Father's Day on a Steam Train

We surprised Jerry with a Steam Train ride for this special day.  Darren came along... he was even our chauffeur!  The day was threatening rain... but, thank heaven, it never showed it's face...

We had a fun little journey, listening to the Click Clack of the tracks, the choo choo choo of the steam making the wheels go round and the great whistle the as we passed intersections!  Add to that, our friend Craig is a volunteer with the Steam Train (ALL the folks there were volunteers) and he was working at the last minute that day.  We left from Elbe and arrived at Mineral about 30 minutes later... 

A BBQ and Beer was waiting for us (and a the rest of the folks on the train).  They had a museum there and Craig joined us for some education on the trains.  A fun time!

A funny thing happened on the way to Mineral... A kid dropped his folks cell phone out the side of the train... Oh well... we thought.  Well, on the way back... the train started slowing down... seemed weird... then it stopped... in the middle of nowhere... and, yes, you guessed it, they located the phone, stopped and someone got off and picked up the phone... That kid was lucky!!!!

Topped our evening off with a visit to Top of Tacoma... a funky, cool bar up in the McKinley area.  Had Nachos and more Beer... and decided... the place deserves more visits!!!!

Happy Father's Day Jerry... We Love You!

Evening Cruise on the Sound with the Reunion Committee

Mike and Debbie Hoffman were our hosts on the "Lady Hawk"... a gorgeous boat and a couple who are the definition of hospitality!  Mother Nature cooperated and the Puget Sound was soft and gentle... tide was perfect and the skies were just becoming cluttered with high, thin clouds.... Can you feel how nice it was!

It was time for a Reunion Committee meeting and Mike and Debbie said come on board!  We brought snacks and wine... got settled in... and, yes, we even had a meeting! 

Mike brought us over to Wollochet Bay, docked the Lady Hawk, and we began our discussion.  Lynn (Brad's wife) Newark's SeaSalt Crackers were a hit... and during the meeting, we were all trying to keep our minds on the meeting and not those crackers!  With Brad, Mike, Knute, Debbie J, Gary, Liz, and my Jerry, we got down to business and came up with some good game plans.

Finished up... and had a pleasant ride back to Gig Harbor!  Thanks Mike and Debbie for such a fun time!  Thanks Committee for getting our plans more firmly cemented... 

Pacific Science Center... Imax, Butterflies and Lunch with D !

We're going to the beaches of Normandy in France at the end of July.  So much history and sacrifice that day 70 years ago; we heard about this movie at the IMAX  theater there in Seattle narrated by Tom Brokaw about that day-the days leading up to it and after it.  It was very, very good.  We are really looking forward to our visit there later in the summer and this was a great 'refresher' course on that history.

After the movie, we spent time in the Center and eventually found ourselves at the Butterfly Exhibit. There were lots of colorful little creatures... We enjoyed spending time in the area and took lots of pictures... way too many!

Met Darren for lunch... and he drives up in a brand new Volvo!  Sly little devil.... he didn't even tell us he got a new car.  Very nice vehicle and perfect for him!  He treated us to a great lunch at The Edgewater Hotel... overlooking the water... The sun was coming out and diamonds were spread out on the Puget Sound!  

It was a wonderful day!

Mother's Day with Mother Nature fully cooperating!

A low key and gorgeous day!  Started with donuts at Legendary Donuts, then Church Services at Jilli's church, Brunch at Laura's on the Bay.... a walk through Wright Park on the way to Tacoma Little Theater to see Bye Bye Birdie...which was great!....but it didn't stop there... home for a quick minute then off to a dinner in Gig Harbor picking up Darren on the way.  I must say... a perfect day! oh, we even took a new bridge picture!

Deck at Laura's on the Bay!