Seattle Trip - 4 The Zoo

Going to the Zoo is a perfect grandparent event.

Notice how good the kids look in their cages!





Sometimes the kids are kept in caves instead of cages. Here they've taken up residence in a wolf's lair.


Eventually they get out and follow you home (to their parents' home).




Here are pictures of some of the real animals we left behind.

Seattle Trip - 3

The trip from Spokane took us through actual climate changes. Spokane sits on the west of the Rocky Mountains, at the edge of the long rolling high plains of central Washington. We cross the Columbia river flowing north and south and into the mountains again that overlook Seattle. This is looking into those mountains approaching Seattle.

Snow at the top of the pass

deserved some documentation.

This is the Snoqualmie pass, about an hour from Seattle. It's amazing.

Seattle Trip - 2

As part of the trip, Deb and I went on business to Portland, Oregon then to Eugene, Oregon, then to Spokane, Washington and back to Seattle. On the way, we were able to drop off and visit my niece, Anne Scott.

She was the sweetest hostess. We didn't stay long, but we came away hoping to be some of the first people to read her books.

Oregon also made an impression on Debbie as we went out of our way to drive by the Portland Temple. It was a thrill.

The setting in the forest sets this temple apart.

Later down the highway, while we were motoring past the Columbia river, we stopped at Multnomah falls. Another thrill of nature. The water falls 620 feet.

From here we went through southeastern Washington up to Spokane, the home of the Spokane falls. This is both sides of the falls.

Reports from Seattle - 1

Well we finally made it. Benny, Alexandria, Tara and Ben greeted us on Saturday last. We also got to meet the dog, Sire.

We went to run the first day on my first 5K run.

It was also Alexandria's first 5 K run. She came in with an astounding 25 minute time at the side of her father. I came in with a much more liesurely time, but at least I finished.

Here's a picture of the finish line. Over 22,000 people participated in the run.

Trip to Seattle, etc.

>We're at the airport waiting to get on the plane. So I thought I would take time to add to the blog. Debbie and I are taking a vacation / business trip to the Northwest. We'll keep you informed. We'll see Ben and the family and then off to Oregon for a couple of days. We expect to see Anne Scott and 3 credit unions and then return to Ben's family for a couple of more days before we launch back to the midwest.

Give it Up for JRS

Well the final blog entry about the cruise has to be about the finals in the Karaoke contest. On the second night of the cruise, they had a Karaoke event to select finalists for the last evening. I qualified by singing 'Copacabana' by Barry Manilow. It's very lively, very quick but has 58 measures of empty space to be filled in with Dancing or re-runs from Jay Leno. 4 contestants qualified that evening. On two other nights, 4 more qualified. One wisely dropped out before the final performance in the main auditorium 'The Paladium'. I was the first of the 7 remaining participants.

It was obvious that each of them 'loved' their music. Mine was just a passing fancy by comparison. Deb filmed a very complete view of my pain. I started out just under the key for the music, then adjusted into the right key over about 4 phrases. Not one to hide, I continued and finished up to the 58 bars of non-lyrical music. That's where the video starts. At least in the last part, I was in key, although winded. So winded in fact, that I had to leave out some words. 'So let's give it up for Jim' as the MC announced:

The 1st place winner was incredible and Deb filmed him too. I think you'll agree, he deserved #1. So please give it up for Baron.

The last contestants were based on a petition write-in vote, not sanctioned, yet they helped to fill in the time so the judges could make their final decisions. Here is the dark side of Karaoke, Mike and John:

Mom was very kind to indulge me. We went to all 3 Karaoke events and sang in them all - 'Always on My Mind' by Willie Nelson was the second night. It was fun, it was enchanting, it was embarassing and now its over.

Dinner on the Cruise

Here we are at our table in the back, table 68 that we shared with Lee and Susan from Michigan.

Dinners on the cruise were overwhelmingly wonderful. I have been on a diet since mid-November and it was completely abandoned after one afternoon and as I sat to the music of the chef and magicians that served at our table. Desmond was our head waiter and had 'suggestions' from the menu for every meal. Every night there was 2 menus, one for salad, soup and entree, and one for desserts.

We had the 8:30 pm late seating for dinner. If you chose not to wait until your dinner, you could go to the dinner buffet and THEN go to the late dinner seating. On two of the nights the wait staff entertained us with music and dancing. They balanced cakes on their heads using rolled up napkins and lighted candles. Here's a video part of one of the presentations.

The song has a chorus 'Cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, Dollar' and you'll see them do hand motions to the chorus line. You'll also see a lighted jacket and one of the waiters in a King's crown.