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.

125th Anniversary

This excursion was miserable. Through out the trip I wish I could've had a paper and pen to vividly describe our odyssey as it evolved. We began questioning our trip as we drove off our driveway since we all felt under the weather. Given the fact that I have a niece in California and I am occasionally stubborn... well, I was determined to see her. We had hope to reach Klammath Falls on our first leg of the trip yet I was unable to proceed past Bend, OR since my health began to decrease as the evening advance. We slept for 3 hours in a Walmart parking lot alongside other travelers and got back on the road at 3 am. I only lasted an hour from driving and fortunately found a rest area were I obtain an additional 3 more hours of sleep. Obviously we had begun our trip on the wrong foot.

Traci felt terrible the following day and the reckless drivers of the Golden State didn't help us feel better. Through out the day I hummed the melody to the hymn that says, "We have this hope that burns within our heart!" Somehow, I could relate to the words as I hoped for that moment when we would stop driving and reach the small haven known as Yosemite National Park. We reached the park shortly after dusk and immediately our health's felt alleviated from being back in nature. The lighted Curry Village welcome sign immediately brought back memories from my younger days and the smell of pine trees reassured me that the 20 hours of driving had finally paid off. On Thursday we explore Tuolumne Meadows since the fire department was conducting control fires in Yosemite Valley. Ben fell asleep on the way up but was anxious to run and play in the rain when he woke up. Fortunately Traci felt a bit better from the previous day but I felt miserable with a head cold. Despite our illnesses, the panorama view of the undisturbed mountains kept our minds distracted and we had a great time walking around Tenaya Lake and seeing the back side of Half Dome from a distance. Without a doubt it was worth the drive especially since we avoided the crowds of people and even got to see a bear dash across the road.

On Friday we drove to Fresno to spend time with my grandma. Several family and friends dropped by with food and we had a great time catching up. As always my grandma and I talked to the early hours of the morning until I admitted to her that I was exhausted and needed sleep despite that I wanted to continue talking. It's always nice to visit with her and be reminded of my past, childhood and the history of my family.

I was unhappy that the visit with my grandma needed to be cut short since we are unable to make the trip home in one day. We began our trip back home at 9am and headed straight to Yosemite National Park to have lunch at Curry Village with Tio Joaquin and Tia Amanda. Ben enjoyed eating half of the pizza while the four adults divided the other half. It was with great sorrow that we said our farewells to the park that had been our refuge from the wonderful California drivers. Our intent was to spend the night at Klammath Falls yet we staggered to Shasta Lake and spent the night at a rest area. The following day was about getting home. We enjoyed a great sunrise on the road as Black Butte rose above the clouds.

There are days that I dislike living in Washington State, not to mention, living in a town that is getting to big for my liking. Then there are weeks where I feel stuck and would like to experience something new for a change. Although I enjoy owning my 57 Chevy and a house with plenty of family history, I sometimes feel that I am a prisoner to my possessions. Yet it wasn't long ago that I was living in an apartment and praying to have a little place to call my own. It's far to easy to see where I would like to be in life and not as fun to see where I was just at. Some people would refer to The Jones. In any case, upon seeing the Columbia River as we made our way home, we both agreed that living in Washington is not all that bad. Think about it: amazing apples, sweet onions, Chinook Salmon, longest Rail-to-Trail, a Rain forest, Big Foot, etc... It could be worse. I could be living in the state I just came from... No offense.