Home at last.....

 7:44 am - Wednesday - June 2nd - Seal Rock, OR - 54° F, 100% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the west.....overcast now, sunny later today with a forecast high of 62° F.  On this date in 2020 we had just arrived at one of our favorite boondocking sites ever near Driggs, ID on the Teton River with a view of the Tetons......↴

....we had three vintage coaches in attendance.

Even though we had gotten to bed after 11:30 pm we both were awake at 5:30 am thinking about what needed to be done to get to the airport (GEG)) for our flights home.  I went down to the Davenport 'Business Center' to print our baggage tags, and our boarding passes, and was back in the room by 6 am, and then proceeded to pack for our trip.  By 6:30 am we were both done, and both of us decided to take a nap now that we had nothing to think about until we left the hotel at 8:30 am to head to to the airport (GEG).

We were out the door before 8:30 am, and driving to the airport a few minutes later.  The first leg of our flight was back to Seattle at 10:25 am, and we were at our gate by 9:15 am.  We had time for a cup of coffee and some pastries at the Starbucks store near the gate.  The flight to Seattle (SEATAC) is on a smaller prop jet, but they were full so I had to check my bag at the steps to the jet, and reclaim it as we exited the plane.  

We arrived in SEATAC on time, and had about 45 minutes until our next flight.  I had to check my bag again as we were flying on a smaller two engine jet, and it was full....oh well, we had to get our other two bags from baggage claim in Portland (PDX) anyway.  The flight south was beautiful, and TLE go this great shot of Mt. Hood as we were descending into PDX.  By 1:55 pm we were at AirPark picking up our VW, and on our way home......

.....we made the drive home in record time arriving at the Newell just after 4:30 pm!  We unpacked, and then I collapsed into my recliner to take a nap.  I was really dead tired!  We had a blast seeing our family, and attending all of the festivities, but now it is time to get back to our routine, and enjoy our wonderful coastal view.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

The big day.....

 7:40 am - Tuesday - June 1st - Seal Rock, OR - 52° F, 100% humidity, wind - zero mph out of the north.....crystal clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 67° F!!!  Must have brought some of that warm Spokane climate home with us. 

On this date in 2015 I was at the Emeral Bay vista point in Lake Tahoe with my good friend Tom McCloud......↴

TLE and I collapsed into bed Sunday night around 11:30 pm.  I was so tired when I got up Monday morning I decided to write about Sunday after we got home.  It was a wonderfully exhausting 4 days in Spokane, and as I write this morning (Tuesday) it almost seems surreal that I was in room 1214 of the Historic Davenport Hotel just 24 hours ago getting packed and dressed for our flight home.

Sunday morning, the day of the wedding, TLE and I took a walk to a local coffee house, Brews Bros. Coffee Bar, for some pastries and coffee...

.....while we were enjoying our coffee I glanced out the window to see my brother, Philip, and his family walking by, so we finished up and joined them for a walk down to the Spokane River before returning to the hotel.  I spied this cool building along the way....

.....the wedding was scheduled for 3 pm, and what wedding really starts on time?.....

.....around 3:40 pm the groom with groomsmen, and maids of honor arrived....

Left to right: Atticus, Brayden, Adrian, and Gemma....all grandkigs, grand nieces and grand nephews

.....and then it was time for the bride to be to enter......

Here comes the bride

The 'Kiss'

Martinis in the Peacock Lounge between the wedding and reception interlude

....the wedding reception began promptly at 6 pm at the Manito Country Club....it was an outdoor affair and the weather was perfect......

First dance

Father of the bride giving the 'toast'

The Hockwald Clan

The dance floor was crowded

A splendid Spokane evening for an outdoor reception

......when the dancing began the dance floor was jammed.  I don't know if I have ever seen such a crowded dance floor at a wedding reception.  We ate, drank, danced and laughed.....just as it should be at a wedding reception......until well after 10 pm.  By the time TLE and I arrived back at the hotel we were exhausted.  We took off our wedding attire and collapsed into bed.  After 4 days we were toast mentally and physically, but in a most happy way.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

More familia time.....

 9:11 am - Sunday - May 30th - Spokane, WA - 57० F, 51% humidity, wind - zero mph out of the north.....sunny, cool, blue skies today with a forecast high of 78० F.  On this date in 2018 we finished our hike to the top of Cadillac Mountain near Bar Harbor, ME.....↴

It's weird to wake up in someplace other than the bedroom of our Newell, in fact it is quite rare that we do.  We both slept quite well in the California King bed provided by the Historic Davenport Hotel.  We slept with two of the windows open, which kept the room quite comfortable without the aid of HVAC....

.....we planned to have breakfast with my brother Philip and his wife Jeannie at 10 am at their hotel, which is just a short drive from the Davenport.  I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to be able to spend time with them.  It is one of the downsides of our nomadic lifestyle that we do not see them as often as I would like.  

From there we both drove over to my sister Hilary's home on South Hill to caravan over with my other brother, Dwyer, his wife Lori, and their kids and grandkids to see my mother's headstone which had not yet arrived when we were last there in July......

.....it's so rare that my brothers and I are together in the same place, so I had to get an 'usie' to memorialize the occasion.....

....TLE and I needed to pick up a few things so we bid adieu to everyone promising to meet up at the wedding rehearsal venue at 5 pm.  We made a quick stop at the local Trader Joe's where most people were not wearing masks, and then headed over to Fred Meyers were we found conditions to be the same.....it is so nice to walk into a store and not be wearing a mask.....

.....we then headed back to the hotel  where I took a couple of naps, and watched a little PGA golf before heading off to the church for the wedding rehearsal....

Caroline and Jake have a large wedding party!

....the rehearsal, amazingly, was over by 6:30 pm, which was quite fortuitous as we had reservations at a local Mexican restaurant at 7 pm to have dinner with our extended family.  In all we took two large tables to seat all 18 of us....

Table #1 - the 'adults'

Table #2 - the 'kids' and grandkids

....once again I must say how happy this makes me to be able to spend so much time with everyone....this is life at its best.  Dwyer, Lori, Philip, Jeannie, TLE and I talked non-stop for over two hours....oh, by the way, the food was great, too!

And thus comes to and end day #2 in Spokane.  The main event is at 3 pm on Sunday (today)....time to go get some breakfast!

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

The wedding weekend begins.....

 1:54 pm - Real Saturday - May 29th - Spokane, WA - 69꠶ F, 26% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the north.....clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 72꠶ F.  On this date in 2018 we were at Thurston's Lobster Pound in Bernard, Maine partaking of some brews and apps.....↴

We had an approximately 3+ hour drive into Portland to catch the first of two flights to Spokane, and needed to stop off at COSTCO in Albany on the way to pick up TLE's 3rd pair of eyewear (trifocals-progressive), so we were in the VW by 7:50 am and on our way.....way too early for retired folk....lol.  We reached COSTCO a little after 9 am, and were on our way northward again by 9:40 am.

The drive north on I-5 was uneventful, and we arrived at AirPark around 11:30 am to drop off our car for four days, and catch the shuttle to the airport (PDX).  Our flight time was 12:50 pm, and we arrived at the terminal by by 11:45 am.  We breezed through TSA, and were at Gate C-8 an hour before takeoff.  The plane ended up only being two thirds full, so TLE were able to share 3 seats.....plenty of room to spread out our stuff.  The entire flight time to Seattle (SEATAC) is around 40 minutes, and you barely get to altitude when you begin the descent.  We were on the ground by 1:45 pm, with the next leg of our trip on a commuter prop jet....we actually walked out on the tarmac to walk up the stairs to our plane....cool.  We landed in Spokane (GEG) around 3:45 pm, picked up our luggage (everything arrived on time), and then our rental car (2019 Subaru Outback)....everything worked like clockwork....

.....my sister and her husband were hosting the first event of the wedding weekend at their home on South Hill around 5:30 pm, so by the time we reached the Historic Davenport Hotel at 4:30 pm, we had just one hour to get settled, take showers and drive up to their home....

.....we're on the 12th floor (the very top) in a corner room.....the suite is wonderful!

We were fashionably late arriving at my sister's home around 6 pm, but stayed on until after 9 pm.....it was great to see both my brother's, and one of my sisters....we bid all adieu and headed for home......that was a long day!

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!