First and Last

The first day of the new week, Sunday, was also our last full day here in the land of the children of the sun.  Of course, Sunday is also NFL football time, and my favorite team, the Denver Broncos, was playing the N.Y. Jets in New York, so theirs was one of the early games.  As their game edged toward half time my sister, Hilary, came down stairs to see if TLE and I were interested in driving up to Green Bluff, WA with she and Bob to attend the Fall Harvest House activities.  I was a little torn between watching the Bronco game and taking a road trip, but the idea of someone else driving, and the prospect of getting to sample some of the famous, amazing 'pumpkin donuts' sold at Harvest House made the decision easy in the end.

We departed Spokane for the short drive up to Green Bluff just before Noon, and arrived in the vicinity of the farm in about half an hour, but it took another 30 minutes to get into the parking lot.......apparently we were not the only ones who chose this outdoor activity this Sunday as there were literally thousands of people cramming their way into the farm.  This is an annual Fall event that runs the last two weeks of September, and every weekend in October each year.  There are pumpkins for sale, apples to pick, pies of all varieties, a corn maze, tractor rides, pumpkin donuts (the star of the show), wine and beer tasting, good food, etc.

Beck's Harvest House

By the time we had disembarked from the car it was approaching 1 pm, and we were all hungry so we all gravitated to lines featuring food we were interested in consuming for lunch.....for Bob and I it was pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, and for TLE and Hilary it was chicken.

As we sat eating we noticed the long line for pumpkin donuts was getting longer by the minute so I volunteered to go get a place in the hour long line.  They apparently sell 10,000 of these amazing donuts per day on the weekend at a cost of $10 for a baker's dozen. Each person is limited to a baker's dozen.

Eventually Bob joined me in line, and then as we crested the hill and had the donuts tent in sight TLE and Hilary came to relieve us so we could go over to the wine/beer sampling area.  I chose a pumpkin beer by Uinta Brewing Company out of Salt Lake City which was amazing!  I was getting close to finishing my beer when TLE  left the line to come over and let us know they were 'entering the tent', and did one of us want to come and get an extra dozen donuts.....I volunteered as I had been smelling those donuts for over an hour by now and really wanted to get my hands on a few.  Of course, they were making them as fast as they could sell them so when you are handed your bag of donuts there are still quite hot, and the aroma tends to make one weak in the knees.

The 'evil' pumpkin donuts

We were home by 3:30 clutching our bags of donuts, of which we managed to only eat a few.  The cell phone coverage up in Greenbluff was minimal, so I did not find out the Broncos ended up winning their game 31-17 until then.  I was in time to watch the final quarter of the Cowboys vs. Seahawks game which the Cowboys managed to win.....this is only the second time in the last 21, or 22 home games Seattle has lost, so, no doubt, many of my Washington friends are in mourning as I write this post.

Around 5:30 TLE drove over to pick up my mother for our last dinner together before we return ourselves to the south Oregon coast, and our current home in Cape Blanco.  Our Seattle interlude is coming to a close, and soon it will be time to say our 'until next times'.  It has been very special to spend so much time with my sister and her family, and especially with my mother.  As the years continue to pass from the present into history more quickly with each passing month one can't help but begin to realize our time left to spend with loved ones is becoming more finite.  You do not know when your time will be up, so these moments in time are becoming more precious......please don't let those opportunities slip away!

Thanks for stopping by!