Day 10





XXXXXXXXXDay 10- The Big Day!
The culmination of the entire trip- Dad's 90th birthday! The family met at St. Brendan's Church in Bothell, where Dad assisted as Deacon. At the end of the service, the priest anounced a reception afterwards for Dad's 90th birthday. Thunderous applause. Then he added that Dad was also celebrating being a Deacon for 35 years, and another round of clapping. He asked anyone to stop by the reception and honor him ,and once again people showed their appreciation. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the pipe organ cranked up, the choir started, and the congregation sang along, 'Happy Birthday." It isn't every day (or year) that a pipe organ, full choir, and seven hundred fifty peole sing "Happy Birthday."
Lake Wilderness, east of Maple Valley, was the gathering for dozens of relatives to honor the old man. We enjoyed food, fellowship, fun, and more Northwest beauty- a lake rimmed with evergreen trees, with children playing in the water. Right. No adults. I didn't have to put even a toe in the water to know it was fifty degrees, max. Not happening to this desert rat.
One game we played was 'Ladder Golf', with three horizontal bars. The contestants throw a bolo (or something), consisting of two balls connected by a light rope, around 12" long. He swings the balls and flings it at the bars, around twenty feet away. If they wrap around the bar, points are awarded. Two for the top (red) bar, three for the yellow (middle), and one for the green. You can guess where the green bar sits. Anyway, it was a bunch of fun. Target sells them, apparently.
They say relatives are like fish- after three days they start to smell. Well, today, it was a wonderful time with all the relatives. So good to see them after so many years.
Tomorrow, it's back on the road. Fortunately, I squeezed in a quick bath for the Gold Wing. Guilt over! We'll get the Chatterboxes, phones, and camera charged up and ready. Plus, we'll start a bit late (like that's something new this trip) and avoid rush hour traffic through Seattle. At least we can use the carpool lane.

1 comment:

LadderGolfFan said...

Happy 90th Birthday. Ladder golf is really a cool game to play.