Sam- He is walking, talking, and eating with a fork!

Sam is now traveling down the road on his two legs. No more crawling. He has even got past his first "mummy" walk and now is taking off very efficiently.

His word vocabulary is increasing along with his eating skills. He is a great eater and consumes a variety of different foods. Sarah and Jeff have started him using a fork. He is so pleased when he is able to place his food in his mouth with that utinsel.

After he uses his fork, everyone claps and shouts "Hurray!". Here is how Sam reactes to his eating success.

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Parting Shots

Uncle Gary supplied this great photo of Pugent Sound taken from Mt. Erie near LaConner, Washington. Even though the clouds obscured the view of the mountain when we visited, this shot of Mount Baker was taken today from their porch.

Birthday on the Ocean Beach Train

Yep, three years ago Judy celebrated her birthday at Mount St. Helen's and this year it was on the Pacific Ocean. Notice that Judy is not too much of hamming it up for photos.





The Davis family surprised her with a delicious cake.







Aunt Pauline, who is the oldest of the Davis brothers and sisters, had to get involved in the festivities.





On this day we drove up the beach to Ocean Shores to go shopping. Along the way we passed several folks on horseback. I would like to try this activity if only they had a crane to place you on and off the horse.













Along the coast, the scientists have established a tsunami warning system. I am not certain that we could have heard this tsunami warning siren because our crew kept ringing the train's bell!







This will be the final blog about our Northwest vacation. There are many other things to tell, but you get the idea that we had a glorious time with a very special part of our family. I will leave you with a few photos of sunset on the ocean. We Atlantic people are used to only sunrise on the ocean, so this is a special sight!

Can We Fly a Kite?

Oh, excitement was certainly in the air when Uncle Gary got out his super duper kite. This is one of those stunt kites that will do dips and loops to the amazement of all nearby. The kite expert onfolded his kite and proudly unfurled the long yellow tail.

After 15 minutes there seemed to be a problem. Could Uncle Gary not figure out how to erect this marvel of the wind? Nope, seems Uncle Bob came over to see if he could help. Well, we still waited for the launch.

Oh no! Uncle Gary is reading the directions. You know how we men are! Never read the directions unless it is the absolutely the last possible alternative. Guess the directions said "stand on the kite but be certain to jump if it launches prematurely."

As the folks finally gathered to get ready for the launch, notice there is a haze forming over the beach. It came in quickly!

The kite is launched. It is flying wonderfully for 3 to 4 minutes when an environmental disaster occurred.

All the observers started to get lost in a quick moving fog and a cold wind blew over the beach. The observers headed back to the van with Uncle Gary and his fabulous flying machine all alone with the fog starting to surrounding him.

The fog came so fast that it became difficult to see. Uncle Gary had to abort his flight plans and quickly disassemble the kite! On the way home, it was impossible to see to drive the van. We inched our way along the shore and finally discovered the access to the hard road. As soon as we left the beach, the sun returned and the fog left as quickly as it appeared. Twas a fun kite flying session.

Walk To The Pacific

During our train vacation, we walked everyday to Ocean Beach. This path to the beach was not obvious the first day. After arriving at the ocean, Sister Judy and I meandered on our way back to our abode and ended in a RV park. After finding a hole in the "security fence" we finally made it back home. Here is the path to the beach. Many side paths crisscross each other. No fear! Tracker Jim became expert at finding the way for our group.



Once we walked out of the dune area, the Pacific was still quite a distance. This beach is massive and unpopulated. Looking back from the ocean one can see the Olympic range with its snow capped mountains. I never have been to a beach where one has this special sight. You will notice Uncle Gary's van on the beach. He and Mom Meads beat us to the ocean. What I found odd was that cars can drive on the beach. At low tide we traveled from Ocean Beach to the town of Ocean Shores, a distance of 5 miles.



I love this photo of sister Judy and Mom. Mom is 83 years young and she really loves to walk along the ocean.






The Pacific water is very cold! There is always a kid who braves the elements and is actively surfing. We geratric folks need water to be at least 90 degrees before we enter!

It was special to share this time with my sister. Often during the year we are so busy in our own world that an extended sharing adventure is rare. These two weeks were great!

Uncle Gary and wife Judy are making close scientific observations on this piece of driftwood. Speaking of Uncle Gary- tomorrow we will post Gary's Kite Flying Adventure!

ALL ABOARD!

After a fun time on Camino Island, we traveled on Saturday to Bellingam for the Davis Reunion. We had a great time sharing with our west coast relatives. We returned to Seattle (Burien) and got ourselves prepared for a Pacific Ocean experience.

Monday we traveled to Ocean Shores. On our way we had lunch at a great little restaurant called the Rusty Tractor. You guessed it- rusty old tractors were every place on the property. Judy and I ordered breakfast. The biscuits were called "cow patties". They were indeed a duplication of the size of a large cow scat. I know it does not sound appetizing , but they were hugh and yummy.

We arrived in Ocean Shores around 3:30. The Davis family had rented a train to stay in during our four day beach vacation. Yep, a train! It was fantastic. It was by the beach and consisted of 2 Caboose cars and a Pullman passenger train remodeled into a wonderful home. Chek out the train's website at http://www.vrbo.com/94156 .

One of the two cabooses was remodeled into the kitchen area. This was our area to dine and to play those wonderful games.

Here is Judy descending the steps from the ktchen. Just behind her is a rope outside the kitchen door where one can ring the train bell.


The second caboose was our bedroom with a private bath and utility area that housed the washer and dryer.



All these train cars were connected and it felt as if you were actually on a fancy train. The pullman passenger car was very long




with a living room area and several bathrooms.


This area also consisted of a long hall with three bedrooms.

The decks were extremely comfortable. There was even a koi pond to the right of this sitting area.


Did I mention the hot tub? This was a wonderful and unique experience.

LaConner

As I am writing this, the temperature has reached 100 degrees in downtown Glenville. Boy, this humidity and temperature are a far cry from our visit on Friday to LaConner, Washington. During the day of our visit, it was a pleasant 70 degrees with low humidity.

Situated on the delta near the mouth of the Skagit River, La Conner was founded in the early 1860's and is Skagit County's oldest community. Today, La Conner is a balance of people who work and live here, including the Swinomish Tribal Community, Shelter Bay residents from across the Channel, fishermen, farmers, artists, and carpenters - a diverse mix of cultures and educational backgrounds. If you need a place to relax and browse through interesting shops and art galleries, if you want to watch the waterfront or enjoy fine restaurants, inns and bed & breakfasts, then you will enjoy La Conner. La Conner is on the National Registry of Historic places



We treated ourselves to a lunch at the market and, as we dinned on the open deck, we enjoyed watching the boats passing by. Our crew all ordered ruben sandwichs and s bowl of prawn chowder. This was definitely a yummy lunch.






LaConner has many neat shops. There are sculptures located throughout the town. The arts community here is certainly active.


Here Mom and Judy are petting a bronze puppy. I am sure this pet would be low maintanence. There would be no brushing, walking, feeding, vet bills, or cleanup after this pet.

Let me tell you tomorrow about our life in a train on the beach!