Grandpa is reading to me!

OH! It's only the UPS man.

Mom and Dad are gone but all my toys are here!

Don't bother me - it's "Higglytown Heroes"

My own private park!!

My new house!

It's hot today...

I like books.

I like that stick...

Hello..... Anybody There??

Let's watch TV!

Issaquah

We arrived in Issaquah last Thursday afternoon and it’s been nonstop ever since. We settled into the Snoqualmie River RV Park & Campground at Fall City, WA, right next to the river and we haven’t even had a chance to see the water. Today is our first official “day off”. We worked out a schedule and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday we baby sit from 10:00am on. On Saturday we baby sit so Mike and Lisa can shop, play golf, spend quality time together, and on Sunday we all spend time together. We get Tuesdays and Thursdays to do whatever we want. And I thought I was retired!!

Aiden is wonderful and learning something new everyday. He thinks he is talking so I am listening very carefully to what he is saying. Lisa doesn’t hear it but so far I have understood: good job, go, dog, cool, uh oh, you guys (when he saw our picture) and of course daddy. He seems to understand most everything you say to him. He loves playing here at the RV Park – lots of people to watch and kids around. It’s cooler here than in Issaquah too. Once he gets moved into his new house he will have his own park to play in.

Mike leave for Japan on Sunday so we will be staying at the house with Lisa and Aiden after that. We will just store the RV here until we can move it to the new house around the end of August. Hal will be over seeing all the work on the new place in Mike’s absence. That should keep him really busy.

Frank "Bud" Church

Just before we arrived in Issaquah, Hal got a call from an old friend, Bud Church. They were good friends through their teenage years and if you have ever heard Hal’s stories of his youth and all the mischief he and his “friend” got into – well that was Bud Church. Looks like I may get a chance to hear the flip side of all those adventures. They haven’t seen each other since 1951. Bud is living near Salem, Oregon and we hope to see him on our way south. What a wonderful surprise.

Hal, Bud Church and Larry Graven, 1951 - The last time they were all toghther. What a surprise when Bud called. Looking forward to get together again.

Hills Creek Lake

Second Week

Starting into our second week of summer vacation, we moved to Islet Campground, Willamette National Forest, Oregon. Hal is feeling better today – Ribs are still hurting but he is being a “good camper” and trying to ignore the discomfort.

Yesterday we tried out our new GPS system that works with the new “Streets and Trips” program. It was really exciting to watch our progress on the monitor. I totally ignored Hal’s advice about following the books directions to the campsite. After all, My Program is Newer than His Book. His book doesn’t even show roads that my program shows. Well we soon found out why. The last eight miles took us over an hour and deposited at least half an inch of dust on our car. We ended up on a logging road over the mountain with no other way to go. I think next time we use a “combination” of the information we have on hand.

The campground is beautiful. Few people are here so we took the camp host site. It is large, level and probably the only site in the park that has satellite reception. The only thing is, everyone stops by to chat and ask questions. They think we “know all the answers”. Hal thinks we should put a box out front and start collecting the fees.

The lake is beautiful. It’s supposed to be one of the purest lakes in the world. We are planning to go swimming today – after our hike.

Well a few days of GIANT sized mosquitoes and we decided to move on. We are now at a delightful site next to Hills Creek Lake. No mosquitoes, quite, nice swimming area and satellite reception. We decided to say here at least through the weekend. We can even go into town, Oakridge, and get cell and internet connections.