Summer begins in Spokane

 It's almost the middle of July already!    We've been here in Spokane since July 1 and I don't know where the time goes.    

We had a relatively easy 110 mile trip from Ephrata to Spokane on US 2, passing by huge wheat, hay and rape fields.

Technically, we're not in Spokane.  We have a site at the Northern Quest Casino RV Park in Airway Heights, just a few miles west of the city itself.     We're only about 9 miles from Jesse and Erin's sweet old house so we can see them often.   

site 17

We spent last summer here also, but this year we have a large end site with lots of grass around us.   The weather has been wonderful so far, sunny and mostly high 80s.      A year ago the temperatures were in the 100s and the air was heavy with smoke.   

some dramatic skies but no storms

Since we've been on the road for almost 3 months already we've been using this extended time to take care of business.....as well as spending as much time as we can with Jesse and Erin.    New glasses, a few Beluga items that Dave wants to take care of, organizing some appointments for the fall, a bit of deep cleaning, and a veterinarian appointment for Lewis, and a few naps of course.

    Our house in Wickenburg doesn't have any stairs (yay) and since we've been on the road we've noticed he is having a little trouble with Beluga's stairs, his back legs aren't very strong anymore.     We'd like to make him a little more comfortable and preserve the mobility he has.     He's not on any medication and is happy and energetic otherwise,  so we wanted to see what's available for him.    We had an appointment with Jesse's vet last week and their feeling is that he has age related nerve degeneration.     A course of acupuncture was suggested and we were very fortunate to find a very caring practitioner who worked hard to squeeze us in for the 3 weeks of treatments.     His first appointment is this Thursday - Finger's crossed! 

Here are some pictures of our time with Jesse and Erin (and Molly and Dexter) so far.  First things first....

sweet Miss Molly

Dexter

As I said, the weather has been perfect.   Their backyard is just lovely, a shady grape arbor, beautiful plantings, a little burbling "pond" and a sunny deck.   We've been able to spend a little time there and it's so pleasant.

 

sometimes conversation is so boring   zzzzz

We took Lewis over to meet Molly and have dinner with us outside on the deck.    The dogs got along  well but didn't really interact.     We're taking it slowly, there's a big age and stability difference between the two and we want things to go well for all of us!

Lewis really enjoyed going deep into Molly's toy basket

One afternoon Jesse and Molly picked us up and we took a picnic lunch to Boulder Beach to see how sweet Molly liked the water.    She's relatively "new" to them and hadn't had a chance to show off her skills yet.    

lunch view

It was a weekday so the popular swimming spot on the Spokane River was very quiet.....just how we like it!     We sat and enjoyed our sandwiches and Molly waited patiently.     Does she like the water?   Yes she does!    Is she a good swimmer?   Yes she is!

focus

their eyes are on the ball.....can you see it?

she wags as she swims!

Erin had to work and couldn't spend the lovely afternoon with us....we all missed her.      

  After lunch and swimming Jesse gave us a little auto tour through an area of the city that he will be dealing with as the city's  new Executive Director of the Northeast Public Development Authority. 

One evening Dave and I went to dinner by ourselves at one of our favorite nearby restaurants, Latah Bistro.    Good food, good wine and nice outdoor seating.

halibut and tuna

Jesse's birthday was yesterday and Erin planned a delightful weekend at Lake Pend Oreille to celebrate.  She rented an adorable tiny house in the woods with spectacular lake and mountain views.   Google et al. evidently weren't  familiar with the wooded dirt roads around the lake and gave Jesse and Erin quite a tour of the area before they finally found the house.      We moved  Beluga to nearby campground and we spent the weekend together.     Friday night we had a cookout outside the tiny house.

I'm sorry I didn't take any photos of the little house, it was nicely done....sort of a wooden fifth wheel with a full, albeit small kitchen,  3 piece bathroom complete with washer, a sitting room and two queen bedrooms all with those views.....

Saturday we spent the afternoon outside at the house - did I mention the views?     We drove into Sandpoint for dinner at Arlos Ristorante (excellent food but....they ran out of cannoli, didn't they know it was his birthday?).

Sunday, the actual birthday, Erin had reserved a speedboat for the afternoon.    Not much better than an afternoon on a beautiful lake with dear ones.     Except, perhaps an afternoon on a lake with dear ones AND sub sandwiches and wine.   It was a windy day so we had some exciting runs across the lake to find calmer waters.     Molly couldn't keep her ears from blowing but she was stoic.

a happy man

don't ask......

We ended our day at Beluga for a birthday dinner of Manicotti and Strawberry Rhubarb pie.    The weekend couldn't have been nicer or more memorable.   

no manicotti for us?

We'll be here until the end of August, with another short trip to western Washington planned.   Stay tuned.