The journey begins

Tuesday 06/17/08 - Goodbye Myrtle Beach.

This morning we finished packing everything we thought we needed for the next 6 ½ weeks, and by 10:15 we were on the road to Falls Church, VA. When we drive the 430 miles to M&D’s we keep going, only stopping at the rest stops to use the restrooms, change drivers and have a quick bite from our picnic lunch that we take with us. It is 80 miles from Myrtle Beach to Interstate 95 and once we are on the Interstate, we don’t leave it again for 345 miles, only a couple of miles from M&D’s home. We made it this time in about 7 ½ hours.
Melanie was still at work and David was in New York on a business trip, but Indigo Wen was there to greet us, being looked after by her nanny. When Melanie got home, she was going to cancel her knitting class, but we told her to go and enjoy it, and Indigo was quite happy to have Granny and Granddad look after her and Granny bathed her, read her a story and put her to bed and she was already sound asleep when Melanie got home. We chatted about the upcoming adventures and then retired for an early night.

Wednesday 06/18/08 – The Barn, the Park, the lost camera!
Today, as has become the norm, Melanie’s friend and fellow adoptive mother, Ellen, came over with her little girl Sarah. Sarah came to America at the same time as Indigo and is her best friend. They are such good friends that they have to dress the same as you will see from the photographs! We all piled into Ellen’s Expedition and drove to the Merry-Go-Round stables (http://www.merry-go-roundfarm.com/) where Melanie keeps her beloved horse Dan. No one rides Dan anymore but the alternatives to continue paying the fees for his board and lodging every month are not acceptable and we understand why. Melanie brushed him, and both little girls were waiting to sit on his back. Eventually he was ready and Sarah was the first to be lifted up onto Dan’s back (he is a tall horse). Sarah held the reins and was quite happy to be led around at a walking pace and was reluctant to get off. Despite seeing Sarah ride so enthusiastically, when it came to Indigo’s turn, she just didn’t want to get on the horse. Melanie suggested (jokingly of course) that David must have been saying something to Indigo to discourage her from horse riding so she wont get into such an expensive (and forever) hobby – we shall see. While we were at the stables we had a very nice picnic lunch that Ellen had brought with her.
From the stables we went to a children’s park called Clemyjontri: (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/clemyjontri/) which is the most amazing municipal park we have ever seen. The central attraction is an old fashioned carousel which the children can ride free from Monday to Friday. Meanwhile, there are all sorts of other apparatus for kids to climb, slide, swing on, etc.., all with a theme such as a fire truck, airplane, etc., all beautifully designed and made. There are also educational aspects to the park with boards and signs that explain where different animals live (continents) and also, the whole park’s ground surface is a hard wearing “spongy” rubber so that the children won’t hurt themselves if they fall. There is a bike track that winds in around the park for kids on their bikes to ride. A very nice place and, as it is school holidays, there were many, many, moms there with children having a good time. Indigo and Sarah rode the Carousel (with Granddad and Ellen standing next to Indigo and Sarah to ensure their safety) and then they climbed and slid down tubes, etc. Melanie took lots of photos (at the barn as well) and everyone enjoyed themselves.
We left the park about 2:00 because Ellen has to be on the way home before the DC rush hour traffic! As we were sitting around at home later in the afternoon, Melanie said “I can’t find my camera”. After calling Ellen and have her search the car and searching around the house, it became apparent that Melanie must have put her camera down at some point, possibly to pick up Indigo, and left it somewhere, although she had no recollection of doing so. Melanie called the municipal phone number for the park and, although the office was closed, she left a message to say she had lost a camera at the park. Meanwhile, Granddad went shopping and bought some lamb chops and “go withs” (beer!) and we had a lovely braai. David was on his way back from New York (by train) and had hoped to be home by 7 PM. We waited until 7:30 before starting without him (lest the chops be overcooked!) and he arrived as we were still at the table talking. Alison and I made sure all our cases were fully packed and ready to go downstairs, and that the clothes we were going to wear next morning were in the bedroom, laid out ready for us to jump into. We had a taxi arriving at 5:30 AM! We said our farewells to Indigo and later, Melanie & David and, after setting both cell phone alarms for 5:00, “hit the sack”.

Thursday 06/19/08 – DC to Seattle.
At 5:00 AM, a fire alarm went off in the house – at least that was how it sounded like to me! Both alarms went off at once (surprise!) and as my phone was charging on a shelf across the room, and Alison, having never used her cell phone alarm, had no clue as to how to turn it off, the noise seemed to go on and on and we were sure we had woken the whole house. Sheepishly, I listened for Indigo, but fortunately, all was quiet. We dressed and carried our toiletries downstairs and put them in the lids of the suitcase and were outside and waiting at 5:30 when the taxi arrived on time. Melanie informed us later that day that they hadn’t heard the alarms, nor had they heard us leave – for all they knew, we were still in bed! We got to National Airport earlier than we needed, but that’s better than being late. We were on a regional jet to Philadelphia and we took off on time and arrived on time. By 9:00 we were boarding our flight to Seattle – a very nice Airbus and we were in an exit row that only had two seats in it – very private and lots of leg room. It is a six hour flight but it seemed to go by rather quickly. Our friends Carolyn & Mark Armentrout were there to meet us outside baggage claim and off we went to a restaurant called “Sports” in walking distance of the Space Needle. After a nice lunch (Seattle on the Pacific Coast is 3 hrs behind the Atlantic Coast in time) and my first taste of a local draught IPA, we made our way to the Space Needle and waited in line to buy tickets to go up.

After we had bought the tickets, we waited in line to get in the elevator and 60 minutes later, we were on our way up.
The most daunting sight awaits you when you alight from the elevator 520 ft up – the line for the elevator to go down again! Nevertheless, the 360 view from the top is magnificent, and as it is a once in a lifetime experience (for me anyway), it is worth the wait.
After the Space Needle, we went to an area of Seattle called Pioneer Square, where you can go on an “Underground” tour. (http://www.undergroundtour.com/). This historic area is where the town was originally built, but because it was always flooded (at the bottom of the hills that slope down to Puget Sound, they “raised” the roads and pavements to a new level. It was very interesting. After that, it was time for us to make our way south to Tacoma and then across the Tacoma “Narrows” on the bridge that replaced “Galloping Gertie”, the suspension bridge that collapsed into the Narrows in 1940 (http://www.ketchum.org/bridgecollapse.html ). This bridge takes you onto a peninsular in Puget Sound and the old fishing port town named Gig Harbor, and this is where we had dinner at a restaurant called “Tides”. We sat out on the deck overlooking the Sound and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. After dinner, we had one more “bridge to cross” and this time it was the bridge that takes you south from Gig Harbor and onto Fox Island, which is where Carolyn and Mark have their lovely home. By the time we got to bed, it was 11 PM Pacific time, which meant we had been up for 21 hours!

Friday 06/20/08 – Round and About Fox Island and Gig Harbor


We had a great sleep and awoke to a bright morning. On opening our bedroom blinds we witnessed a sight we’d never seen before: out on the water was a boat chugging slowly along towing a bundle of very long logs. A great photo from the bedroom window was taken! After breakfast we went for a walk on Fox Island, that Mark & Carolyn do regularly, after which we sat in their lovely garden and chatted endlessly. Mark and I then went to the local gym and we had a good workout. We had a nice lunch, once again sitting out in the garden, after which we went to the newer part of Gig Harbor to do a bit of shopping, ending up at a brand new Costco! On the way we stopped at the bridge that joins Fox Island to Gig Harbor, from where, depending on the weather, there is a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier on the skyline with the water of Puget Sound in the foreground. I think Alison got a pretty good shot of it. At this point in the afternoon, we got a call from Melanie. We had spoken to Melanie on Thursday evening to tell her we had arrived safely, but she hadn’t mentioned the camera so we knew there was no good news. She now told us that the County Parks office had called her on Thursday and told her that no one had handed in a camera. However, on Friday, while at work, she got an automatic email telling her that someone had called her home phone and left a message giving her the number of the caller (Melanie has Vonage). Melanie recognized the number as the County Parks number and gave them a call. The lady told Melanie that she had seen that someone had posted on “Craig’s List” that they had found a camera at Clemyjontri, and gave Melanie the number. Melanie called and the lady asked her to identify what pictures were in the camera which of course Melanie was able to do. The end result was that Melanie recovered her camera and all of the pictures. We are waiting for Melanie to send us the pictures she took at Clemyjontri and then we will add them to the blog. Pretty amazing isn’t it!
After shopping we returned to the old harbor part of Gig Harbor and walked to the “monuments” that describe the discovery of the harbor and the first settlers. We then visited the local Mexican restaurant and enjoyed a nice meal before returning to C&M’s home for apple crisp and whipped cream for dessert! We had no trouble sleeping!