July in Washington State

In addition to Orion's birthday afternoon at Golden Gardens during our stay, we also visited Green Lake (Seattle) a couple times; Brackett's Landing (Edmonds) a couple times; Redondo Beach; friend's homes (thank you so much, you've all been fun!); Vancouver, WA for my fun Washington School for the Deaf class reunion; Portland, OR; Mount St. Helens; and we had delicious ice cream cones in Kingston via ferry from Edmonds. If any of you happen to see Frida's Mexican Restaurant in Mill Creek, WA, please go walk in there and be prepared to eat the best Mexican food you've ever had in your life. The food Thomas and I had there made Chevys and On The Border taste like Taco Bell. I am adding that restaurant to my list of must-eat-at for the next time we return to Washington. The other fine establishments are Dick's Drive-In, Burgermaster, the Ranch, Ivar's... I could go on. (I think I did gain some weight, darn it.) We did plenty, yet there were a few places and people we didn't get to meet. Shoot. I didn't get any of my brother's delicious chicken Pad Thai. Next time, Jack!

I loved that my family and Washington friends met Orion and shared fun times with Thomas, Skyler and Tasia. On a somber note, we had my grandma's memorial service on July 30th. Dorothea Mary (Pfister) Nordstrand, also known as "Dixie" or to at least me as "Gma", passed away on May 16th. She, my aunt and uncle (or to my kids, great aunt and gruncle), set up "Dixie Press" where we can read online her stories and family news. She's been a role model, there's so much more about her. She's someone you'd read about and I feel so fortunate to have known her as my grandmother. Some of us have been able to read advance copies of her book, which she saw the proofs of, "Pork Neckbones, Sauerkraut & Rutabagas, Memories of My Greenlake Girlhood". A thousand copies will be available sometime this month for purchase.

We were glad to be in the Pacific Northwest while most of our country sweltered under the heat wave. It was in the low 70's, high 60's most of the time during our stay. What a nice break!

Now we are home in Maryland. ALL of us are still influenced by Pacific Standard Time!



Sunset at Brackett's Landing, Edmonds, WA.

















A rare family photo, at International Rose Test Garden, Portland, OR.




Orion and I at Johnston Ridge Observatory. Even though Mount St. Helens was clouded over, it was an amazing view. We did see it from afar the day before as we drove up the Oregon side of the Columbia River from Portland to Longview, WA. We'll be back!