RockingChairCorner: Remembering AWK

It started out as a plan to go to a Mariners game in commemoration of AWK, my father-in-law, who loved baseball. It would have been his 100th birthday on September 17th. We planned a trip to Seattle for the commemoration, seeing two-month-old baby Kaia born of Jess Fagerstrom and Matt Wuerffel, seeing relatives who live in the Seattle area, and seeing Liên and Bill who were visiting from Aiea.

Tom and Mary planned the outings for our one-week stay. Tom was excited about the outings. So excited that he wanted to keep the plans a secret to surprise me, and so excited that he wanted to share the plans with me. It was kept a surprise. I vaguely got a detail here and there, but I kept from trying to figure it out.

Day 1 – Travel Day and Dinner in Kingston

Tom and I got up early on a Monday morning, walked the children to their bus stop with Lan, and hopped into the Tesla to be driven to the airport by George. Lan rode along.

We had a non-stop flight from Austin. Everything went smoothly. In Seattle, we took the Link to the last stop at Northgate. Mary picked us up and took us to her house where we stayed the next seven days. We had a couple of hours of rest before taking the Edmonds ferry to Kingston to have dinner with Aunt Irene, Patti, and Wendel.

It is always a treat for Tom to take the ferry.

We met with Steve, Myla, Liên, and Bill who came over to say hi in the evening.

Day 2 – Mt Rainier National Park

Mary, Liên, Bill, Tom, and I started the day early. We took the bus to downtown Seattle and met with our tour guide Susan at Westlake Park. There were three other people besides the four of us. We sat back and relaxed in the van. It was cloudy and I worried we wouldn’t see the mountain. But we were blessed with beautiful weather.

We entered the Nisqually Entrance and went to Paradise. The parking lot was full. Susan dropped us off. We had some time to check out the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center before embarking on our hike. We started on the Skyline Trail, but detoured to the Deadhorse Creek Trail which was less steep. With Mt Rainier as a beautiful backdrop, we stopped for lunch, munching on homemade sandwiches and pasta salad. A chipmunk came to check out the food. There were lots of marmots on the trail. I missed seeing one that came too close to Bill. We saw a mountain goat, which was unusual according to Susan, and also a grouse. I saw an adult deer munching on the grass, but missed the fawn Bill, Liên, and Tom saw.

We took the Skyline Trail and Alta Vista back to the visitor center and saw Mt Adams clearly from the trail. The meadow was so beautiful with colorful flora. With the nod from Susan, a group of us took off for Myrtle Falls before going back to the visitor center. While waiting for Susan to go get the van, we took a peek into Paradise Inn lobby.

I’d have been pleased with what we got to see, but the tour was not over yet. We took Stevens Canyon Road to Reflection Lakes. I had seen beautiful pictures taken by my friend a few weeks earlier and was thrilled to be able to do the same.

Our first stop on the way out of the park was Narada Falls. It was a magical moment when the rainbow appeared and we felt Liên's baby kick for the first time.

Our second stop was Christine Falls. This waterfall drops 69 feet but the view is broken up by the Christine Falls Bridge, and the two sections are “notorious for being nearly impossible to photograph together.” At the lower waterfall, we found a spot for Liên to be photographed, trying to strike the same pose I did when I hiked to Eagle Peak in 1982 while pregnant with Lan.

Our last stop was at Twin Firs Trail where we saw old and large Douglas-firs and western redcedars. It was a short loop and I felt I did have my fill of hiking that day. I was ready to relax on the way back to Seattle.

Susan made a stop on Highway 161 near Eatonville for a last nice viewpoint of Mt Rainier.

This was my favorite outing on the seven-day trip.

Day 3 – Ebiking at Lake Wenatchee and lunching at Leavenworth

We didn’t have to leave as early as the day before. We changed the tour from noon to ten o’clock in the morning so that we’d have time to visit Leavenworth and got home by early evening. Liên and Bill drove their rental car. Mary, Tom, and I rode along.

I was somewhat concerned about the size of the bike for my small frame, but it went fine. I didn’t take a tumble which I was afraid of. The last time I rode an ebike was in Washington DC in November. That ebike was small and I was on paved paths with hardly any hills the whole way. But the trails of Lake Wenatchee State Park were unpaved and hilly. Our guide Christy was very nice. Knowing I was nervous, she had me follow right behind her at first. But later when we rode on paved roads, I felt more comfortable following Bill, with Tom right behind me. I experienced with all five levels of power and used the throttle at times. Christy took pictures of us and for us. We were treated to ice cream at the end of the tour.

Mary absolutely loved the experience and said she’d do it again. This outing was also Liên's and Tom's favorites.

Off to Leavenworth we went. Liên said the last time she was there was with Grandma and Grandpa when she was a teenager. Bill had never been there. Liên wanted to eat white chili in the Soup Cellar where Grandma and Grandpa took her. Mary wanted to shop around instead of having lunch. Liên, Bill, Tom and I each had a white chili bowl. All of us shared a sausage sampler. Then we went to the Taffy Shop where they had tons of different flavors. I bought coconut curry (my favorite), chili mango, green apple, huckleberry (Lan’s favorite), sour (grandchildren’s favorite), honey lavender, and licorice.

Steve, Myla, Erik, Karl, and Maddie came over in the evening.

Day 4 – Butchart Gardens

Liên and Bill left today. They were to visit with friends for the rest of their trip. Mary, Dave, Tom, and I got up early today to take the bus to downtown Seattle. We got off at 3rd and Belle and walked down to the waterfront. We were there early for the Clipper, so Tom and I walked along the piers and took some pictures.

We spotted the Bremerton Ferry poem taped to a post.

Little ferry floating under the flaming ball of gas

The burn on the bay flickers to the toy city of glass

Beneath dark water teeth and tentacles lurk

Behind sunburning windows people still at work

Creak of dock and squawk of gull

The divine reveals itself and that is all

The Clipper was not as much fun as Tom had imagined. You don’t get to walk around it as on a ferry. The group sitting in front of us claimed to have seen a whale on the way to Victoria, but we didn’t.

In Victoria, we took a bus to go to Butchart Gardens. We had three hours there, about the right amount of time to see all the beautiful gardens at leisure.

We ate dinner on the Clipper because we didn’t get back to Seattle until 8pm. We called a Lyft which took us straight to Edmonds.

Day 5 – Visiting Day

We took it easy today. We had a leisurely breakfast before having Mary drop us off at the Link station to take the metro to Columbia City, a few block from Jess and Matt’s house. Baby Kaia was asleep the entire time we were there. Jess and Matt gave us a tour of the house, including their backyard garden where the best tasting tomatoes were still on the vines.

Jess called a Lyft to take us to the ferry terminal to take the Southworth ferry to visit Tom’s friend Steve. Steve picked us up and took us to his lovely home overlooking the bay. We enjoyed watching the bay activities and the birds from his deck. Janet cooked a delicious vegetable soup for lunch. We took a walk down to the beach where we could see Canadian geese swimming with the city of Seattle in the background.

We took the fast ferry back to Seattle and then took the Link from Pioneer Square to Northgate where Mary picked us up.

Tom got together with Steve, Myla, Nick, Kenya, Maddie, Mason, and Peter at a pub in Edmonds in the evening.

Day 6 – AWK Commemoration Day

Bill and Liên stopped by in the morning to catch Peter and Nick whom they hadn’t seen during their trip. Jess and Matt also came to say goodbye to Bill and Liên.

Bill and Liên gave Peter, Tom, and me a ride to China Town on their way to the airport. We stopped at a Vietnamese place. Tom and I each had a bowl of phở before walking to T-mobile Park to watch the game. The home team didn’t win and that’s a shame. Mary, Dave, Tom, and I left together right after the 7th inning and heard cheers for the opponents' home run while walking out of the stadium. We took the bus to where Mary parked.

Everyone still in town gathered at Mary’s place to remember and celebrate AWK. Mary had ordered Ivar’s salmon dinners, one of AWK’s favorites, and a cake.

Day 7 – Edmonds and Tall Ship

Today was our last day in the Seattle area. Mary decided to give us a tour of Edmonds in the morning, taking a route she had worked out for her church walking group, highlighting the arts of the city. We started along the Edmonds Marina boardwalk. Mary pointed out statues of salmons at the fishing pier and other art works. We came upon a sleeping baby seal. There were signs telling people not to disturb resting seal pups, reminding me of notices I got from our Austin neighborhood about not disturbing baby deer.

Leaving the boardwalk, we went in town to see beautiful homes, statues, art works commissioned by the city on lamp posts, and murals. Taking pictures of murals reminded me of my friend Tuyết Anh who loves murals and my friends Mai Hương and Hoàng Lan who took pictures of Austin murals with me in July.

After the walk, we took the bus to Seattle to go on a tall ship. This was kept a secret from me until the last minute. Tom was disappointed that there was little wind for the sailboat. The outing was a pleasant one, nevertheless.