Year 2 Days 281 and 282 A Long Passage Nearing An End

We left Lansing, Michigan over 6 weeks ago, with a goal of crossing the northern states of the Midwest and Western US, arriving in Blaine, Washington. The journey would mean driving about 3000 miles and crossing the Mississippi River, the grassy plains, going over and through both the Black Hills of South Dakota and the northern part of the Rocky Mountain Range, crossing the scablands of eastern Washington, cresting the Cascade Mountain Range and then traveling along the roads that line the eastern shore of the Puget Sound of the Pacific Northwest, finally arriving in Blaine, literally abutting the border of Canada, just south of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Well, with luck, tomorrow we will meet this goal, arriving in Blaine during the mid to late afternoon hours. We still have a 5-hour drive ahead of us, covering over 250 miles with the worst part of having to fight the notorious Seattle area traffic. Ugh!

Our reward will be spending two weeks with my brother, Don, and his wife, Debbie. They have recently moved here to start Don’s retirement from his post as a distinguished chair at the University of Connecticut. We are looking forward to seeing them again: spending time catching up, playing a little golf, maybe cruising some on their 45-foot cruising trawler and touring the area they now live in. Both Don and I were born in Washington and we have many relatives from my dad’s side of the family that live in Washington. We do not believe we will have much time available to visit with our relatives since most live down in the Seattle area. However, Mary Margaret and I did visit with most of them just three years ago and it was wonderful catching up. Plus, we were able to see my cousin, Ken, and his wife, Karen, last October when they were visiting Scottsdale, AZ and we were camping a few miles away in Mesa, AZ.

I must admit, I am looking forward to Don’s killer margaritas. He has a special skill in making various versions of that nectar of the gods. Slurping down one of these is pure joy!