Saturday, July 8, 2023 we left Wilbur, WA for a 4 hour drive through the mountains to Carnation, Washington and the Tolt-Macdonald Campground.
About 40 miles into our trip we blew a tire on the trailer just as we drove onto the Dry Falls Dam. This dam is a mile long and only has two lanes, one for each direction of traffic, and of course no shoulders. So we had to drive the entire length of the dam before I could get off to the side of the road and by then the tire, despite my driving very slowly, had shredded. We were fortunate there was no damage to the rim. About 45 minutes later I had changed the tire and we were back on our way. At the next town I stopped at a tire store and bought another tire to replace my spare because I didn’t feel good about driving the rest of the way without a spare.
Tolt-Macdonald Campground is just a few miles from Redmond, Washington where our two youngest grandchildren live…oh with their parents, of course. We’re going to be spending a week here (like we did last year) and a week at another campground farther away so we have two weeks to visit our grandchildren. Oh, and their parents 🙂
The flat tire and stopping to get another one put us behind schedule, but we arrived, got set up, showered and then drove to Jeremy and Wendy’s house. They took us out to dinner to a great place in Redmond and afterward we went to our favorite Redmond ice cream shop, Molly Moon’s! Then it was back to their house to pick up Jade’s numerous suitcases and bags (for a one-week stay, lol) and headed back to Nomad.
Sunday we went to the nearby Cascade Rose Alpaca Farm that Jade wanted to visit. We got there at 11 am and spent about an hour learning about these cute creatures and feeding them. As you can see in the photos, I think Jade had a good time.
From there we drove to the 14th century English community of Camlann Medieval Village where all the live action role players stay true to life during that time period. It was like being transported back in time to 1376 AD. We spent a little over two hours stepping into and interacting with the past. Later that evening Jeremy, Wendy and Maxwell came over to Nomad and Jeremy grilled hamburgers, chicken and hotdogs for us all and we enjoyed the few hours of visiting with all of them.
Monday we took Jade to Blake’s Pizzeria and Ice Cream where we got, you guessed it, pizza and ice cream and the rest of the day was spent relaxing.
Jade needed to return home on Tuesday for a previously scheduled rehearsal she had for her upcoming performance in the stage production of “Grease” and we wished we could have still been in town for that when it took place. Then Cindy and I ran some errands and picked up some groceries followed by a quiet night alone.
Just before lunchtime on Wednesday we picked Jade up from her home and took her to lunch at Qdoba, then drove to Costco (yay Ann!) for some bulk-buying fun and filled up with Costco gas which was just $4.64 a gallon. That was a real deal over the local prevailing price of $5.39. Then we went on a quest for Menchies Yogurt that Jade wanted. The one she usually went to was closed for renovation, but we finally found one in Bellevue. Jade got about an ounce of yogurt and covered it in 5 different toppings, lol. But it made her happy and that’s what grandparents are for.
Then it was back to Nomad for Qdoba leftovers and some reading.
Thursday morning we had breakfast at Panera thanks to a birthday gift card for me from my daughter Ann. If I had been in town for my birthday she would have taken me out for a birthday meal, so she asked if she could send me a gift card and we could still enjoy a meal together long distance by having a video call. I thought it was a splendid idea! We got to spend about 45 minutes video chatting over breakfast for us and lunch for her since she was 3 hours ahead of us. I don’t think I could have asked for a better birthday gift, unless it had been in person.
We then went to Remilinger’s because Cindy was looking for a specific vegetable seasoning she uses in my eggs. She got one here last year, but it didn’t last all year so she bought two big containers this time. Made a quick trip back to Nomad so Jade could have her voice lesson and then we went to a nearby lavender farm so the girls could pick lavender while I sat in Voyager and scrolled through social media.
That night Jeremy, Wendy and Maxwell came over for dinner and we all took a walk down one of the trails with Bella.
Friday we all got to go see Maxwell play in his soccer tournament and it was so much fun watching him own that goalie net. He has really upped his game since we saw him play last year, and we thought he was good then. His team won the game and his coach attributed it to the fact that they have such a good goalie it allows their other players to shine in their own individual positions.
Afterward we all went to the fair in Redmond, had some fair food and walked around. Jade and Maxwell played “Throw the Hatchet” with soft Velcro hatchets and targets.
Next time: Maxwell stays with us for a week.
Thanks for following the Wandering Wetheringtons.
