Road Trip: Bainbridge Island and then some

Finally. Sparky, P-Dot and I got on the road this summer. I had plans for several road trips this summer and sadly things have happened that put some of them on hold.  Still, I decided it was time to just go.  The Pantry Goat suggested breakfast in Bainbridge Island, so I took that as a sign to make a road trip out of it.

Sunday morning, P-Dot and I were up early and at the ferry terminal by 7:30 for the 7:55am ferry to Bainbridge Island. The Pantry Goat showed up shorthly there after and we waited.

P-Dot making herself at home in Sparky.

Sparky patiently waiting.

Once we were on the ferry, drama began. 

Now, if you're not a ferry rider, like myself, it's important to note that there are, apparently, rules. One of the rules is that when you pull onto the ferry you need to stay between the two yellow lines for your lane.  Normally, not a problem. The ferry gives you plenty of room, and in between the three lanes they have about a foot walking lane.  Many cars, I mean many, hug those walking lane lines because, well cars are bigger now.

I wasn't really paying much attention when I pulled onto the ferry and followed the car in front of me into the center lane.  I was fine.  Or so I thought.

In the left lane, a dumbass driver and his BIG A** truck were trying to get past me.  Now, let's remember there's a foot of walk space.  The Pantry Goat got out and stood behind Sparky and told the driver he had plenty of room.  He didn't roll down his window, and mumbled something. Next think we know he put his truck in reverse and plowed into the car immediately behind him. Dumbass.

Finally, with the Pantry Goat's help, the dumbass truck driver pulls forward past Sparky.  We were all a bit dumbfounded as to why he put it in reverse, but whatever dude.

He gets out of his truck and walks to see the damage he caused on the poor Volvo behind him. As he walks past me, he says, "Nice car, but you're a terrible driver!" Of which I responded, "Um I'm not the one who just rear ended a car on the ferry."

I took this photo on the ferry ride back...and it was a little fuzzy...sorry.

Jerk!

We stayed put in Sparky for the ferry ride because I wasn't convinced he wouldn't key my car.

Now I'll admit, I was on/over the line, but the dumbass truck driver had plenty of room.  So many things he could have done differently had he chosen to be a decent human being. Instead he chose to be a jerk and blame me and Sparky for his mistake. Whatever.

We got to the other side 30 minutes later, and proceeded for the entire day to say, "You're a terrible driver." at every opportunity we could. Or "You're a terrible..[insert word here]!"

Breakfast was at a fun, very small diner called Streamliner.  Biscuits and gravy were on the menu and eventually ended up in my belly (and I suppose eventually will end up on my hips.)

The Pantry Goat and I wondered up and down the main drag in BainBridge, nothing overly exciting to see and since it was still early on a Sunday, nothing was open.  The Pantry Goat did happen to see a sign that said there was an Ansel Adams exhibit at the local historical museum.  Knowing I'm a photography buff she suggested it and we walked up to the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum.

The Bainbridge Historical museum looked like an old house just waiting for people to come inside. 

The Welcoming committee - and P-Dot

Bainbridge Island Historical Museum

I wasn't really interested in the history of Bainbridge Island, but I do like Ansel Adams so figured why not.

Once inside the curator of the museum (if you can call him that) explained to us it would be $4 to see the exhibit and then further explained, after we paid, that the exhibit was of the Japanese from Bainbridge who got shipped off to an internment camp during WWII.  And the Ansel Adams part is that one of the Japanese folks, asked Ansel Adams to come photograph what their camp looked like.

While it was interesting, and they were good photos, it wasn't exactly what we thought it was. But it figures since I'm such a terrible driver. = )

Back in Sparky we hit the road. The Pantry Goat was the navigator since she had the map( but she was a terrible navigator). We took the scenic route which led us all over the island, sometimes by accident.  We turned the corner on one of the streets and we saw this.

A rock painted like a duck. Or so we thought.

Turns out this is actually a frog, and apparently is very popular on Bainbridge. TWO drivers from the island passed us and stopped to tell us abut the frog (that's how we learned it was a frog and not a duck). 

From there we drove through Port Ludlow, and missed it.  Didn't realize it was such a small town. Then off to Port Hadlock, and finally stopping in Port Gamble.  Now if you look at a map, our driving wasn't exactly straight and we didn't exactly go the easiest way. But that's part of the fun in a convertible, on a sunny day in Seattle, during a road trip.  Who cares how you get there?

Port Gamble was an adorable little town.  And I say adorable because that was what it felt like. A perfect little town that has been remade to be quaint and full of tourists.

P-Dot checking out the view from Port Gamble. Blue skies make it an even more beautiful place.

We stopped to have lunch here and had the BEST BBQ I've had in a while.

Mike's BBQ - brisket, pulled pork and onion rings. Yum!

Finally deciding we should head home we drove up to take the Kingston Ferry back over. Turns out there was a 2 hour wait there and only a 30 minute wait on the Bainbridge ferry we took over in the morning. So we headed off to drive back to that ferry.

We were sitting at a traffic light and I spyed this little creature, and P-Dot immediately said she wanted a photo with it. So I obliged. 

Once out of Sparky I realized there was a whole "garden" of creatures. So we spent the next 20 minutes taking photos.

P-Dot with the Gnome.

The Pantry Goat taking part in the photo op.

P-Dot getting jiggy with the cleavage.

Mmmm fish!

P-Dot can't read!

P-Dot and Billy Bob. (I have no idea what his name is, he just looked like a Billy Bob to me.

Done taking photos we got back to the Bainbridge ferry dock and had about an hour wait. The sun was high in the sky and we just soaked it in. 

P-Dot sun bathing while we wait for the ferry. Ignore the ferry in the background.  It sat there the entire time we were there, and frankly I had no idea where it was going.

Home sweet home. It was a great day and I'm so glad to have gotten out and seen Bainbridge Island, Port Ludlow (even though we missed it), Port Hadlock, and Port Gamble. Nothing like Seattle on a sunny day.  And go figure, I didn't hit anything or anyone - but I'm such a terrible driver.

And they're off...

Ah horse racing.  This past weekend BigBro, Seattle SIL and S all took off to watch the ponies. S and I were interested in practicing "motion" shots for photography more than betting on the horses.

Have I ever told you about how bad my gambling karma is?

Back in 1999 or 2000, I can't really remember, Mr. Not So Newlywed, Blueberry and I headed to Las Vegas to meet up with some friends of mine.  I knew there'd be gambling and I knew I'd most likely leave Vegas a loser.

One of the nights we headed to old Vegas and spent the evening sipping free drinks and playing nickle slots. Not a huge amount of payout there, but it entertained us for a bit. We set out into different directions.  It wasn't long before my $20 was gone. So I was bored.  I found Blueberry and Mr. Not So Newlywed sitting about two seats apart on the other side of the casino.  Both had HUGE buckets of nickles. 

I plopped down between them and Blueberry handed me a handful of nickles.  Slowly but surely, Mr. Not So Newlywed and Blueberry started losing.  They hadn't won a single nickle since I sat down.  Blueberry turned to me and ever so politely said, "Leave!"

The next day Mr. Not So Newlywed was determined to help me win. So we found a roulette table.  He explained that if I put money on the red or black I'd surely win.

The roulette ball landed on the green line, which means nobody's a winner.

So suffice it to say, I don't gamble. 

Back to the horse races.

It turns out that shooting horses, jockey's and all things horse racing is a lot harder than I thought.

The jockey's are little, teeny, tiny people.  They had a stat in the program that showed how much the horse would be carrying, with the jockey on it. Some were as low as 112lbs.  My left leg weighs more than 112 lbs.

Oh but these horses were beautiful.  Tall, strong, and very lean. Not like the horses we had out on the farm. All the horses were just beautiful.

And curious.

And they're off.  For some of the spunky horses it takes a couple of tries to get them in the gates and get their heads forward. But man, when that gate opens, they shoot out of there.

Every horse race started with the same, familiar trumpet song.

I just loved these guys. I wanted to bring them home with me.  Surely Pookie wouldn't mind. The landlords may though.

This one was interesting to me. Curly mane. I over heard the trainer say something to a bystander like me that they braided the horses mane. Clever. 

So all in all we had a good time. BigBro wagered some money. Won some and lost some. The bets were small which meant any winnings were also small.  Not sure I have a need to go back to Emerald Downs anytime soon, but it was at least entertaining for a day.

Sadly, P-Dot got left at home and so couldn't frolic with the horses. 

P-Dot Does the Woodinville Wine Walk

Its time.

It's time to introduce P-Dot officially as the new spokes duck for me. She will be taking over the role Puck place as Menu Model as well as the ambassador of photos. 

She was finally ready to make an outting. She has finally grasped the concept of sitting still for photos and looking as cute as possible.  She's a fast learner like Puck was.

To test if she was truly ready we put the top down in Sparky and hit the open road, well as "open" as the road gets to Woodinville.  She sat nicely and seemed to not get car sick and enjoyed the ride. Puck would be proud.

Side note - the side story of how P-Dot got to me is coming soon.  There are some stories I need to confirm and validate before I can officially print them. 

The Woodinville Wine Walk is an awesome opportunity to taste a lot of different wines from several new, and existing wineries.  Woodinville is quickly becoming the Napa Valley of Seattle it seems.  The wineries all have parked themselves into a industrial area, and open their doors for tastings on the third Thursday of every month. $20 gets you 15 tasting tickets, which is quite a deal considering most tastings are $5-$10 bucks depending on the winery.

I managed to only purchase 2 bottles last night from Haystack Needle. You may recall during the last wine walk in June I purchased 2 bottles of Sangiovese from them. This time I purchased a blend of Barberra and Sangiovese. OMG it was so good.

Anyhow, back to P-Dot.

At the vodka distillery that burned my taste buds off last time with their unfiltered vodka, P-Dot found a kindred spirit.  This little orange Devil Duck was "guarding" the distillery.  I don't know about you, but I wouldn't pass the threshold with that duck guarding.

The distillery also has a fiberglass Pig that was part of the "Pigs on Parade" a hundred years ago (or so it seems) in Seattle.  P-Dot made friends there too. She's really getting the hang of this.

No these are not corks from all the wine I drank last night. Though they are the corks from what's turning out to be my favorite winery, Haystack Needle (which oddly I can't find a website for. Who doesn't have a website in this day and age?)

Finally, P-Dot found this sign and thought it somewhat appropriate considering what us girls were doing last night.  She's a joker that P-Dot.

My compadres on the wine walk was Queen PopUp, Seattle SIL, and new comer R (nickname TBD). We had some fantastic sliders from Chef Lynn's truck (I think that's the name of it), then we had killer ice cream sandwiches from ... um... that truck.  I have no idea the name of it, but I hope it's there next month.

If you're a wino, and enjoy trying multiple types of wine, check out the Woodinville Wine Walk.  They usually have specials online prior to the walk to get extra tasting tickets - which you won't use unless you have a designated driver.

At the Crossroads

I'm in a quandary about my weight loss journey.

In January I started this journey with a plan and a goal. I've done pretty well keeping to both. Part of my plan was to do Jenny Craig.  I've done Jenny in the past and was successful in the past. And I knew what my issue would be with them, I just didn't know when my issue would become an ISSUE.

What I like about Jenny is the simplicity.  I don't really have to think much about what I'm putting into my system. It's all thought out for me. 

What I hate about Jenny is the simplicity.  The food is good, but I only like a handful of the items, and thus I get bored with their food quickly. I supplement their meals with Weight Watchers frozen items, and Lean Cuisine frozen items.  And I think to myself, why am I just not doing those and take Jenny out of the equation?

I've been taking notes for 6 months now about low calorie snacks, meals, etc.  I have a pretty good idea what I can do and how I can move from Jenny to real life.

But it scares me to death.

The other portion of Jenny that I find I really need is the weekly accountability.  The knowing that every Saturday I have to step on a scale and a person who's rooting for me is waiting for that number to come up.  Not wanting to disappoint, I push myself to make sure that number is lower than the week before.  Not only do I not disappoint this person, but I get a gold star. And we all know how much I love my gold stars.

What scares me if the what if I can't be successful in the real world?  What if I can't keep my calorie intake to 1500 / day? What if I can't lose any weight on my own? And worst of all, what if I fail?

I so don't want to start going in reverse again, and am so afraid that without someone to check in with weekly that I will be more likely to be "ok" with cheating.

And that's when it hit me.

I'm still accountable to every single one of you. I've made it part of my plan to communicate about this journey and to make sure that every single person I know knows I'm doing this.  I suspect, knowing you all the way I do, that if I started going in reverse, one or many of you would kick me in my arse. 

So I think I may start taking baby steps back into the real world.  I need to think hard and long about this and maybe just give it a try. I can always go back to Jenny if it's not working out. I mean after all, I bought the lifetime plan there years ago for that very reason.

Next week I think I'm going to give it a go.  I think I'm going to take a good portion of the weekend to plan my week, and make sure every day has a menu that's easy to put together for the day and one that's easy to follow.  Preparation is key.  If it's prepped and easy to do, then I'll likely follow it.

Got any tips for me?

Happy 17th Birthday PookieSnackenBurger!!

Its hard for me to believe that 17 years ago, this little black ball of fur was born.

He was so darn cute. His little ring of grey around his neck, biting everything he possibly could.

He's had a pretty good 17 years. He's moved around a lot too.  He's moved 8 times in his short life.  He's part gypsy like me apparently.

He's spoiled rotten, and has me wrapped around his little furry paw.  He's a great cat, and tells me every day how fortunate I am to have him in my life.

Happy Birthday Pookie!

Missing the DadUnit

My trip to Tucson was relatively uneventful.  It was difficult to be in the MomUnit's and the DadUnit's house without the DadUnit there. Something was definitely missing. 

Still we managed.

We ate out a couple of times.  I made some pretty bad choices where it came to food, but I was okay with that.  I didn't want to think about it, and everything else going on.  Nor did we really feel like cooking much.

So we at out.

It rained.

We ate out some more. 

It rained some more.

We made Mango Margaritas from Pioneer Woman.

They were so good. Even Puck enjoyed them. I didn't do tequila in my "margarita", I replaced that with rum. WAY better.

 And we made ribs.  In a salute to the DadUnit I even burnt them a little.

The photo is blurry because we made mango margaritas.  Did I tell you I put rum in mine? Yah, rum and a steady hand...not a combination that works.

So we ate, we cried, we ate some more, it rained, we ate, and we cried some more.

The DadUnit's Celebration of Life will be held on August 18th here in Seattle.  Details will be coming soon.

Dad's Obituary

Alfred Jerry (Al) Wraspir, 78, of Tucson, AZ died peacefully at home on June 29, 2012 Born on April 23, 1934 in Irby, WA to Louis & Louise Wraspir, Al was raised on the family farm and graduated from Marlin High School. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Rosemarie Ramm and brother Eugene Wraspir. Al is survived by his loving wife JoEllen; sister Joyce (Lorus) Haase of Odessa, WA; sons Michael (Beverly) of O’Fallon, MO, Jerry of Odessa, WA, Richard (Janet) of Seattle, WA and daughters Jennifer of Redmond, WA and Melanie Garrison (Ron) of Canby OR; and Billie (Dan) Grahek of Acton, CA; 8 grandchildren : Stephen Wraspir, Sarah Wraspir, Ashley Wraspir, Cammie Wraspir, David Abeyta, Danny Abeyta, Victor Garrison and Lori Garrison and 5 great grandchildren, Natasha Worline; Nadia Wraspir, Sophie, Ada and Molly Gilliam, along with numerous nieces and nephews. Al will be missed by many, many friends as well….he gathered friends where ever he went.

Al spent 39 years at The Boeing Company as Human Resources Manager. He lived in many places while working for Boeing, from Seattle, WA to New Jersey, South Dakota, Missouri, Alabama, Minnesota, and California and internationally in Iran and Saudi Arabia. Al loved to travel and he and Jo traveled to all 50 states . Until recently they traveled in their RV to visit family and friends. He also loved to spend time in Alaska in the summer on the Kenai River fishing. Al loved to hunt, fish and be in the great outdoors and spend time with his family and many, many friends. Al was a member of the Elks, Moose and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Casa de La Luz Hospice for the wonderful care and support and especially to his nurse Jeanette; to Barb Bauwens and Bruce and Holly Sanderson for always being there when he needed you, and to his caregiver Pat Vaughn.

There will be a celebration of Life for Al at a later date and a memorial celebration at the Bohemian Cemetery in Odessa, WA on Memorial Day, 2013.

Remembrances may be made in his name to Casa de la Luz Hospice, 7740 N. Oracle Rd, Tucson, AZ 85704 or to the Alzheimer’s association or Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.