Tuesday, November 13, 2018

On to Seattle and Beyond . . .


Thursday, November 1 - Friday, November 2, 2018

We were up bright and early for the easy drive to Burbank Airport on our way to catching an Alaska Air flight to glorious Seattle, Washington. We were going to visit long, long time friends Mark and Susie Johnson and see our beloved Washington Huskies take on the Stanford Cardinal in a PAC-12 game of American football on Saturday.

Upon landing, we were informed that the four of us had been invited to dinner at the Tacoma area home of Mary and Dan Spriesterbach. 

AWESOME!

Dan and I had been teammates back in the 1960s at both St. Francis H.S. and the University of Washington.

One of the few remaining Herfy's
in the Pacific Northwest

The old Herfy's spot in the U District (long gone I must add to my dismay) was our go-to, late night, post-Dante's Bar spot.
Oh the memories . . .

The view of American Lake
from the Spriesterbach's
back veranda

We had a simply wonderful night with friends over a splendid meal and some delicious adult beverages.

I know when we have had a good social visit by the lack of photos that I take during an engaging evening.

The next morning, while Mark and Susie worked out at their gym in Seattle's Ballard district, I strolled the area nearby to improve my physical fitness too.

It was Zero Dark Thirty . . .

 . . . and not too warm

Ballard is definitely a
"Blue District"

 A BIG national voting day
was just around the corner

Sometimes I feel like one

A beacon of intellectual life
on a dark morning

Sounds good . . .

. . . REALLY good

How come you never see a
Catania Pizza & Pasta joint?

A small urban park complete with . . . 

. . . artwork . . .

. . . lots of artwork . . .

. . . some of it Gaudi-like 

Autumn in Seattle

Pirates in Ballard!

The Monopoly site?

 Cool mosaic tile work

Ballard is a Scandinavian
settlement after all

 More fall colors

More cool leaves

 Italy from the northern view

I LOVE Gelato!

Back at the Johnson home after our early morning fitness workouts . . .

The view from their backyard next
to the Montlake Cut between Portage
Bay to the left and Lake Washington
to the right

The view towards Lake Washington

The view towards Portage Bay

Early morning crew workout

In the afternoon, we were off to Camano Island to visit Susie's parents and check out some properties that Mark and Susie were interested in purchasing.

Again with the brilliant Fall foliage

An idyllic Camano Island scene

Susie's parents were doing well all things considered.

In the evening we were hosted for yet another wonderful dinner, this time at the home of Jon and Lee Kadletz.

Jon and Laurie have been friends since their elementary school days while Jon and I were roommates at the UW.

Once again, we were all too busy getting reconnected and having fun to take pictures.

LIFE IS GOOD!

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