Recollecting a Goiter

Me (while looking at www.weather.com): Ugh, it's going to be warm tomorrow.

S:Whosawhatsits?

Me: It's going to be warm. 73.

S: (Makes a weird what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you face)

Me: What? I like fall. I like the sixties.

S: It is good sweatshirt weather...

Me: See? I can be a bum all of the time and no one can blame me.

Except, perhaps, for Overly Sensitive Military Wives (OSMW). They hate sweatshirts and jeans. But, you know what, they can kiss my Ga Tech sweatshirt wearing behind.

Anyway... Know what else fall means? Warm clothes for the kiddo! Except, erm... I put her in her jeans (which fit perfectly right now... well, with the elastic inside band pulled as tight as possible) and one of my favorite long-sleeved shirts... And her belly button was hanging out.

Tragedy, guys. A massive tragedy.

It's such a cute shirt, too. It's from Gap, long sleeved, with a pink sparkly poodle on the front and a little tulle tutu edge at the hem. Adorable. And now, relegated to the pack-me-away pile. After doing some quick reconnaissance of the 3T clothes--

(Me: How do you spell reconnaissance? S: r-e-c... (etc). You know, you could use reconnoiter. That's a weird one. Me: What does that mean? Is it a goiter that you recall in your mind? S:I'm going to just... watch... football...now...)

--And 3T clothes? Not so many. We have one pair of jeans, but the jeans are still a little long (her torso always grows faster than her legs) a couple dresses and about 4 shirts. No sweaters. Since S had staff duty last night (aka 24 hours of mandatory babysitting) and came home to sleep this morning, I took the munchkin out to the mall to see if we could find her some clothes for the increasingly chilly weather (the highs have been in the mid sixties... W00t). We hit the jackpot at Baby Gap, and came home with this treasure trove of goodies:

 

(Pretend you see another long-sleeved shirt like the cat one, only with a dog on it... No picture on gap.com *sad face*)

 

 

I'm not entirely sure how we ended up leaving with only black and white clothing, but at least I won't have to worry about matching... I  got a great deal, though. Everything was on clearance and was eligible for an additional 25% off, and then I get a 10% off military discount (Tacoma Mall Gap FTW! The one at my parents' mall won't give a military discount on top of a discount... suckage). The most expensive thing I bought her was the dress, and it came out to $11.47. Everything else was around $5 a piece. I couldn't have spent that on used clothes at a consignment sale, ya'll.

 

And yet, I feel guilty. I love shopping for my kiddo, and obviously she needed the clothes, but it would have been so much better for our adoption fund if she just held off on the growth spurt a little bit. Seriously, child isn't even 2 yet, and she still measures in the 97th percentile (in height) for 2-year-olds (she's in the 50th for weight).  I'm glad I was able to get a good deal, and I seriously wish I didn't feel like I had to watch my pennies...

 

I didn't buy anything for myself, though. So, I guess this means I have to wear jeans and sweatshirts all fall... Darn...

 



WHY IS IT SO HOT?!

Kill me, now.

(Screen shot origin)

WA is Trying to Kill Me

It was 93 degrees Fahrenheit at Fort Lewis today. 93.

That's hot in Georgia. It's just hell on earth when it's taking place in one of the cooler places of the continental US. Why? Well, if you missed it the first 542 times I mentioned it, we don't have air conditioning here. Most people don't have air conditioning here--it just doesn't ever get hot enough to justify installing one, and no one installs windows that are conducive to window units. But, of course, on days like this, you kind of want to maim whomever decided all of that was a good idea.

So, in an attempt to stave off the baking, we spent most of the day in the water. We took E to the outdoor pool on post, and spent a good hour there--much longer than she has ever stayed in the pool. She did beautifully, too. She was kicking and pulling just like I would expect of one of the 3- or 4-years-olds I used to teach lessons. She's even blowing bubbles and putting her face down in the water. She can float on her back, but only if I hold her hand. We tried some passing between us, and she's close, but not quite propelling herself, yet. I'm impressed; she's frustrated. She kept eyeing the other children in the pool who were swimming around by themselves (mostly with the help of life-jackets... don't get me started on the ridiculous rules at the pool), and pushing us away, but that didn't tend to work out so well for her.

After pool time, S went to the golf course for 9 holes, and the girls went for a walk (we don't do the 10-15 miles/day we were doing last year at this time, but we get in about 4 these days) before it got too hot. When we got home, we celebrated by getting in the wading pool I set up on the back porch. The water was cold but it felt so good after baking in the sun. Nap time came, then another dip in the water when S got home. Dinner... And then a trip to the splash park.

And you know what? I still feel like I am going to melt. Outside, it feels wonderful--it's about 70 and there is a breeze. But my house? Still a sauna. I have every window open and every fan speeding. I'm not yet a puddle... But for how long?

Post #90

Obviously, I have no good titles up my sleeve. Sorry.

I ordered my first Wittlebee box last night! If you have no idea what that is, it's kind of like Birchbox, but for babies/toddlers. Once a month, for $40, they will send you over $100 worth of designer clothing for your little holy terror/sweet adorable munchkin. You will be asked to fill out a style sheet, which helps them coordinate a box that will fit your needs (long sleeves, short sleeves, polka dots, lady bugs... you name it), and then you get a fun little surprise in the mail. I'm excited to see what we get this first month. Now, if you're anything like me, you're probably thing OMAGERHD, $40!?! Yeah... Well, if you use my link, you can get $10 (and I will, too, for subsequent orders!), and if you sign up, they will send you additional coupons. I was able to place my first order for just $19.99. If it's good stuff, I couldn't do much better at Gymboree or Gap (my usual baby store haunts).

I'll let all 4 of you who might care how it goes.

In other news:

• I have a water baby! S got home early, so we took E to the splash park on post. It's kind of like Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta (for all of you who know what that's like), so there is no standing water, so it gives her some independence in playing in water. We have tried to visit a few times this summer, but today was the first time it was actually warm enough to allow her to let loose. She loved it and we had to drag her away kicking and screaming (literally. kicking and screaming).
• We are learning Russian as a family. E: not interested. S and I are chugging right along, although neither of us are great yet (but, keep in mind, we just started re-learning yesterday). I am really hoping we can get E into it... It would be wonderful if she got even a little bit of another language (or two or three), just so it makes it easier to learn later in life. Besides, aerospace engineers need to know Russian--she's getting a head start. I am wanting to have somewhat of a grasp of the language for when we adopt sometime in the future.
• I need to remember to add the $0.97 S put in the adoption fund jug this evening.
• I have 96,000 words, but I didn't write tonight. I needed a break. I know what's going to happen next, I just have become too consumed by the Olympics to really get anything good down, so I just decided to take a night of rest.
• It's going to be hot here in the Northworst this weekend: we're talking 90 degrees. That's hot in Atlanta where they have air conditioning. I'm going to just go ahead and let you know: if you haven't heard from me in the next couple days, it's probably because I have melted.

Week 3: Community

I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking when I came up with this topic. But, apparently, I have to talk about my "community."

To tell the truth, I feel pretty community-less. I would very much like to be a part of the military community here, but it just doesn't appear to be meant to be. I know I've said it before, but I just feel lost here. Our neighborhood is great, but I don't feel much like a part of their community (we're at least 30 years too young). We don't live on post, so we aren't really surrounded with other people going through the same things we are...

I am no longer working or going to school, so I am not part of academia. I can honestly say I don't miss that (with the exception of the daily social interaction with other adults). Students drove me crazy, politics of working at a university drove me crazy, and I just think I would have ended up banging my head against a wall until I concussed myself.

I don't have any hobbies. I don't go to any events (wait, no, I go to a unit event every month. score).

I just feel lost.

This fall, E and I might try some mommy and me classes/activities. They have toddler tumbling and rhythm classes. maybe there is something artsy. We just need to get out of our routine, I think.

So, there you have it. I have no community. I suck. I should become a hermit.

Christmas Comes Early

We have this thing called a "coffee group" in the Army. Essentially, it's an excuse for the officer and the "management" NCO wives (or husbands!) to get together and socialize under the guise of doing unit business. Don't quote me on any of this, as my coffee group is the first of which I have ever been apart, but I dig it, nonetheless. It's usually a lot of fun to get together with your husband's colleagues' spouses and just talk about... I don't even remember what... and then spend about 5 minutes going over upcoming events to which most of us have no intention of ever going. Woo Hoo!

I have my own little hypothesis about how these groups came about. It has a lot to do with the fact that everyone used to live on post, 99% of the officer wives were house wives, and there wasn't a whole hell of a lot to do other than micromanage every teeny tiny aspect of "society" possible. Again, I'm basing this assessment off of countless biographies and autobiographies written about being an officer wive during the 1950-1970s period, none of which mentioned "coffee group." So, in my own little world, coffee group was the evil henchman pulling the strings of the Officer Wives Club (think DAR, Junior League, etc).

I'm probably way off.

Anyway, this has nothing to do with my fictional portrayal of the Hat and Glove Army wife era (that really did exist... I can't make up something that sounds that boring, now can I?), so back to coffee group.

When we got to Fort Lewis, coffee group no longer existed in S's unit. Apparently, the commander's wife and the FRSA (Family Readiness Support... Assistant?) got together for coffee and others were invited, but no one went. And I had a breastfeeding infant... No Bueno. Long story short, the battalion got a new commander and his wife brought back the glory of the coffee group in January. We meet once a month, a new person hosts every month, and she (or he) can do so wherever or however she/he wants. Our first coffee was a breakfast theme at the commander's house, we've had them at coffee shops, and learned how to make jam. It's all good fun, there's usually food, and no one really eats any of it. I thought I was hosting the coffee for this month, but apparently I was wrong!

Christmas came early, folks!



Who doesn't love an old picture of a Homecoming Tailgate?
And a ghetto one at that.

We got an email from the commander's wife (if you haven't guessed, she's our fearless leader) saying someone else was hosting... News to me, but obviously, very welcome news. You see, I was really stressing about it. Why? (A) Usually coffee group meets at the end of the month, and I am hoping to be in GA during that time. (B) I still haven't bought a carpet cleaner, so my carpets look all dingey (Washington dirt sucks, dude), and I really can't have people see how gross it looks (Except for Amanda... she and I have an understanding). (C) I wanted to do a football tailgating theme (Go Jackets!), but I don't know where I could do that that isn't totally lame. I thought about my "awesome" back yard, but I don't have any patio furniture (we thought about buying some, but it's almost winter here in WA, and that still hasn't happened, yet. Maybe next year...). And even if I did, that's still lame.

Oh, well. Thankfully: crisis averted.

Best part (other than me not hosting, of course): This month's theme. Death by Belgian Chocolate....

... Um. Yeah!

Air Show

Yesterday, we attempted to go to the air exposition at the AFB during S's lunch break. He came home, we packed up E, and headed over. We parked, walked a mile onto the tarmac and waited in a half-mile-long line to get through security. And waited. And waited. And waited. An hour and forty-five minutes into waiting, S had to go back to work. I called a friend to see if she and her family were already there, and when they weren't, I asked how close they were so I could offer them our place in line. No where close.

So, we left.

About half an hour later, I got a phone call from said friend who said "Where were you? We waited less than five minutes and walked right in."

Well, isn't that just fan-flipping-tastic? It turns out if we had gone through the back gate (many miles from our house) instead of the main gate (not many miles from our house), we would have ended up with other military families who didn't have to wait in the enormous open-to-the-public line. I wanted to scream and throw things. But I didn't. I was good.

To make up for my disappointment, S said he would take off most of today so we could try, again (he won't have a day off--weekends included--until who knows when. End of August, maybe?). We headed back in, parked further away, missed the shuttle (as in, the people who were already waiting for it had been waiting 20 minutes and there was no sign of it, so we walked. Of course, two minutes later, the shuttle showed up. Oh well). So, we walked the mile to the back gate and got in after a quick search of our camera bag, stroller, and folding chairs. Security was pretty tight--the only food allowed in was for medical reasons (as in you have diabetes and it's emergency sugar) and the only beverages allowed were breast milk/formula in a bottle or water in clear plastic. It didn't make a damn bit of difference to me, and I can appreciate the safety precautions on a military base hosting 100,000 people (well, that's how many they had yesterday).

So, we made our way up to the flight line, undid our folding chairs, and prepared to watch the show. And then it started raining. And was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. When the visibility got bad enough, they stopped flying for a short period. We let E go see some of the helicopters and Army vehicles, snapped a few pictures, and then watched some more. I would have loved to stay until the very end, but E was getting cranky, needed a new diaper, and S had to get back to work.

It was nice to feel part of the military community for once. It felt good. Special. Cold and a little wet.... but I blame Washington for that last part.

And now for the fun part (sorry my pictures suck...I'm not much of a photographer):

Reason No. 435 I need to Move

There is this volcano approximately an hour away from my house. It's pretty famous. Perhaps you've heard of it before?

Mt Rainier



I'm not going to lie. This bad boy scares the crap out of me.

Friends and acquaintances are always telling me that we must go hike it. Or see it. Or be near to it. Touch it, feel it, be one with the mountain. Um... No. It's a volcano, not a yurt. I am not going near that thing with a 20 mile pole. In fact, one of my friends invited me out to the river in Orting, and we went... I was terrified the entire time I was there. And yesterday, when thunderstorms began sweeping the area (they are very rare here... something to do with the mountains?), I was sure the thing was exploding.

Now that I come off as a complete nutjob, here just a few fun-filled facts about the active volcano that is lurking in the not-so-distant distance.

• I can see the VOLCANO Rainier from my house. Or, at least the street. I kind of sort of have to go outside and walk up the hill to see it over the trees, but it's there. Being a giant asshole.
• It's considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. Great.
• It's on the Decades Volcano list. Meaning: YOU DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYWHERE NEAR IT. (Also, who doesn't love a wikipedia source?)
• The thing is covered in glaciers, which means when it does erupt, all that ice is going to melt, rush down the volcano, and take out everything around it. And that's just the ice. Forget the fiery, molten stuff.
• An average of 30 earthquakes take place at the peak every year (source)... That thing isn't joking around.

When I respectfully decline going near that giant death trap, someone always tells me "it hasn't erupted in over a century. It's fine."

My response: It's due.

On The Fringes of Army Life

S has been under a lot of stress since the beginning of June with the battalion's current mission. It's a lot of really weird hours and work, and on top of that, his current commander is getting ready to leave, so he's also doing a lot of inventory for his platoon. Last night while eating dinner, S mentioned that he and the other officers in his company had been given the in-coming commander's mission statement--this is totally not about the mission statement, but I think the new commander's enthusiasm and excitement is a little much for the already exhausted company to take in...

...Anyway, that reminded me of the upcoming change of command ceremony, which he had previously mentioned he would like me to come to. I have gone to all of the change of command ceremonies since we got to this battalion a year and a half ago... which seems kind of weird. I am the only one, other than the battalion commander's wife, who has gone to them all. Or... any of them? I was feeling kind of concerned that perhaps I really wasn't supposed to be going to all those events since, well... no one else does.

He assures me that not only am I invited, but that the fact that I go to everything has been noted, is very much appreciated, and even the battalion commander has commented on how wonderful it is that I participate in that kind of event. I'm still a little skeptical, but S was quite adamant that it's a good thing. Okay, well.... cool.

This got us talking about the changing social climate of the Army. It's changing, it's been changing, and it's going to continue to change. Apparently, having spouses at change of command ceremonies was not only welcomed in the past, but it was expected. A lot of things were expected, even in the last 6 years, when he left his enlisted obligation for ROTC. Now? Not so much... If your spouse comes, great. Otherwise, no biggie.

It made me realize that I had no idea what it is to be an "Army Wife" anymore. I mean, obviously, the basics are true: be female, be married to someone in the Army. Duh. But there used to be so much more than that... For frontier Army wives, it meant being married to a West Pointer (enlisted personnel were unable to marry), having horrible living conditions, traveling in a rocking chair in the back of a wagon, and befriending woodland creatures (I kid you not... One of the best-kept frontier Army wife diaries chronicles all of the pets the woman kept... to include a squirrel and a deer). In the twentieth century, it included a lot of social obligations, especially if you were an officer's wife, donning a hat and gloves... Drinking lots of coffee... Even when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started, it meant FRG meetings, yellow ribbon magnets, strong sisterly-bonding.

But, now... Now, I have no idea. I have a few friends who are Army wives here at Fort Lewis, but none of them are in the same unit as S. My husband hasn't deployed since 2006 and there is not even rumor that he is going to in the next couple years. FRG meetings are quarterly affairs, and when they do happen, only a small handful of the other spouses bother coming, and those that do come are rarely people with whom I can be friendly without getting my husband in trouble for fraternization. Once a month, I am lucky enough to get together with the other officer wives for our coffee group, which is wonderful, but it just doesn't feel like enough to make an "Army life."

I've often wondered if the fact that we don't live on post has something to do with it. I don't feel like much of an Army wife because I am so far removed from it. I don't know what it's like to have neighbors in my same situation. Or hear the bugle at 1700 or Taps at 2300 (although, sometimes we can hear those things coming from the AFB). I want to have friendly neighborhood barbecues and watch my kid walk to school in the morning. Really, I'm probably looking to live in a small town in the South sometime during the 1950s minus sexism, racism, and more high tech gear--you know, people sitting on their front porch at dusk, watching their children catch fireflies and yelling to the neighbors across the street. But you know what I mean.

So, I guess this leaves me somewhere on the fringes of the Army life. I'd like to blame the lack of on-post housing (or even adequate on-post housing... but that's neither here nor there), but I'm not sure that would make a difference. It could... but who's to say for sure? It'd be nice to say "we'll just give it a try at our next duty station," but that's unlikely. Even if we didn't want to try to buy the next time around, we have too many pets to get on-post housing at most installations. Fort Lewis is the only one to take more than 2. It's just not in the cards for us, at least not in the near future.

Anyway, this is an identity question I have been trying to answer for myself for awhile. Am I an Army wife? Or am I just married to someone who happens to serve in the Army?

A Random Post

I have a lot of little things I could write about, but nothing terribly substantial. So here are some short thoughts:

• My cook-out for the platoon went well. We have a lot of left over potato salad, but not much of anything else. I even left some food for some of the guys who live in the barracks, can't barbecue themselves, etc. It turned out pretty freakin' fantastic if I do say so myself, and I might write a post in a few days about how to smoke using your regular charcoal grill. Because my dad taught me and he will never in a million years write a blog post.
• It sounds like a war zone out there. Here in WA, there are very few laws about fire works (it's so wet, fires aren't much of a concern), so everyone shoots them off. We were invited to go to our friends', but since we weren't sure about S's schedule, we declined (sort of wish we went, anyway!). Instead, we watched 360 degrees of fireworks from our back porch. E was unimpressed.
• When I wasn't cooking, I celebrated the 4th by watching House Hunters on HGTV.
• I never really ate a meal today. I sampled the cooking to make sure it tasted okay, had a piece of pizza, and too much cookie cake. Why do soldiers hate cookie cake??? Bastards.
• S got a letter from the powers that be telling him he has been pre-qualified to apply for Special Forces, Psychological Operations, or Civil Affairs (this essentially means that if he were to apply, they wouldn't immediately laugh his application off the table... I think). We're trying to get more information, but he decides to apply to anything, it will probably be Civil Affairs. If he were to get it, we would have to move to CA for at least a year. That sounds like balls.
• I really wanted a cocktail while I watched free fireworks from the freezing cold comfort of my backyard, but the Class Six (military liquor store) didn't have any of the ingredients I needed. They failed to provide the one service they exist to provide. Fail.
• My child loves sitting on the dog bed. Eww.
• Apparently, toddlers don't sleep through fireworks.
• Dogs don't like fireworks, either.
• Speaking of dogs, one of the dogs escaped the fence this afternoon. I was close to freaking out. Thankfully, he made a reappearance. Life was suddenly okay, again. Until he ate some of the leftover pulled pork. Asshole.
• The terrible twos kill the baby blues.
• Oh yeah... Happy 4th of July!

7th Anniversary Weekend: Part 5

After our wonderful breakfast, we decided to do a little window shopping. Port Angeles has a lot of nice looking antique shops, several book stores, a couple boutiques, a sweets shop, among other things. Prom dresses? Not so much. Unfortunately, not many of those establishments were open at 0945, so we decided to make another visit to the Olympic National Park, and try a few of the shops again as we came back through to go home.

So, we headed west a little bit to see the Elwha River valley. There is another park entrance and trails there, and since we had already paid for the week, we were able to go right on in. Unfortunately, E fell asleep on the way there, so there wasn't a whole lot of exploring, despite the gorgeous (but cold) weather. I am sad about the lack of on-foot exploring that ended up happening, so we are going to visit some other Olympic National Park locations this weekend, too.

Since hiking wasn't happening, we took the Whisky Bend Road through the valley, and it was gorgeous. We drove about 5 miles at 15 miles an hour, came in contact with some deer, some birds we dubbed "turkey quails" (have no idea what they were), and some gorgeous little waterfalls.

.

Turkey Quail

Turkey Quail baby

Deer!

Our awesome driver

Our gas milage coming off the mountain

We headed back into town and made a few stops, the most important being the one in which we picked up some fudge and a present for my brother. And then it was time to say goodbye to Port Angeles.

As we headed back down the 101, we stopped by the Dungeness (think crab!) Wildlife Refuge. We were hoping to find a beach, but we did find some incredible views, instead.

So, there you have it. Our mini-vacation in pictures. It was a really good weekend, and I feel like The Olympic National Park has managed to redeem the rest of Washington. I can't wait to go back a little more prepared for some hiking, and just explore. We got home and exchanged gifts (actually, I gave S most of his before we left--new golf clubs, golf shoes, and a driver cover shaped like Buzz)--he gave me a beautiful diamond and blue topaz pendent and I gave him a rare Scotch (which is pretty awesome, if I do say so myself). And, for the first time in quite awhile, I feel a little better about being stuck here in Washington. I know this is partly because it's summer and I can finally find some things to do, but I'll take it (and hope that this time next year, I am getting ready for a move!)

7th Anniversary Weekend: Part 4

After our amazing dinner, we headed back to the hotel to get E ready for bed. Having had only a semblence of a nap, we knew she had to be exhausted. So, we changed into pajamas, had some of that dessert we brought home, and tried to settle her down for bed. We turned out the lights, laid her down, and promptly went to hide in the closet in hopes that she would go right to sleep.

Wrong.

We thought she had finally settled down after about half an hour and crawled across the floor and into the bed. S, however, isn't nearly as silent in his slithering as I am, and as he climbed into bed, she lifted her little head up and decided it was time to jump and play... I think I may have drifted off to sleep well before she ever did, and I have no idea what time it actually was.

0700 came and she was up like a shot. I hoped against hope that she would go back to sleep, but it just didn't happen. So, I got up, and the two of us went to take a bath and a shower. We had S up by 9, got everything packed up, checked out, and went in search of breakfast.

We had planned to eat at the restaurant in the hotel, but I thought it sounded a little overpriced. After actually finally finding food, I discovered they were just about on par. Oh, well. Since the hotel was out, we decided to head into town (it was a 5 minute drive, at most). One restaurant seemed to be pretty popular, so we headed in. However, after 10 minutes, it became evident that there wasn't going to be a table any time soon, so we left in search of breakfast, elsewhere.

Enter: The New Day Cafe.

It was really quite wonderful. They, too, were very accomodating to E, and brought her a coloring book and her own cup of lemon-and-cucumber-infused water (so delicious! I am going to have to make my water like this all the time!). The menu is very vegan and vegetarian friendly, they get all of their food locally, and use organic meats, etc. E and I shared their Mediterranean omelet and S got sweet apple pancakes.

I think that was the first time I had an omelet from a restaurant that I didn't think "I could have made this better." I could have made it, but it would have been tough to make it as well. It was served with a fresh fruit salad (canteloupe, orange, kiwi, and some other fruit that E ate all of) and crispy potato slices.

I swear I took a picture of S's superb pancakes, but apparently I was wrong. They were perhaps the best pancakes I have ever had. There were thin slices of granny smile apples all through it, and was served with a homemade apple syrup. I am kind of jealous that I got the omelet, but it was so good, I'll live.

I am so glad we didn't stay at the other restaurant, because if we had, we never would have gotten to try New Day. If you're ever in Port Angeles, you should definitely stop in!

(To be continued...)

7th Anniversary Weekend: Part 3

After exploring the Olympic National Park, we decided E needed some down time. We took her back to the hotel, laid her down in her pack-n-play, and hoped she would nap for awhile. We even stepped out onto the patio for awhile in hopes that the quiet would lull her to sleep, but between it being about 55 degrees and E discovering she could reach the pulls on the dresser, it just never happened.

We had some down time, and then made our way back into downtown for dinner. If you ever find yourself in Port Angeles, keep in mind that the night life seems to be much busier than than the day life--it took us quite a while to find a parking spot! But find one we did.

S had made reservations for us at Micheal's Seafood and Steakhouse. When we drove through earlier, we were afraid they had closed or were no longer open due to renovations, but it turns out the restaurant is just located in the basement/cellar of the building. They were absolutely wonderful. Not only was the food amazing, they were very accomadating towards E. They have a children's menu, and the staff continually stopped by to loan her toys, books, color sheets, and crayons. She was pretty restless while we waited for our food, so the distractions were very welcome!

They brought E a t-rex, a horse, a car, and a little girl person toy...

S ordered a "Red Sky at Night." It was amazing, and I will definitely be trying to recreate one of these bad boys. It was scotch, cherry liqueur, and some other tasty juices... I might have a new favorie.

Adults can have fun with toys, too.

S had their sirloin special with a Bourdeaulaise (sp?) sauce, seasonal veggies (carrots and asparagus), and perhaps the best macaroni and cheese I have ever had. It was all pretty amazing.

E's cheese pizza. That girl loves everything, but it's always a guessing game as to what she is willing to eat at any particular time. She did eat about half of her pizza (the middle half). I was impressed.

I had the seafood stew. O.M.G. Our of this world. It was about 6 mussels, 6 clams, a fish filet, 6 giant prawns, calamari, squid, roasted red peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, all in a fennel-based cream sauce.I was stuffed, but I managed to eat all of the seafood....And what I didn't manage, E ate. She was a huge fan of the leftover cream sause/soup.

We ordered dessert to go, and ate it later in the room. E was just done with sitting [relatively] quietly in the restaurant. We ordered a chocolate pudding cake and bread pudding. Both were good, but not as good as we were expecting. I think that Chef Henry's Bread Pudding recipe has ruined it for everyone else in the world.

After we finished dinner, we walked around a little (mostly, we tried to find our car, since we were parked in a 2 hour parking zone, and had been there for 2 hours and 5 minutes. The sun came out for the first time all day, and we got some fun pictures of the town.

Canada (aka, that little bump in the bottom, lefthand corner)

(To be continued...)