Oak Harbor to Salem

The view to the left is pretty much what can be seen from the bedroom window of the house where we spent the last 3 nights. It is in Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Washington's Puget Sound. We go there one or two times a year. Jan's cousin Ben is the pastor of the Nazarene Church there and she and Lisa have been like sisters their whole life. In the small world department, turns out that the sister of our children's pastor at FCC is married to the pastor of the Assembly of God Church in Coupeville about 10 miles south of here, and Ben and Mike know each other rather well. Coupeville is one of those quaint little towns that Hollywood loves, and has been the site of a few movies, the latest being "Practical Magic. You can see from the picture why it is not hard to get Jan and I to visit.

Ben and I went golfing on Monday at the Gallery Course, which is part of NAS Whidbey Island. It is now open to the public, and we played 18 holes with a cart for $30 apiece. I love the course, though it is pretty hard, especially the back nine which is cut out of the forest. This particular day was also very cold and windy, so for the first time in recent memory--if ever--I was happy when the round ended.

One further treat for us is that Lisa's father, Paul, has moved out to Oak Harbor from Kansas City. Paul performed our wedding ceremony almost 39 years ago, but we hadn't seen him in at least 10 years. It was great to meet with him and discover that after all these years, our worldviews were pretty much in sync.

We left this morning and the trip contained one of the things that is always a highlight for Jan, a voyage on the ferry system. We boarded at the southern tip of Whidbey Island and rode across to Mukilteo, on the mainland. We lucked out in that we got there just as the ferry was boarding. Sometimes the wait is up to an hour, but this was about 10 am so the morning commute was over. The ferry saves about 45 miles on the trip south.

One added bonus for this trip is that my nephew Jeff has recently moved to Seattle to take a position at B of A, and my sister happened to be up here visiting. So we went to his apartment in the Queen Anne section of Seattle to chat and have some lunch. Again, we love to eat at places on the road that we cannot experience at home and Jeff took us to a restaurant called Spot 5 (or 5 Spot) a few blocks from his house. This particular place changes it's theme and decor every few months, commissions local painters to provide the artwork for the walls, and has thematic offerings on their menu. Jeff said when he first moved there it was 50s Diner, and today it was Puerto Rico. At the end of the theme, the paintings are auctioned off. But the Puerto Rican paintings were beautiful, and included a picture of one of my favorite baseball players, Roberto Clemente. There also was a huge lifesize sea turtle suspended from the ceiling. We could have breakfast or lunch up until 3 pm, so I thought I would post a picture of my sister's breakfast selection.

Pictured below is the cinnamon french toast that she ordered, and tho this picture was taken off the internet, her breakfast looked just like this.

Jeff's apartment is very nicely situated. It's an "upper" of a renovated older home, and from his bedroom he has this view of the Seattle skyline. From his other window he can see part of Lake Washington, including Elliot Bay, which is where Tom Hanks' houseboat was situated for the movie Sleepless in Seattle.

Our drive today took us to Salem, where Jan's cousin Aletha lives with husband Les, and we will be here through Friday afternoon. Especially exciting for me are a few reunions with former Tustin students. I have an evening get-together planned for tomorrow night with a family that I haven't seen since 1983. The last time I saw them was when they asked me to speak at their son's funeral when his life had been cut short at 19. A bond was formed then that hasn't been dimmed by the years of separation, and I'm so excited to see them. There are also 2 more "kids" from Tustin that I will see here before we leave for Portland on Friday. Portland will involve staying with friends, seeing another nephew and his family, and at least one more Tustin high reunion. So even though the sightseeing part of our vacation is over, and Jan and I have decided we are ready to be home and will endure long driving days on Monday and Tuesday, I'm still pumped about what lies in store the next few days.