8/31 - Visiting Friends and Relatives

Today we started out with breakfast in a 'dive' in Snohomish that Beth and Norm love. I thought it was pretty nice for a dive and it was pretty good too. Then we headed off to visit my Uncle Bruce, who recently turned 90. He is still sharp but not as active in the past and it was great to see him.

Next up was lunch at a sushi place on Lake Union, looking at the kayaks and fancy boats. On our way to visit Aunt Dee (now 96), Beth showed us the troll under the Union Lake bridge -- it was quite different than I expected. We have a troll in San Francisco on the Bay Bridge, but it is a smallish iron concoction. This one is huge, concrete and is squashing an actual Volkswagen Beetle in its hand -- much more like the trolls in fairy tales.

The car is mostly buried on the right side by the 2 girls.

Aunt Dee is doing well in the facility she is in and I was glad to see that she remembered me. I don't get to Seattle often and may not have seen either of these folks for 10 years. It was a good reminder not to let too much time go by, as the years do take their toll.

We finished the evening visiting friends, Karen and Rick, whom we met on our trip to Australia and promised to keep in touch with. After 3 months apart, I wondered if we would still connect as well as I remembered, but I shouldn't have worried -- it was like no time had gone by at all. I just wish they didn't live 800+ miles away.