SUN VALLEY PART ONE

Fog forced an early Friday. I had planned on flying up on Kenmore air to the island to help mom close down the house for the balance of the winter, but persistent fog had cancelled all float planes Thursday and Friday was supposed to be a carbon copy day. The temperature inversion was crazy. Freezing fog and temperatures in the 20’s, yet high on Mount Rainier it was in the mid 60’s.


Rather than fly, I drove. To accomplish everything we needed to do, I needed to catch the 6:20 ferry, which meant a 4:30am departure from Shilshole. Groan.

The island was beautiful as always even with it’s winter gray coloring, but the chores were dispensed with in short order and we caught the 10:30am ferry back to Anacortes.

More chores awaited on the boat (the fan drawing hot air off the diesel furnace had given out after 30 years of faithful service), but Jodi arrived from Portland with an uncharacteristically plump Rex and we set out to find a new place to grab a bite to eat. We wound up at Burgandian, which was a nice treat. About 20 minutes after we arrived, Sue and Steve Hopkins unexpectedly arrived. What fun. Sue had just been interviewed by CNN regarding Lance Armstrong and her story had been featured on CNN.com.

We had to leave a little early to prepare for the long drive ahead, so back to the boat to pack and make final arrangements to leave for the Valley.

Saturday morning was another early one, albeit not as brutal as Friday. We met mom on Mercer Island then proceeded east on I 90, watching the temperatures rise as we gained altitude to the pass. Emerging from the lowland fog to a sunny mountain pass was uplifting and beautiful.

We split the drive to the valley into 2 days and stopped over in Ontario, Oregon, where the temperatures were hovering around zero. BRRRRR!! The only casualty was Jodi’s wiper wash system which froze thanks to Midas in Portland diluting their mix. A dangerous practice!

Sunday was a relatively short hop to the Valley and after arriving and unpacking the three of us set out on a nice walk on a local trail. It’s quite the dog trail and with tails high, Kuper and Rex sniffed and ran unleashed. Both seemed very happy.

Sunday was Mom’s 80th birthday and she kept up quite the gait for the 2 mile walk. I think she’s in rare form, being as fit and active as she is at that age.

To help celebrate her 80th some neighbors threw a dinner party and while she connected with old friends we met new ones and we all had a good time sharing stories. The clam linguini was wonderful and I could see how Mom and Dad really liked being over here with their friends.

Monday was a little lazy. Jodi was feeling the effects of the altitude, but we wanted a nice long walk, so back to the dog trail. This time we went a little further, and caught a picture that could have been skiing terrorists shooting surface to air missiles at unsuspecting targets. Or it could have been a contrail over Baldy. You decide.

The weather was great and Jodi took off her jackets and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

Once back we got ready for another dinner party. The Masts were old friends of the folks and years ago the folks were the catalyst to get the Masts to buy in the Valley. Their present home in the valley is stunning and the dinner party was terrific. Another couple, John and Kay were there and the conversation flowed easily. We cooked the food at the table on a hot stone. Magnificent.

One special touches at both dinner parties was the presence of Makers Mark. We made Manhattans at both dinners to toast dad.

Tuesday was the day for cross country skiing. Dad had a pair of skate skies, mom had the complete set, so we rented a full out fit for Jodi and I rented boots. It turned out to be a little like buying a near $100 ticket to be humiliated by your 80 year old mother. In an athletic event.

Jodi did OK on her ‘classic’ cross country skies, but I just couldn’t get the hang of skate skiing. Mom seemed to glide near effortlessly, making it look rather easy. “Push….Glide! Push….Glide!” she’d yell and she was gone. I’d push, stagger, nearly fall, slip and slide. I made it look very difficult.

There were younger folks who zoomed by with impressive style. Jodi and I definitely want to learn to do this, but certainly there’s a technique that one needs to master. For the record, mom has had years of lessons, but at 80, she can hold her own on skate skies.