Rapid City

One thing nice about this retired life is the ability to up and go without working like a dog (at work) to clear your desk before leaving and then working like a dog when you come back, just to catch up. So without all the planning that goes into time off a rather quick, spontaneous trip emerged to the Black Hills, to meet up with my brother Tom and his family.

The plan was to drive down spend two nights and a day and come home. Ron said the only way he's going is if we fly. I hate to fly. A thousand things go through my mind: What if the weather turns bad and we can't get home - ever!; what if you (Ron) have a heart attack and I have to land the plane (I would spend my entire time saying "What?" to the tower, only after I figured out the frequency, because they talk too fast); what if we run out of gas in the air?; what if, what if... an endless bevy of reasons. I would rather drive 7.5 hours than fly. But I did it. My mantra was, "if Evie can fly coast to coast in a Cessna, so can I."

Three hours from Pietsch's front yard airstrip (the summer haunts for the plane, then it moves into Minot for the winter) to Rapid City, with a headwind! It went just fine, except Lacy threw up four times and we landed with a fierce side wind, again while Lacy was barfing. I was cool, sort of.

So the first thing Ron does, after I mentally kissed terra firma, is rent a car. A 2010 Camaro. With daily fees and insurance it got rather pricey, but the Ronson had a brush with his teen years or some stupid thing. It was the absolute dumbest car ever. He even agreed, after rubbing his head on the low roof, and climbing in and out of the low seats too many times. The only fun came when we were in the hills exceeding the speed limit. Goes to show at 62 you still can act 16.





My brother lives in Chicago with his wife, Nancy and their three children. David-10Elizabeth-5 and Will-4. Close friends know that I started my family way too soon, and my brother started his family way too late. But we are all happy and that is what counts. We wouldn't have it any other way!!!

We stayed at the Rushmore Plaza in Rapid City as Elizabeth had a dire request for a pool to swim in. Those very words were chanted by her Aunt Mary Liz so many years ago, when the Snyders would embark on a road trip. In my day most motels were "motor inns" with outdoor pools a tad bigger than a hot tub. Only big city stays had indoor accommodations. Anyway it was a short visit but fun.


David


Elizabeth after some beloved pool time.


Will - the tail that wags the dogs.

As expected Lacy was a smashing hit with the kids; a rock star in their world.









The last time we were together was when Mom died in January of '09, so we were overdue for time together. They had a full week planned in the Black Hills, including their four days on the road. We, as a group, did Reptile Gardens and Mount Rushmore. It was hot and plenty of foot work for us. The evening cocktails went down way too fast!










The following picture is where,nine years ago, Lacy also threw up. She was four and it was our first road trip as a family. We went to Laramie, Wyo. for Billy's graduation. En route we took in the Black Hills and down to Estes Park. Lacy only remembers throwing up at Mount Mushmore as she called it, way back when.



Well we made it passed the check-in window without any mishap this time. I just has to point out the spot as we drove through.












Fun is fun, but we all have our limits.

Less than 48 hours later we loaded back in the plane and headed home. Not without another headwind (worse) and skirting around rain showers - just what nervous Nellie needed 5000 ft above the ground. Lacy had Dramamine onboard so her coffee can sat idle while she slept.

While we were gone Velva had a thunderstorm with hail. One tomato got wopped in my garden and Ron's pickup did have some hail damage sitting at Pietsch's but unbeknown to us. It took facebook (pictures of hail) to learn about the storm night before.

Ballard

On Sunday, (way back in July, finally finished this post) after Robert returned from Singapore, we loaded up and trekked over to the Ballard Locks, more formally known as Hiram Chittenden Locks. Very interesting!

These locks are located in Salmon Bay, a waterway that was created to make this system possible for trade and transport. The waterway separates Magnolia/Inter Bay from Ballard, once again these are neighborhoods in the Seattle proper. The lock are where boats (big and small) can go from the salt water of Puget Sound into fresh water of Lake Union and Lake Washington, and vice verse. Until this visit to the locks I never thought much about the two type of water and intermingling, tech term - saltwater intrusion.



On the left is Inter Bay, and Ballard on the right. These locks are located in the center, before the rail bridge that opens and closes as many times as it needs to, to allow for big boats.




The busy rail bridge.



You can see the low water on the left and the high water on the right.





These locks were built/founded in 1906 and formally opened in 1917, July 4th.






Waiting to go into Salmon Bay, Lake Union (Sleepless in Seattle house is on/in?? Lake Union) and farther out into Lake Washington.


Boats ready to go out into the the Sound.

In addition to seeing boats of all design it is also a ladder for the spawning Salmon. Ahhhh, Salmon Bay.





After walking over the Locks we were then in Ballard, which just happened to be having their Seafood Fest. It was a nice outing. Should an extended visit to Seattle ever be on your map, the Ballard Locks are very much worth the visit. Cost: FREE!

Continued...

So back to the trip. As planned Lacy and I were to be Nicole's (Ron's oldest daughter)helpers while Robert does a week in Singapore for his company, F5. We arrived Sunday; Robert left Monday (for a 16 hours zing across the Pacific Ocean); Grandpa Ron came Wednesday; Robert returned on Saturday; and we all left Monday the 12th. That's a lot of SeaTac time for one week - picking up and sending off.

Allow me to introduce the Davis Reid family players:


Robert and Beau Davis (17 months)

Lainey Grace (3 years, 4 months)


Grandma and the munchables.


Deanna, Ron's 3rd oldest.


Deanna and Loren

Grandpa and Beau

Grandpa teaching Beau how to drink. Grandpa is elementary, Grandma is higher ed.

Some weirdo at the market. DISCLAIMER: not a relative!

Cooper, Nic and Robert's dog.

Lacy and the munchables.

Ron, Deanna and KC - dog of Loren and Deanna.


Nicole and her Dad.

Day one was Independence Day but by the time the fireworks were out and about I was toast. Oooh, let me clarify: just plain tired. I do have some cute shoots of the kids and a flag.




Then something went wrong and Lainey Bug had to do some jail time in the corner. I can't remember what it was. Just goes to show the truth of the nine day rule: will this matter in nine days? will you remember it in nine days? But I guess when you are three, the rule should be nine minutes. Sadly, I don't have a shot of Beau in the corner. When the time out declaration is announced, Beau dutifully goes to the corner for his sister. What a guy!! I wonder if I had my brother Tom that well trained?

Lacy proved to be a sparkling babysitter/auntie of diamond quality. The kids loved her and she would amused them for hours. The she would retreat to Facebook to keep in touch with the world as she knows it. Nic was so impressed she is considering her as a nanny when they go to Hawaii. I must have sucked.










Grandma would have GIVEN them a bath. Not Lacy, she took a bath WITH them (in her suit!). She daily styled Lainey's hair, watch Mrs. Wiggle a billion times, changed diapers, gave snacks, picked out their clothes everyday and told me, "I can do it Mary Liz, I'm not stupid." I guess the babies of the family feel empowered when they can take over for little people. She was awesome, no other way to say it!