The Best Weekend Ever!

On Friday, my friend Mary came for a quick visit.  She was attending a meeting in Seattle, and since she was most of the way here already, she flew up to Juneau.  We had a lot of fun together.

You wouldn't think that something as mundane as taking the recycling to the dump and doing a Costco run would be that exciting, but Mary was game for anything, even a Costco hot dog (the cheapest lunch in town)!

On Sunday, we were joined by my friend Jeanie (remember Jeanie?) who is visiting from Cheney, WA for a ride on the Alaska Marine Highway to Haines.  We got off during the quick turnaround at the Haines Ferry Terminal and met a new friend, a Havanese named Max and his person, Michelle.

Michelle kindly took a picture of the three of us.

On Monday, Jeanie, Mary and I were joined by my friend Nancy, who was visiting Juneau just for the day on a cruise ship.  Jeanie and I took them on a tour of Juneau, including the Mt. Roberts Tram.

Up...

up...

up.

Mary, with Gastineau Channel in the background.

I can see my house from up here!

We continued our tour with a visit to the Shrine of St. Therese.  While on the Island, we watched the fisherman fish the Breadline (a local favorite fishing spot).  We also saw eagles and sea lions.

The Shrine Labyrinth in bloom.

And of course, no visit to Juneau is complete without a stop at the Mendenhall Glacier.

Arctic Tern nesting grounds.  They fly all the way to Juneau from Anarctica to lay their eggs.

Nugget Falls.  Those tiny dots are people.

A recent calving.

The face of the glacier is a mile and a half away.

What a great group of women!

Mary relaxes after our excursion.

Nancy checks out the pictures she took.

We ended the day with an enchilada dinner with apple pie for dessert, to celebrate Charles' birthday.  Then I took Nancy back to her boat for a 10:00 p.m. departure.

Mary left on Tuesday morning.

Jeanie is still here until July 7.

I loved being surrounded by my best friends!

The Big Trip Vol. 2

After our visit to Olympia, WA, we wended our way back to SEATAC, where Charles took off for Boise, ID for an FDLC (Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions) regional meeting, and I took off for Spokane and Cheney, WA for a fun filled week with my best Juneau friend, Jeanie!

From the car window on the way to Cheney from the Spokane airport.  The landscape is considerably different from that of Alaska!

Jeanie and Bob!

We went to a great mom and pop restaurant on the Cheney-Spangle Road.  The Harvester is absolutely in the middle of nowhere, but it must be a popular hangout for the farmers, because it is going strong.  They had lots of old signs hanging on the walls, including this one...

I thought it was a funny coincidence...

The Harvester is in a very isolated spot.

Jeanie and I spent a couple of days in downtown Spokane, where we visited our favorite place, Madeleine's, a little cafe with a French flavor.

No visit to any city outside of Alaska is complete without a couple of marathon shopping sessions!

"Here I am, Macy's!  Naked with my charge card!"

We met up with my nephew Alec, who is the pastor of a church in Spokane that ministers to the people in a run down section of the city.  I'm so proud of him!

The Spokane River

We got together for a gallery walk and dinner with my oldest friend (we met when we were 4!) Nancy!

There was a spectacular rainstorm followed by this double rainbow!

Jeanie and Bob's house is right next to the Cheney High School baseball field, and it looked like the pot of gold was in the field house!

That's enough for right now...the next volume will feature photos from the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge.

Speaking of the wilderness, I'm heading out to work in our yard, which definitely needs some work!