our way towards Orting.  We grabbed four of the South Hill's Historic Corridor series, we got 2 (GC7T8PG), 3 (GC7T8PM), 4 (GC7T7KR) and 5 (GC7T8PV).  All were located at brown historical markers that talked about the history of the area.  All were easy to find.

We drove down the hill into the valley and decided to go to the Orting Safeway to grab garlic bread, since Trish was making lasagna for dinner, we got drinks and a few breakfast items for tomorrow morning.  We drove up the hill to his mom's house, headed to Tehaleh to grab an even 5 caches for the day.  We parked in the lot and walked the short distance to Tehaleh - Pickle Park (GC69F1T).  The building nearby must have had a wedding or something because it looked like a giant reception party but you can only be there if you live in the community.  

We got back in the car and headed to his mom's house.  When we got there we unloaded our stuff into the bedroom downstairs.  We saw that Ed was going to have dinner with us.  Shortly after, the lasagna was done, we cooked the bread and made ourselves some salad.  We took our meals to the table and visited as we ate food.  We cleaned off the table and played some board games as we watched college football in the background.  Ed had to have around 9 to get ready for his paper route.  He picked up a paper route a while back to supplement his income to pay off some bills faster.  He only had a few months left until he didn't have to do it anymore.

We continued watching football as we played around on our computers.  Around midnight I headed to bed because I was tired.  Ben soon followed.  Yay, uncomfortable bed!

The next morning we got up around 9ish and got ready.  We went upstairs and made French toast and bacon.  It was delicious and hit the spot.  We gathered our stuff and hit the road around 11.  We are suppose to meet Michael and Elaine at Temple around noon so hopefully we can get there at a decent time.  We got onto 167 and up the hill from Kent to get onto I-5.  

There was no traffic anywhere so we made really good time as we entered Seattle.  We texted Michael to let him know we were in Seattle and now we were looking for a parking spot.  We had a hard time finding a spot without having to pay a buttload of money.

We finally found a spot a few blocks away and paid $15 for the rest of the day.  We walked to Temple to meet up with Michael and Elaine.  The game started at 3, so we had plenty of time.  Along the way we found two geocaches, Seattle BLVD (GC6BNPQ) and King Street Elevator Again (GC2KCAD) which were right where we were going anyway.  

The first one was a quick find and the second one took us a few minutes to locate.  We signed our names, got a picture and finished walking to Temple.  It's been a while since I've been there.

I dug out my ID because I know they were going to ask for it at the door.  We flashed our ID's and headed in.  There were quite a few people gathered around the pool tables drinking beer and watching the rest of the Seahawk-Steeler game.  We saw that Michael and Elaine were upstairs so we met up with them.  We ordered two pitchers of beer, sat around chatting and watching the game as we waited for it to be closer to march time.

As we were almost done with our pitchers, the Seahawk game got intense (like it has been so far this year) and we needed a stop.  We didn't get the stop but luckily we had a big enough lead but we still won by 2.  We got the win in Pittsburgh and Ben Rothelisberger was probably done for the season.  We were hoping he didn't come back to play football ever again.  We finished our beer and headed out to Occidental Park for the march.  Ben and Michael found the ECS group and we ended up being in front holding the banner.  We waited until it was time to chant and march.  

We spent the next half hour marching and chanting various songs towards Century Link.  There were a lot of people marching this time compared to the last time Ben and I did this.  There were also a lot of fans who weren't in the march filming and taking pictures of us.  It was quite the gathering of soccer fans.  We had to have sang the same three songs over and over and over again.  I guess the more you sing them the more you'll remember them and you won't need the song card.  "Born in 1974...Sounders...Sounders!!"

We went in and found some seats near the front of the ECS section.  We were near Paul, one of Ben and Michael's friends.  He led some of the chants during the game as a capo.  For those of you who don't know what a capo is, it is someone who leads a section or section of fans in cheers, synchronized movement, scarf waving, banner lifting and so on.  The capo stands facing away from the field for the majority of the game, instead facing the fans they lead.  We got all situated and throughout the first half, we danced, we cheered, we chanted and we pogo'd.  

Ben got up and bought some chicken strips, fries and a drink.  He shared with all of us.  I think I had a chicken strip and a handful of fries.  At the half we were up 2-1.  It was the third time in four games that the Sounders had built a 2-0 lead only to see it be chipped away in the second half.  Luckily, they've won all those games even though they don't make it easy on themselves.

During halftime, an ECS capo was ejected after waving the Iron Front flag for much of the first half and throughout halftime.  Much of the ECS sections walked out in solidarity.  I honestly come to watch soccer and to cheer on our hometown team.  I could care less about politics or using the sports platform to let people know what I think.  It is about going to a soccer game with friends and enjoying yourself. It is about the experience of being there and wanting your team to do well.  So yeah, we went to a memorable game but not in the way we wanted it to be.

The second half was like sitting in a normal section.  There was no energy, it was awkward and it made the second half seem really long because we were just sitting there.  We sat here for the ECS experience, the energy, the craziness.  I was just glad we kept the Red Bulls to two goals while we added two more to our first two. We won the game 4-2. 

We thanked Michael and Elaine for coming down from Mount Vernon to come to the soccer game with us.  We parked in opposite directions of each other so they went one way and we went the other.  We had a small hike ahead of us but it wasn't too bad.  We got back to Ben's car and headed south.  I remembered that Trish picked up her brother and sister in law from the airport and was visiting for a few days.  We called Trish and told her the game was over and if we could stop by for a bit to visit.  She said she didn't make enough dinner because she wasn't sure if we were going to come over or not.  We told her that we would pick something up on the way there.

We got into Bonney Lake and got sandwiches from Jersey Mike's and took them to go.  We ate them when we got to his mom's house.  We visited with Ben's aunt and uncle for a while.  I've met his uncle but I have not met his aunt before.  She reminded me of my friend Annette and she really liked to visit.  We talked about a bunch of things and at one point we were invited to come stay with them in New Mexico at some point in the near future.  She suggested the fall because it's not too hot and there are a lot of activities going on to to experience.  I started planning it in my head as we talked.

I knew Ben and I had to head home so we could get cleaned up and ready for our work week.  I told her it was nice meeting her and that we would keep in touch.  She told me likewise.  Ben and I headed back to Lacey, got home around 8ish, got cleaned up and ready for Monday.

GO SOUNDERS!

Next Adventure:  Dad's Birthday

Family Hike to Coldwater Lake (Mt. St. Helens)

Mom and I wanted to do something as a family during our weekend and we both decided to do a hike near Mt. St. Helens.  We got Dad on board, Erika said she wanted to and would drag Zach along and Doug said that he needed to get out of the house and do something so he agreed to come.  The night before I got all of my hiking stuff together and set it aside, got some of my non-perishable lunch items together and will make my sandwich the next day.  Since we were going to forest land I had to purchase and print a NW Forest Pass for $5.  Not a big deal.  I set that aside with my other stuff that was ready to go.

The next morning we got up around 6, put our clothes on, made some sandwiches and put it all in the back of the Escape.  Erika, Zach and I went and got Doug.  But before we could leave the house, Erika couldn't find her phone so it made us late actually picking up Doug.  Of course when we got there Doug made a giant effort to let us know that we were late.  We told him what had happened.  He threw his stuff in the back and now we were off to Mom and Dad's house.  Along the way we would have to mail a package for Jenn, which I wasn't sure why she couldn't have mailed it?

We got into Rainier and Mom and Dad weren't quite ready yet...of course.  We packed up Mom's Expedition, since it was big enough to fit everyone, locked the house, packed everyone into the SUV and we were finally off.  We didn't leave until almost 8 and of course they made me drive.  We drove west down 507 towards Tenino, into Grand Mound and onto I-5 south.  You could hear mom and Doug discussing where to drop off the package at.  We weren't sure when the post offices opened.  We approached Castle Rock and I told them we could find the post office here and drop it off?  Yeah?  I had them look up the address for the post office.  We arrived and I sat in the SUV.  They told me to drive over to the grocery store because they wanted coffee.  We all used the restroom before we left.

We left town and drove over the freeway onto Hwy 504 or the Spirit Lake Highway.  This road was basically obliterated in the eruption.  25 miles of roadway and 7 of the 8 highways bridges were destroyed or buried underneath the enormous lahar that charged down the Toutle River valley.  Kid Valley was the only area that survived because of its clearance from the mudflow.

We drove through the small town of Toutle.  We reminisced on the times we came here to play against them in high school.  The last time I came here to play we beat Toutle Lake in a double header fastpitch game almost 20 years ago.  Since then, I've been here a few times over the years visiting Mt. St. Helens and grabbing geocaches with various people.  We drove past the cement Sasquatch statue and I should have stopped for a group photo but I figured we might do it on the way back.  We started up the grade.

I followed Nuvi's directions because I wasn't really sure where the parking area was for this particular trailhead.  The landscape changes every time I come up here.  The trees are getting taller, the plants are coming in thicker and overall it is recovering as fast as it can...even though it's been 39 years.  This area is forever changed.  We made the turn off of the highway and another turn into the parking lot of Coldwater Lake.  We got there around 10 a.m.  We used the restroom, got our hiking shoes on, gathered our packs, water, cameras, cell phones and off we went.  The weather was decent.  Warm with a slight breeze and high scattered clouds.

We started off at the Birth of a Lake Trail, which was on the boardwalk and took a few pictures.  

We spent about 20 minutes here before we started onto the Lakes Trail (#211) Trailhead along the shoreline.  There, we began our out and back hike along the lake on a well maintained trail.  Along the way we stopped about three times to take pictures, eat some snacks and take some well needed water breaks.  The scenery was gorgeous and the viewpoints of the lake were very scenic.  

From this trail you can't see the mountain because of the hills blocking our view.  We knew where it was but sadly we weren't able to see it.  You barely could at the boardwalk.  There were quite a few people kayaking in the lake and it centralized around the hummock.

The trail was pretty moderate.  There were a lot of flat straight parts and some hilly gain elevation spots.  There were a lot of Douglas Firs, Cedar, various mountain grasses, plants, shrubs, we saw rabbits, many kids of birds, bees, butterflies and insects.  Most of the hike was flat and straight but there were some hills and climbs in elevation but we all were in pretty good shape so none of us really had any trouble.  We did pass by a few hikers along the way.   

A few places had small creeks we had to cross and there were small foot bridges in place to keep the erosion at a minimum, there was a larger area that looked like a washout almost at the end of the lake where a lot of water either comes through during the winter every season or had come through at some point because it was worn out.  There were a lot of rocks, pumice, ash and hardly any vegetation in this one spot.  As we got closer to the end of the lake, we noticed a lot more Alder trees around the edge of the lake.

The trail sorta ended at the end of the lake and we all decided it was a great time to find a spot to sit and eat lunch.  It was about 12:45.  We all made some sort of sandwich, chips, fruit and a drink.  I brought my famous go to, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some Doritos.  We ate our food and enjoyed the scenery.  Throughout bites of food, we took turns throwing rocks at a rogue log floating in the lake.  We took several pictures before cleaning up, putting our packs back on and headed back to the parking lot.  We left around 1:15.

Since we already saw most of the stuff on the way in, we didn't stop as much on the way back, except for water.  I did take a few pictures but for the most part we just walked and talked about various things.  Mom's knee was starting to hurt so she slowed down and my feet were starting to hurt about halfway back.  We did stop at the biffy (bathroom in the forest for you) and we all used it before we hiked on.  As we got closer, I started to speed up because my feet were hurting more, we were almost there and I had to use the bathroom somewhat urgently.  

We got back to the trailhead and the parking lot around 3.  I used the restroom as quickly as I could while everyone else gathered at the Expedition to take their socks and shoes off.  I met them there shortly after.  I needed to trade my hiking shoes for some flip flops.  We piled in and we all smelled pretty bad.  I had everyone crack their window.  We drove back towards I-5 down Hwy 504.  I wanted to stop at a view so we could see the mountain today.  We stopped at Elk Rock Overlook (was surprised there wasn't a geocache at this viewpoint) and took a group picture.  The mountain had clouds hiding the top of it but we could still see it.

Everyone was pretty tired so we didn't get to stop at the cement Sasquatch statue like I wanted.  Oh well.  Maybe next time?  We got on I-5 and asked what people would like for dinner.  Mom and I usually go to Papa Pete's Pizza but no one wanted pizza.  Okay, then what did everyone want then?  No one said anything so I took everyone to Dairy Queen in Centralia.  We ate dinner and then had ice cream.  This is what you get when you don't answer my question when I am driving.  I had a chicken basket and a strawberry sundae.  It hit the spot after a long hike.

We stopped at the Safeway up the road so mom could get some potatoes for potato salad but they didn't have any she wanted.  We got back on the freeway and got off at the exit for Tenino/Rainier.  When we got to Tenino we stopped at Dave's Market.  They didn't have her potatoes either.  We just went home, dropped off mom and dad, traded our stuff into the Escape, petted mom's kitty Chloe and left to go home.

I went to my house first because Erika and Zach didn't want to go with to drop Doug off, so I dropped them off and drove to Doug's house.  He said he had a good time but was glad to be home so he could shower and relax.  He said he was probably going to be sore the next day.  I agreed with him.  This was probably the first physical thing he's done with us in a really long time.  I needed to get one more cache for the 7 caches for 7 days streak.  I drove into Hawks Prairie because there has been some new caches publish over the last two weeks.  I grabbed Pink Flamingo Frost (GC8BRX2) which was over by the Dutch Brothers coffee stand.  It didn't take me long to find it.  I logged my name, got my picture and put it back.  I went home and showered.

I made some popcorn and watched the Cougars beat New Mexico State 58-7.  After the game, I was tired so I went to bed.  I knew I was also going to be sore tomorrow but probably not as bad as Doug.  I took some Tylenol PM, snuggled with my cat and got some Zzzz's.

Next Adventure:  Sounders Weekend