While living in Hong Kong has it advantages, Christa does miss her many friends in the US. So every summer she has rented a house or houses in the US and uses them as base camps for visiting with friends and family.
This year she stayed in New York, Greenwich, Maine, Crested Butte, Seattle (Lake Sammamish) and Suncadia (in the mountains just outside of Seattle). We feel very blessed that Christa invites us to stay with her at various times to get reacquainted with the kids and her and Nash. For me it was great just to have time sitting around playing Grandpa to my incredible grand kids. Added to everything else was the fact that Seattle was enjoying one of the best summers on record. You can't beat Seattle when the weather is good.
With Christa limited in her ability to do things, Meryl and I got double duty with the kids, which was great fun. Our son Brad and his family came down several times and soon everyone was in the hot tub (As a kid it was hard to ever get Brad out of the water, rather a hot tub, Lake Sammamish, or one of the local rivers.)
We alternated time between naps (the kids and us), kayaking trips down the lake, and long walks on the Lake Sammamish Trail that ran right behind the house. What a great way to spend a Seattle summer.
Like all cruisers, we did spend a lot of time tracking down sailboat parts, provisions, and going to various medical appointments during our time home.
I spent a lot of time talking with Don, the very friendly neighbor who owned the yellow lake house Christa was renting. One thing led to another and it turned out Don's dad had built a Thunderbird sailboat (the same type we owned for 20 years) in his garage. An even greater coincidence was that Don was childhood friends with an old sailing buddy of ours, Rod Johnson. Don brought over family photo albums showing his family and the Johnson's sharing Christmas holidays together. One very sad note, Don's wife had just been moved home from hospice and died the day we moved in, so it was a very difficult time for he and his family.
On a lighter note, one of my goals was getting my new grandson, Conner, to learn how to go down stairs. His dad, Nash, did a great job teaching him to go up, but going down was kind of crash and burn. Since the rental house had a nice spot with just three stairs, Conner and I worked and worked on his technique. He was great once he got going; the trick was teaching him to turn backwards before going down. He was very determined, however, and eventually got the hang of it. I loved the way he kept looking up at me as if to say "So how am I doing, Grandpa?"
Hope I still have an arm left when you are big enough to catch a football. Good times, little guy.
This year she stayed in New York, Greenwich, Maine, Crested Butte, Seattle (Lake Sammamish) and Suncadia (in the mountains just outside of Seattle). We feel very blessed that Christa invites us to stay with her at various times to get reacquainted with the kids and her and Nash. For me it was great just to have time sitting around playing Grandpa to my incredible grand kids. Added to everything else was the fact that Seattle was enjoying one of the best summers on record. You can't beat Seattle when the weather is good.
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| Just chillin' with the grand kids. |
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| The three loves of my life. |
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| Conner gets some tummy time with Uncle Brad. |
With Christa limited in her ability to do things, Meryl and I got double duty with the kids, which was great fun. Our son Brad and his family came down several times and soon everyone was in the hot tub (As a kid it was hard to ever get Brad out of the water, rather a hot tub, Lake Sammamish, or one of the local rivers.)
We alternated time between naps (the kids and us), kayaking trips down the lake, and long walks on the Lake Sammamish Trail that ran right behind the house. What a great way to spend a Seattle summer.
Like all cruisers, we did spend a lot of time tracking down sailboat parts, provisions, and going to various medical appointments during our time home.
I spent a lot of time talking with Don, the very friendly neighbor who owned the yellow lake house Christa was renting. One thing led to another and it turned out Don's dad had built a Thunderbird sailboat (the same type we owned for 20 years) in his garage. An even greater coincidence was that Don was childhood friends with an old sailing buddy of ours, Rod Johnson. Don brought over family photo albums showing his family and the Johnson's sharing Christmas holidays together. One very sad note, Don's wife had just been moved home from hospice and died the day we moved in, so it was a very difficult time for he and his family.
On a lighter note, one of my goals was getting my new grandson, Conner, to learn how to go down stairs. His dad, Nash, did a great job teaching him to go up, but going down was kind of crash and burn. Since the rental house had a nice spot with just three stairs, Conner and I worked and worked on his technique. He was great once he got going; the trick was teaching him to turn backwards before going down. He was very determined, however, and eventually got the hang of it. I loved the way he kept looking up at me as if to say "So how am I doing, Grandpa?"
Hope I still have an arm left when you are big enough to catch a football. Good times, little guy.
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