Early Birthday Celebrations!

Terry & Teresa

​It’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog. The library is closed on Sunday and Monday, and I drove to Spokane on Monday evening and returned on Wednesday evening. My wife had yard work for me to do. I’ve neglected the blog as a consequence.
 
On Sunday, I helped my niece, Amber, by cutting 1/2” off her bathroom door. She had put down new underlayment and then new vinyl flooring. Subsequently, the door no longer opened and closed without scraping the flooring.
 
Later on Sunday, my in-laws, Terry and Teresa, (pictured above when they were younger) had me out to their place on the river for a picnic dinner. My niece and her three children, Ella, Adelyn and Aden, joined us. After dinner, they brought out a Snickers birthday cake and we celebrated my birthday a few days early. It was a filling dinner and very relaxing. I really wanted to take a nap as we watched the sun setting. A very big thank you goes out to Terry and Teresa for dinner and the good conversation.
 
Monday, I was back at work. Nearly all the campers were pulling out and returning home following the warm, sunny weekend. I had a lot of work to do before I could leave for Spokane, so I left a little later than originally planned.
 
In Spokane on Tuesday, I did my laundry and a number of small things that needed to be done around the home. That evening, Catherine and I went to Outback for a steak dinner and another early birthday celebration. As we ordered, the waitress asked whether I wanted a “six or nine ounce.” I assumed she meant the steak because the menu listed the steak as either 6 oz. or 9 oz. and I replied, “Nine ounce, please.” However, she meant the wine. So, I ended up drinking too much. (I know. I’m a lightweight.)
 
On Wednesday morning, I mowed the lawn, trimmed the grass along the front curb and then packed for the trip back to Lake Sylvia State Park. Once again, I left for the trip a little later than expected.
 
On the way to Montesano from Spokane, I passed through Vantage. The road dives from the plateau to Columbia River and then climbs steeply as you travel to Ellensburg. The crosswinds were very strong and one of the lashings on my kayak broke loose. I had a scary few minutes until I could pull over and tie the boat down again. Fortunately, I had the boat secured at four places when I lost the bow lashing.
 
Today, it was business as usual. There were more sites to clean and a couple of complaints from campers asking where I had been for the last two days. They needed firewood and they had missed the park rangers’ office hours.
 
The good news is that the campgrounds were cleaner than the same time last week, so my work went more quickly than usual. Kudos to the rangers and aides for pitching in to keep the campgrounds and restrooms clean and stocked.

---