Econo Lodge Renton

... did enjoy every minute with you. Yes, I know that eventually I had to tell you to put an end to the "but...but..dadEEE!" lines and the Jim Carrey faces, but that was only at the end and mostly because either I needed to figure out how to get us home or because I didn't want to bother those around us. Otherwise, I can't get over how much I enjoyed spending all of that nonstop time with a teenager...lol!! Seriously, I want ...

... offered.  I love the people I am learning with, both students and faculty.  And I love how involved my whole family is in my learning: my husband, my son, my parents and in-laws.  Everyone is playing a supporting role and I am so grateful for that, as it comes from such a place of generosity:  wanting me be to happy and to live my calling.  I dislike what it feels like for me to learn right now, how different it feels inside my mind since Kai was born ...

... t really overly excited. I think if I spoke Spanish better it would improve the experience but as my new friend Lester put it, "I feel like I'm in the middle of a con game and I'm the one who's always getting the short end of the stick." Next time I come (and yes, Gina, there will be a next time) I will do more before-hand research and discover the really interesting/non-tourist things to do; make some local friends, do a little fishing, exploring, and SCUBA diving. I ...

... for a late breakfast/early lunch at the Braeburn Restaurant in Langley. What a charming little village Langley is! I was aiming to catch the 1.30 ferry to Port Townsend and was almost thwarted in the attempt! Our lunch took almost 1 hour as they were quite busy and then we missed the ferry turnoff (there was no sign!!!) and then we had to do this amazing 1mile turnaround to get into the ferry carpark. We made it by the skin of our proverbials but then the ...

... Neede. My favorite part of the trip was walking aimlessly through the streets and of course, people watching. Since this entry is quite dated, I will write in more detail after/during our next trip to Seattle, which is planned for December 19, 2008.

... the convention center and pick up my badge and conference kit. The convention center was not too far from the hotel and fortunately didn't involve too many hills (seriously, this place gives San Francisco a run for its money). I went to the desk and picked up my bag - it took a while to get them to change my attendance days but we got there in the end. I then went straight back to the hotel to drop the bits off - didn't ...

... of the market, and walked up to the Space Needle and Science Centre, into neither of which we went, but took various "we've been to Seattle, look, here's the Space Needle" pictures, and Jacob cursed having forgotten to go to the Sci-Fi Museum. We'll be back though, in all probability. We went to find a phone in the food court of the Seattle Centre, and witnessed the horror that was the amateur flamenco display and the nasty little Christmas themed model railway. We ...

... year, she told us - Chile was very expensive, she bused down to Ushuia through Argentina, El Calefate was fabulous, Fitzroy was a not to miss, Ushuia to Buenos Aires - 3 days by bus or could fly, Salar de Uyuni trips were all naff - everyones view, this trip dropped her in San Pedro then she bused to Calama. Silver Plunge Creek was a small site was well run, had solar panels, a salt lick table for the moose and doubled in winter as a snow mobile resort. Saw photos in office, forest ...

... prose would be both disjointed and not in English, thereby doubling the annoyance of anyone happening to read it. That's the love part of my literary affair with spell-check, but as sometimes happens, true love also gives rise to a occasional spot of hatred, in this case my absolute dread of seeing the word-processing program underline a misspelled word. Don't get me wrong, I've become so dependant on spell-check that I barely make an effort - often just typing in a very rough ...

... I never have time to read for pleasure and I hope to read a few good books on this trip. I asked for suggestions for some "must-read page-turners". Or even ones that are good as audio books. or Historical novels that take place in some of the places we might visit. I got some GREAT responses. I'm going to attempt to embed the responses here ...