Western Washington Fair

Hal writes:

Anna and I went to what would be the equivalent of a State Fair for Washington. Based on the geography of WA, there are three distinct regions of WA and each have their own fair. But the size of this fair ranks in the "top 5" size (up there with MN and TX) and is pretty much a State Fair.

On a tip from the locals, we drove a few miles from the fairgrounds where some friendly Kiwanis were giving shuttle trips to/from the fair from a Days Inn parking lot in a 1982 Ford 15-passenger van. It saved us time and money not having to fight with the traffic.

Some things to know about the fair we went to. First of all, mini-doughnuts do not exist. Crazy, right? Which leads me to believe this is one of the main reasons they are not considered a true state fair. They did have elephant ears, but it's just not the same. I had it in my mind that I was going to have a corn dog, but no such thing existed. Although their "crusty pups" were probably what I was looking for, I just couldn't bring myself to spend money on food that is specifically labeled "crusty". In addition to not having food on a stick, this fair is not known for any deep fried foods. Their staple item, since 1915, has been coffee and a scone. Here is a picture of Anna enjoying the treat. When in Rome...

After wondering around the food area for a while I decided to support the local chapter of Young Life and buy a turkey leg.

I know that I'm getting older when I look forward to seeing the displays. My informative years were spent applying my father's scientific knowledge in an attempt to beat the Carnies at their own game or wing at bingo with my grandma while my siblings took advantage of the all-you-can-ride wrist band times. But this time around Anna and I walked around to see the bunnies, birds, horses and even listened in on a 4-H speech contest. Pictured below is one of the top displays from a "small farm display" category. All that you see was grown my one family on the Midwest equivalent of a hobby farm.

The fair was a fun way to spend the Saturday afternoon, especially since I had a long, late Saturday evening. This being the first weekend after classes have started (and my first weekend on call), I responded to several scenarios between 9pm - 3am. I hit the trifecta: mental health call, alcohol call(s), and marijuana call all in the same night.

So, Seattle is supposed to be the rainy area, right? Well, it has only rained twice since we moved out here three months ago. So, for you Midwesterners who want to come visit, the 10 day forecast calls for sunny skys, high of 78 and no humidity. Anna took advantage of today's warm weather to give Riley a haircut outside. I estimate 1/3 of his body weight has been cut off. If the PT thing doesn't work for Anna, she can always go into dog grooming.

Move-in weekend

Hal writes:

This weekend was move-in and orientation at PLU. The fun started Thursday and kept going until classes started on Monday. Here is a picture of my colleagues and I on move-in day.

One of the fun events during orientation is "sound off". During this event, each hall does a hall cheer and tries to be the loudest, most spirited group. The picture below is of one of my halls during their cheering.


The PT Cruiser went over 100,000 miles this weekend. Anna was on the highway when it happened, so she wasn't able to take this photo until she got back to campus. Also, we made our last car payment (2 years earlier than the loan required!) so instead of having to send in money for the car each month we can now save money each month towards a future car purchase (but hopefully not for another couple of years). Hooray for budgeting!

On Saturday of orientation I actually had minimal responsibilities, so Anna and I drove up the Kitsap Peninsula and ended up visiting Poulsbo, WA. This is a small community with roots in the Norwegian tradition.

A picture of some of the shops, bakeries (at least four different ones in two blocks) and businesses down the main street. The store fronts all had Scandinavian architecture.


Anna down on the waterway in Poulsbo.

Our hodge podge lunch from a Norwegian bakery. In addition to the soup and sandwich, we had some amazing butter cookies and a slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie.

We decided to drive across Bainbridge Island and take the ferry across to Seattle on our way back. This was an attempted self-portrait with the Seattle skyline in the background. We were also going for the "wind swept" hair look.

Clouds over the hillside? Look again, that's Mt. Rainier poking up through the clouds in the middle.

A closer look at downtown Seattle.

And, of course, the Space Needle.

Austin's wedding and Staff Retreat

Hal writes:

As someone who works in higher education, not only in student affairs but as a residence life professional, I do not get to know the joys of a three-day weekend that includes Labor Day. With the typical move in (or preparing for move in) coming this weekend, I typically work during this time. I would say poor me, but then I remember that I get more time off during the Christmas holiday than others typically do, so it all works out well.

This weekend one of Anna's coworkers, Austin, got married. We drove north of Seattle to Kenmore, WA where both the wedding and reception were held at Inglewood Country club (known for, among other things, as the place where Arnold Palmer first golfed his age, a 62). The photo below shows the wedding set-up, complete with golf course and fountain in the background and the musician. I would call the music "cello karaoke" as the man playing the cello had it hooked up to a karaoke like machine that played the other instruments in the orchestra. Pretty cleaver, yet somewhat disturbing.

Here are Anna's coworkers. From left to right: Kim (PT), D'Lyn (massage therapist), Austin (PT Aide), Nancy (PT, Anna's boss), Leandra (PT Aide), and Anna.

While Austin and Annie are away on their honeymoon, we have been dog sitting their Maltese Hurly. As you can see, the morning of the wedding we were all a fluster with last minute concerns about the details concerning the wedding.

This weekend I also went with my 17 RAs on a staff retreat. Each staff does an overnight retreat between RA training and move-in/orientation. My group had two cabins on Anderson Island. I didn't take that many photos, but if you have a Facebook account you can see more photos of my staff and I on this trip. This is where the men stayed during the retreat.


The guys enjoying some breakfast burritos that Chad made.


Here is my staff (except for two of them) on the ferry ride between Tacoma and Anderson Island.

Am I lost while driving on the water? Actually, the 12-passenger van I was driving happened to be placed at the front of the boat and made it look like I was driving the boat from this angle.

Anna snapped this picture in the middle of me constructing "Hemmes", the new daybed from IKEA. I finished it tonight, so if you are ready to come visit us we have a new bed waiting for you. (Hint, hint, that means you should come visit.)

Other news:

Our friend Amber has a blog. She just began her year long pastoral internship in the Compton area of Los Angeles. You can hear more about her adventures here: http://amberincali.blogspot.com/

Move-in and orientation begins at PLU this Thursday, so I'll probably be busy for the next week until classes start.

Fantasy update: My baseball team got a first round buy for the playoffs this week as I came in second during the regular seasonal; my football team should be drafted shortly; this fall I'll be playing Pick 'Em with both NFL and NCAA football. Lots of virtual trophies to be had!