From Alaska to Virginia

Ken and Daryl made a valiant effort for their Alaskan fishing trip, but the fruits of their labors could have been more abundant. Daryl caught a 30# king salmon and Ken an 8# sockeye. According to Ken, fishing was brutal in that the weather was cold and wet and generally miserable, but I am still happy that they made the trip and had some time together considering they have known each other for over sixty years!

Ken arrived home on Saturday, July 26, and we were airborne out of McChord on a C-17 on Monday morning. I LOVE THAT AIRCRAFT!! It was an uneventful trip with Brian greeting us when we arrived in Dover. It is about a two hour drive from Dover to Sterling, Virginia where he and Sheila live, and it was very scenic. I couldn’t get over how green and lush everything looked as we drove through lots of rural areas even though we were heading toward DC.

I almost cried when I saw the boys as both have grown taller over the past year, Nolan was the biggest shock as he stands several inches taller than I, but both are as sweet as ever. They have been busy with various camps throughout the summer and attended a computer camp for the first week we were there.

Sheila was out of town attending a a Boeing training seminar, but Brian had the time off during our visit as he was waiting for classes to start at the War College, So we were entertained, fed, and escorted to our heart’s content. The three of us visited the Bureau of Engraving and the Holocaust Museum during one day spent in DC. The Museum was very moving, and very eye-opening to some aspects of that era that I did not know, and, as with all exhibits in Washington DC, it was very well presented.

We spent a bit of time with Sheila’s mother and her sister and family. Our original plan was to spend a week with Betty and the boys at her beach house but we came home earlier than planned, so that will have to be a priority for our next trip east.

Brian drove us to Keith’s after our stay in Virginia. Again, we were wined, dined, and thoroughly pampered and entertained. We met both the girls’ boyfriends, Ryan and Steven, and the newest member of the Kirkwood family, Abbey the Labradoodle. She is just a big lug of a love, and pretty mellow for not yet being one year old.

Sarah has worked for all three of her college years at Mulligans, the bar and grill at the University of Maryland golf course. So we stopped by for a drink and watched our granddaughter go about her duties. Can this be so? Afterward we proceeded on to the off campus school apartment that she shares with Janet whom she has known since grade school days in Arizona. It is quite small with two bedrooms and two bathrooms and high rent!!
We had a house/dog sitter while we were gone and Cooper was well cared for. He decided since he had been abandoned, that he should make himself comfortable, as in sleeping on the leather sofa or the white chair. Soiled dog!!

There will be more stories to tell, but it has been forever since I have blogged so here it comes. Ciao