Honeymoon 9.0

I've told myself that I will never skip writing about my anniversary. Yet here I am three years later and I have not written about our 9th honeymoon adventures... Soo... ANYWAY...

Nine years ago Traci and I signed a sheet of paper agreeing to live together for eternity. Since we don't enjoy staying around town for our anniversary, we made plans to visit Seattle and enjoy some camping at Fort Worden State Park. We took off on the 13th at 3 am and enjoyed a dark and quiet drive before arriving at Snoqualmie Pass where we enjoyed a cold breezy serene sunrise. It was nice to walk around Keechelus Lake and see all the scattered tree stumps. After skipping a few rocks and freezing ourselves, we continued on our journey towards the big city. Fortunately, we avoided the rush hour in Seattle, yet the frenzy of normal traffic was a challenge for our 69 year old car. From accelerating to braking, the whole fast life seemed all too much for the Plymouth to handle so we decided a trip to the aquarium would ease our nerves down. Now, the Seattle Aquarium is always a nice treat yet the outrageous $70 entree fee for a family of 4 is quite a hefty price. But how can you say "Sike!" to your excited energetic kids? How!? Regardless, both kids enjoyed the sea creatures; Ben was excited to play with two fake octopus arms and Joey was eager to run around. It was worth the price!

On Thursday, we met our good friend "Miss Heidi" at the Space Needle and were treated to a 360 view of city skyline. Her and Ben had a great time chasing each other. (Sidenote: Actually, Ben still remembers that day when he sees the Space Needle and says that he had a lot of fun.) Meanwhile Traci and I enjoyed quality time with just Joey between enjoying the view. We also had the opportunity to eat at Mod pizza at the Seattle Center. It's pretty neat seeing the pizza prepared as you order it. All in all, we had a great experience with Heidi and were left wondering, "Why don't we spend more time with her?"

That evening we met with distant Starkebaum relatives. Gordon and Mary Starkebaum live on the shores of Lake Washington and not only did they treat us to a delicious supper but also a short boat ride. Gordon has taken great interest in the Starkebaum ancestry and has even been able to locate the home in Germany where the Starkebaum's lived back in the 1800's; surprisingly, the home is still standing. He has created an amazing family tree and we were excited to fill in a few missing details. They were excited to see that we had driven a 48 Plymouth and we were excited to show them around. We will definitely make another effort to visit them in the future.

Finally, on Friday we made our way to Fort Warden to begin our camping adventures. There we met with the Deininger's for some quality time with cousins. Ben had been super excited to play with Reed at the beach and did not hesitate to clown around at any opportunity. Apparently Reed had been in this phase of striking poses when someone pointed a camera at him. I had been hoping to take a nice picture of them walking along the beach but as Reed saw the camera he began striking several poses which only added more fuel to Ben's energy. After a few seconds, they ran into each other causing Ben to fall in the water. Initially Ben got upset which made Reed realize that he had clowned a bit too much. Yet, within minutes they were happy and that is why Ben is cold and wet in the picture. Actually, that story reminds me of the following day when they were playing in the tent while the parents wrapped up eating supper. At first they played quietly yet eventually moved on to exploring the mysterious jungles of the amazon river or maybe the death defying cliffs of Mt. Everest. I'm not sure of the imaginary adventure they were traversing but our meal was interrupted when we heard a loud cry from Ben. All four parents rushed to their child and tried making sense of the situation. The end. What a cliffhanger don't you think?

Before I proceed I need to clarify that Ben considers Reed as his best friend. He prays for him, he talks about him and truly values his friendship. Currently, Ben is looking forward to Christmas (like all kids) mostly because he will get to see his cousin Reed. I'm not making this up. In fact, I'm excited that he has a cousin that lives semi close that can match his energy level. On a few instances I have caught Ben sitting quietly thinking and his first remark will be, "When can I go visit my cousin Reed. I like playing with him and all his toys." Like all humans we have our good and bad times, but as Reed apologized the honesty between the two kids was very sincere and mature.

Reed: Do you not like me?
Ben: Well, I love you Reed. I just don't like to be squeezed.
Reed: I'm sorry Ben.
Ben: It's ok.

It goes to show that I want to be more like my kids.

On Sunday we began our journey home. Although our Plymouth has several disadvantages to modern cars, there are plenty of perks that come along with driving an old car. One perk is that people are extremely nice and will strike a conversation when they see the car. Think about it? When was the last time you saw a young family traveling in a 69 year old car? There must be something wrong with us driving a car without power windows... ugh. How Barbaric. Anyhow as we waited for our ferry in Kingston, a random lady gave us a box of doughnuts just because we were driving an old car. It's hard to say no when your stomach says "Yes!" Coincidentally we rode on the Walla Walla ferry without planning it and were allowed to get the very front spot. We saw multiple people take pictures of the Plymouth and heard people talk about the car from the viewing deck. It's quite a special feeling to see others admire your own car while remaining anonymous. It's a real treat. Truth be told, the whole trip was a huge treat. Including the small moments like seeing Joey pretend to drive the Plymouth and hear his impersonation of a flat head engine. I'm extremely fortunate to have Traci by my side. Each anniversary, she spends more time with the kids than with me and honestly... I'm ok with that. She loves them and cares for them and as a Dad, what more can I ask for? I'm a truly blessed to have her in my life. I can count on her for good ol' chuckle and she is always up for an adventure. So Traci, in case you still read this blog... because I most certainly don't. Thank you for letting me be part of your life, part of your life story.

Lead Me

I look around and see my wonderful life, almost perfect from the outside. In picture frames I see my beautiful wife, always smiling. But on the inside I can hear her saying, "Lead me with strong hands. Stand up when I can't. Don't leave me hungry for love, chasing dreams, but what about us? Show me you're willing to fight, that I'm still the love of your life. I know we call this our home, but I still feel alone.”

I see their faces look in their innocent eyes, they're just children from the outside. I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine, they're independent. But on the inside, I can hear them saying... "Lead me with strong hands. Stand up when I can't. Don't leave me hungry for love, chasing dreams, but what about us? Show me you're willing to fight, that I'm still the love of your life. I know we call this our home, But I still feel alone."

So Father, give me the strength to be everything I'm called to be. Oh Father, show me the way to lead them. Won't You lead me? To lead them with strong hands. To stand up when they can't. Don't want to leave them hungry for love, chasing things that I could give up. I'll show them I'm willing to fight and give them the best of my life, so we can call this our home. Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone.
Sanctus Real - Lead Me

Avery, ID

This post continues my efforts of updating my blog with the various adventures from earlier this year.

The weekend after Traci's Birthday, we had the chance to take Ben on his first camping trip with the grandparents on the southern shores of lake Couer D'Alene. Since I more recently have been intrigued by Milwaukee Railroad history, Traci's folks found this place suitable to keep me distracted while they spent time with Ben. Anyhow, our trip began on Friday and we got a chance to see a few new town on our route to the campsite. Oakesdale had several well preserved buildings and we got to enjoy a nice sunset as we briefly got a glimpse of the Milwaukee Road bridge at Tekoa. That evening we spent a good portion of our time trying to locate our campsite. It turns out that the eloquent road signs are missing some basic information so we ended up driving in circles and noticed we were at our campsite half an hour after we arrived.

Our plans for Saturday were to explore the area where the Milwaukee Road crossed the Bitterroot Range east of Avery, ID. We had a chance to drive on the old right way for a big portion west of Calder, ID but had to turn around since an old bridge has been deemed unsafe for vehicle traffic. Turns out that a simple sign saying "Dead End" could have saved us a 12 mile round trip. Anyhow, we arrived in Avery and were not let down on the amount of history the Museum/Depot had from both the great 1910 fire and the Milwaukee Road. The old Train car was well preserved and gave us a glimpse of how traveling was far more enjoyable back in the days than our present day train cars. We had a picnic just outside the depot and had a great time feeding a giant fish bowl of hungry rainbow trout for the price of $.25. East of Avery the main gravel road is the right of way as it ascends up towards St. Paul Pass and the old road is for bicycle and hikers use only. That means that we were able to traverse a few bridges and several short tunnels from the comfort of our car, pretty exciting.

That evening after arriving to our campsite we found out that the campground was located besides the Trail of the Couer D'Alene (A former Union Pacific Railroad). The railroad crossed the southern portion of lake Couer D'Alene and since it's been turned into a trail, the draw bridge has been left permanently up, hence it was needed to construct a ramp on each end to traverse the bridge. Feel free to search "Chatcolet Bridge" in your favorite search engine. Anyhow, Ben enjoyed picking up sticks, rocks, pine cones and even got a chance to make friends with other campers. He wore himself out that day and slept like a rock that night. Maybe I should wear him out more often but that means I wear myself out more... what a conundrum.

I was eager to see tunnel 41 of the Milwaukee Railroad so I made sure to make a quick stop on our way back home on Sunday. It's a 1/2 mile tunnel south of Plummer that has seen some interesting crowds through out the years since the tracks were removed and was rather scary to approach since the western entrance was littered with filth and scattered with animal remains. Although it was not my favorite place we visited, I can now say I've seen it. Which actually, the land that tunnel 41 sits on is currently for sale for $650,000 and that includes 54 acres. Anyhow we visited Toy's R Us before heading back and quickly drove through Spraque, WA just to see something new on our way back. Overall it was a great camping weekend with beautiful scenery along the St. Joe River. On top of that, Traci's folks bought me a fly-fishing rod so I'm excited to try it out and tell stories of the one that got away. I can see the story developing in my mind...

"There I was, minding my own business. When suddenly! Out of of nowhere!..." You get the idea.