Trip to Vancouver - Day II

On Sunday, we meet for brunch. It was northern style Chinese dim sum which was new to us.

The food just kept coming and we had many unique dishes that were delicious..

(Sue-Sem, Ilym, and Sue-On)

Then we went to Aberdeen Mall to do more shopping. There was a great 99 cent Asian store but they do not allow cameras.

The display is made from M&M's.

It was a great weekend. We had a wonderful time.

Trip to Vancouver - Day I

Velda and I went to Vancouver Canada over the weekend to meet her cousin Sue-On, her husband Bill, cousin Sue-Sem, and Sue-Sem's daughter (Ilym), her husband Paul and their son Brendan. This was the first time she ever met Brenden, Ilym, and Paul and only the second time to meet Sue-Sem.

(Ilym, Sue-Sem, Sue-On, & Velda)

Velda and I stayed downtown.

The ice sculpture from the Olympic Games was outstanding. (That is suds in the base and not ice)

We lucked out with beautiful weather in the high 70's.

After we met up - first we had lunch. At a little place just outside the gate in Chinatown. It was so good!

(Velda, Ilym, Paul and Brandon)

Then shopping in Vancouver's Chinatown.

Which included stops at a tea shop.

Then a Chinese traditional grocery which had dried everything from ginger to fish to lizards. They had dried flowers called roselles which aid in weight reduction and detoxification.

Velda and Sue-On had to try (and buy) some.

Then to Sun-Yat-Sen Chinese Garden

(Brandon, Ilym, Bill, Sue-On, Velda, and Paul)

Then to Gelato store (218 varieties) for a snack.

Then for Chinese dinner. It was at least 10 courses that Sue-Sem picked out. It included 2 dishes of 2 crabs each. It was so good!

And then we took time for a group photo.

That was just Saturday.

Feed Me!

While Sue-On and Bill were here, they went out with Velda, Allison, and James to sample some of Kitsap's eateries.

First they went to Sluys Poulsbo Bakery for a snack. Can you believe it? They didn't buy anything. Maybe that's why he looks kind of sad.

I think I know what he is trying to say - Po Po, I want one of each!

Then they went for pho and Vietnamese sandwiches for lunch.

He cleaned his plate but not all made it in his mouth.

And then off to have a Camp Union Pizza for dinner

I think he was a happy camper.

Velda's Canadian Cousins

Cousin Sue-On and her husband Bill Hillman came from Brandon, MB to visit us for a week and to help Velda cook for the annual party.

Velda just met Sue-On for the very first time in June this year.

They were able to try Victor's Coffee- Redmond's favorite coffee hang out.

They spent time in Velda's gardens. These were Sue-On's favorite flowers.

To meet family and get some play time with James.

To spend some time at the cabin. Thank goodness for the hand ropes and the new steps Ron made. Sue-On and Bill were troopers for climbing up and down the trail. There are some significant drops and stretches to reach the beach.

This is the first time they have seen oysters on the beach. We must bring some home to cook.

This is Sue-On and Velda's second trip to the yogurt shop this week. They said they needed nourishment because it was hard work carrying rocks and oysters from the beach at the cabin.

Now I think Bill and Sue-On will need some rest from their vacation.

Open House

While Velda was at her High School Reunion.

Scott took Allison and I to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard open house on Saturday, August 13. 'Sorry No Pictures' were the signs so we have no pictures to post.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_Bremerton_Shipyard.jpg

PSNS is a lot bigger than I thought. It was a lot of walking and climbing stairs. We got to see where Scott currently worked (from a distance because the area was off limits) on the USS Nimitz. Scott did a great job giving the tour.

On Sunday, August 14, I took Allison and Scott to the Everett Boeing factory for open house. Again the signs said 'Sorry No Pictures' so we do not have any pictures to post.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Boeing_Everett_Plant.jpg

I took them to Final Assembly areas for 747, 777, and 787 (only a small part of the factory). I got a chance to show them where I worked. It was a lot of walking and climbing stairs. Allison wanted to hit up the gift shop and Tulley's Coffee Shop but the lines were so long.

I did not get the numbers on the PSNS open house but it was estimated that there were over 38,000 at the Boeing open house.

Where was James? He was at babysitters. His patience would have run out on those tours.

Velda's 40th High School Reunion

On August 12 & 13, Velda was at her 40th High School Reunion- Class of 1971 - Davis High School (The Pirates) in Yakima

She was able to visit with some of her school friends.

And was able to drive past the location of her old house (now a baseball complex)

She had a wonderful weekend. I couldn't go with her since I had an open house in Bremerton and in Everett for the same weekend of her reunion.

Fruit Thief

Every year, we do not get to enjoy the fruits from our garden. Something always seems to beat us to the fruit. Typically it is deer, rabbits, birds, or other critters.

This year it is James...

He can go through one picking of blueberries and raspberries in nothing flat!

Sometimes he eats with both hands because one is not fast enough.

Summer Projects

This week we had a bumper crop of fruit. One picking yielded 4 cups of blueberries. Raspberries not so much. I wouldn't make a very good fruit picker. I pick slowly so I don't drop any of the berries. We're saving some of the berries for James. He can eat half a pint of fruit easily in one sitting.

Here's my new piece of driftwood given to us by our friends Jerry and Caroline. Ron and Chris are pretty happy they did not have to carry it from the beach for me. Caroline got her two movers to carry it into our yard. She told them it was considered furniture.

Ron worked hard to build me a new brick retaining wall. Now we can walk on the upper level of the Asian garden on flat ground. 100 bricks or more later, the wall is done. Yippee!