My step-brother Steve planned a couple of dinners to honor his wife Linda. Linda died of cancer in January at age 62. Steve's idea was to host these dinners to share memories of Linda and to have a good time thinking about her. We went to the first dinner Thursday in Tacoma. It was melancholy at times, uplifting at other points. We got to meet Carl, Linda's brother, for the first time, as well as Carl's daughter April and April's two sons. We had briefly met April before in Tucson when visiting Steve and Linda.
On Friday morning, I went out for my usual early morning walk. Among other places, I walked through Wapato Park - a city of Tacoma park.
Many people were out walking and enjoying the morning, including this family.
After breakfast, we drove south and stopped at McChord Field, which is now an Air Force Reserve base that is part of Joint Base Lewis McChord - the combination of the former McChord AFB and Fort Lewis. It is home to the 446th Air Wing, the unit which flies the C-17 cargo planes for Operation Deep Freeze - these are the planes and people that fly Megan and Jon from Christchurch, New Zealand to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Patty was able to replace her expired DOD Dependent ID card and we went to the BX - it is one of the largest in the world and has a much bigger inventory and variety than others I have visited.
Friday was also my sister Helen's 70th birthday, so I had to send her a photo of this sign.
We then drove south for a little over an hour, then had lunch in Castle Rock before heading to the Mt. St. Helens National Visitors Center. This was very nice and educational, with a 15 minute movie and much documentation of the eruption of 1980 as well as the history of prior eruptions.
After exploring the visitors center, we walked the trail through the marshy part of Silver Lake - much flora and avian life in the shallow waters where the trail took us.
This visitors center is run by the state of Washington Parks Service - next time we return, we will have to visit the federal Mt. St. Helens National Monument and their visitor centers, viewpoints and trails. That will be an easy day trip, as it is only a little over an hour from Portland.
On Friday morning, I went out for my usual early morning walk. Among other places, I walked through Wapato Park - a city of Tacoma park.
Many people were out walking and enjoying the morning, including this family.
After breakfast, we drove south and stopped at McChord Field, which is now an Air Force Reserve base that is part of Joint Base Lewis McChord - the combination of the former McChord AFB and Fort Lewis. It is home to the 446th Air Wing, the unit which flies the C-17 cargo planes for Operation Deep Freeze - these are the planes and people that fly Megan and Jon from Christchurch, New Zealand to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Patty was able to replace her expired DOD Dependent ID card and we went to the BX - it is one of the largest in the world and has a much bigger inventory and variety than others I have visited.
Friday was also my sister Helen's 70th birthday, so I had to send her a photo of this sign.
We then drove south for a little over an hour, then had lunch in Castle Rock before heading to the Mt. St. Helens National Visitors Center. This was very nice and educational, with a 15 minute movie and much documentation of the eruption of 1980 as well as the history of prior eruptions.
After exploring the visitors center, we walked the trail through the marshy part of Silver Lake - much flora and avian life in the shallow waters where the trail took us.
This visitors center is run by the state of Washington Parks Service - next time we return, we will have to visit the federal Mt. St. Helens National Monument and their visitor centers, viewpoints and trails. That will be an easy day trip, as it is only a little over an hour from Portland.
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