Back in Washington

It has been almost two months since I have written for my blog.    We haven't camped but we sure have been busy.   On the way home from Tucson, we stopped in Vancouver to catch up with family and friends before heading north to Brier.    We had put our Brier home of 24 years up for sale with the local realty company.    The spring market had limited inventory and things were selling fast.    Our house sold in 10 days for full price to a well qualified buyer.    Once the offer was completed we moved the motor home into the driveway and began the process of inspection and repair.    While we were there we spent time with family and friends.    Tim & Monette (neighbors on the street) organized a neighborhood party to say "so long".   By the end of April we were ready to head down to Vancouver and look for a new home.   Of course it will have a nice guest room so everyone from the Seattle area can come visit us there.



We spent a few days with sister Alta and family in Centralia.    In Vancouver, we "camped" at Van Mall RV park.   The beauty of this RV park is that it is close to the people we spend time with.   The drawback is that it is basically a parking lot between two freeways.   Not the prettiest place to stay but very convenient.   Nana is about 5 minutes away from Isabelle and is there often.   On Mondays and Tuesdays, I have the very fun assignment of picking her up from pre-school and playing with her until Mom and Dad get home from work.   Shannon has a job share as a nurse at Isabelle's Drs which is perfect for a young mom.   For mother's day, Erik organized a family dinner at a cute bistro in Portland that has a paella night once a month.   I had mentioned that I love paella and he jumped into action.   It was great fun.
 



John and I did have a beautiful May day in the Columbia Gorge.    We hiked 2 waterfalls, Latourel and Wahclella.    It was sunny warm and perfect for hiking.    The scenery was spectactular.    The snowmelt on a hot day meant the waterfalls were raging.
 
 
On May 4th John, LeAnne and Chris flew to England for a Dad and Daughter Coast to Coast walk.    They have been planning it for months and finally the day came.   They will be gone 3 weeks until May 26th.    The walk is 200+ miles and takes 16 days.    Chris is able to do half the walk before returning home to the family.    LeAnne and John will walk the entire 200 miles.   Then they plan to spend a few days in York, England before flying back.   I'm sure the stories and pictures will fill multiple blogs, but that will have to wait for John's return.   In the meantime, I'll post a couple pictures that they sent me.

While John was playing, I was busy shopping for a new house.    Of course, there is much drama in buying a house, especially when you only move every 20 years or so and then try to do it while your husband is thousands of miles and 8 hours of time zone away.    We found a condominium complex that we really like.    It is about 15 years old, in excellent condition, and has big decks and lots of lovely green space.   We have been used to our home in Brier which has such a beautiful private yard and beaver pond.   Many of the condo complexes feel very cramped.    We love the openness of Whipple Creek.    The first unit that we made an offer on had a number of problems that showed up in the inspection.    It was a difficult decision but we decided to opt out.    As I write this, we have an offer on a second unit.    It is light, airy and spacious feeling with a beautiful deck, trees, and green space.    We should know very soon if our offer is accepted.    Wish us luck.

So that is my update for the past two months back at home in Washington.    Life is Good (with a capitol G)!