Washington Adventures

We had a great time in Washington this weekend. It was an adventure: flooding, an overcrowded Motel 6 in Centralia, Bob almost stuck in Portland, the Country Cousin, Vis almost stuck in Portland, the bowling alley u-turn debacle, Devyn and Ryan getting married...the list goes on. And it was all a blast. Here are some pics to highlight the adventure. We flew in on Thursday morning, and arrived in Seattle at about 11am Pacific time. We decided to spend the day there before heading down to Centralia (and the floods). We did fairly typical touristy stuff, since it was our first time in Seattle.

We went up in the space needle, and this is what we saw...

...and this...

...and of course, the tip of the needle itself (taken from within the needle's observatory deck)...

...and a helicopter took off down below.

Very nice. After the needle, we headed down to Pike's Place Market...fish, fruit, various locally produced goods. It was cool. Touristy, but not in a bad way.

If I could kiss an ugly fish every day, I would...

...I'll consider rotating this picture someday, but for now, you're gonna have to sit sideways.

We went to Tumwater Falls on Friday. We couldn't get into the park itself because of all the flooding, but we were able to observe. Check out this current. I wouldn't want to fall in, that's for sure.

Once again, please sit sideways.

And alas, there was a wedding. I was honored to be part of the ceremony, and all my ushering practice paid off. I think I did a spot on job, and I even got to seat the mother of the groom. Take that, groomsmen!

The whole motley crue.

The happy couple.

Me and the Vis.

...the other happy couple.

We had a blast, but we were ready to get home to Addison. Almost four days without her was enough.

And if you're ever in Centralia, WA, be sure to stop at the Country Cousin, and ask about the oil painting of Burt Reynolds. It's a doozy.

Headed to Washington

Marcie and I will be in Washington (the state, not the district) for the next few days. First to Seattle, then to Centralia. Our dear friends Ryan and Devyn will be wed there on Saturday, and I will be an usher. I take my role very seriously, and have been practicing at local restaurants. Aside from a few awkward glances and that one guy who punched me in the face, people seem to be satisfied with my ushering skillz (yes, that's skillz, not skills). Maybe I can get some more practice in at the airports on the way...

And for those who take listmaking as seriously as I, there was a glaring omission on my top albums list. I mistakenly omitted the wonderful album "Parc Avenue" by a band called Plants & Animals from the list. I would put it at number eight. There, I feel better now.

Lately I've been spending a lot of time with Addison, enjoying reading Walter Brueggemann's classic "The Prophetic Imagination," and working toward preparing a sermon on 1 Corinthians 3. The peace of Christ be with you all.

Vacation

Marcie, Addison and I are leaving for vacation in a few short hours. We'll be going to Boston, New York City, Cape Cod, and on Saturday, will witness the marriage ceremony of a great friend and his fiance (who's probably much greater than he, but we don't know her nearly as well).

We'll be back on Tuesday the 10th. Probably won't be much internet access over the trip, but we'll see. We're stoked. We'll be mostly camping, but we're gonna sleep in an actual bed a couple nights, too. I've never been that far east, so I'm anxious and all that.

And, it's Addie's first family vacation. All trips she's been on until now have been to visit family.
Until next time.