Home from Lewiston

It is a beautiful Saturday evening here in Birch Bay. Our time camping with Max and then with Brandon, Danalyn, Max and Christopher in Lewiston was filled with lots of fun activities.

We spent our first night of camping in Leavenworth. We arrived there about 9:00 p.m. after a busy day of working and then getting on the road a little later than we had planned. Max was a trooper though and did a great job as traveler.

Thursday morning we were on the road about 9:30 and arrived at Ponderosa Falls in Cheney, WA about 3:00 p.m. The first thing we found out was that Ron had only made reservations for two nights instead of three. After some talking to the camp register, we found out that we could stay the third night, we would just have to move to a new spot on Saturday ~ not a problem we decided. After setting up camp we all decided it was time to go swimming. It is fun to be in the water with Max, known affectionately as "the fish." Max was in the water so long that his eyes hurt from the chlorine, though that didn't stop him from swimming on Friday or Saturday.

On Friday, Ron and Max decided to ride their bikes to the store (about a mile from the campground) to get a loaf of bread. Well, their two mile trip turned into about 10 miles as they forgot to make a turn and rode about 4 miles out of their way ~ they arrived at a beer distribution plant and Grandpa realized that wasn't any where near where they were supposed to be so they turned around. After finding their way to the store they came back to camp pretty exhausted and hungry. Grandma made a lunch of tuna sandwiches along with some chips. We tried to eat outside but the bees were out numbering us so we retreated into the motor home. In the afternoon Grandpa and Max played a round of minature golf ~ Max came out the winner. In the evening there was another swimming adventure.

Saturday morning we moved to a new spot, just across from where we had been originally. Grandma did some cross-stitching, Max and Grandpa went swimming (again) and just had a pretty relaxing day. Sprinkled in the mix of things was playing the Wii ~ Max beat Grandma at bowling and Grandpa at tennis.

Sunday morning we broke camp and drove to Lewiston ~ it took us about 3 hours. Max kept asking "how soon till we get home" ~ we think he was anxious to see his folks and Christopher. Sunday afternoon we just spent time relaxing and playing with the grandkids and chatting with Brandon and Danalyn.

Monday, Ron took Brandon and Danalyn to work ~ the Explorer had a dead battery so Ron chauferred firrst Brandon then Danalyn to work. We (Max, Ron and I) then went for a ride to Orofino and the surrounding area. We read some highway signs that talked about the story of the Ant and the YellowJacket and other Indian lore. We had a good day of sight-seeing and checking out the area around Lewiston.

Tuesdsay we caught up on the laundry and hung out at the house while Ron ran errands and got a new battery and cables for the Explorer. In the evening we stayed with Christopher while Brandon and Danalyn with with Max to the ice cream social at his new school and where he met his new teacher.

Wednesday was the first day of school for Max and Brandon. While they were at school and Danalyn and Christopher were at work and day care Ron and I went to the Native American Interpretive Center and did some more sight seeing on our own. Wednesday night we all went out to dinner to celebrate the first day of school ~ both Max and Brandon said their day went well and Max even made a new friend, Julian.

Thursday morning we were up and on the road headed for home about 10:00. We arrived in Birch Bay about 7:00 p.m. after a pretty uneventful day of traveling. In our travels, Ron found a scale and weighed the motor home ~ we are 18,000 lbs +! We are going to try to eliminate some things from the motor home before our big trip begins in September. Ron figured out our gas mileage and we averaged 5.5 mpg! He is always happy if we get 5 miles per gallon or more!

Friday we both returned to work and then spent the evening with Jamie, Suzanne, and Opal as well as Wendy, Bryce and Oliver for a hot dog bbq and time around the campfire. It was a nice way to end the week.

Saturday morning found Ron doing one job for a friend and then we ran errands and then relaxed the rest of the day.

Thanks for reading about our trip and what we are busy doing. Hope everyone is well and enjoying each day.

Alice