Our three week European trip split into: 3.5 days in London, where we attended debates in both
houses of Parliament - 'Brexit' in Commons, 'Animal Welfare' in Lords; 3.5 days in Rennes FR,
where we spent a weekend with our Parisan friends Alain and Mi-Sug; and two weeks in
Scotland, where we drove around the Highlands, Inner Hebrides and the Orkney Archipelago.
Our final (bonus) day was a walk around Edinburgh, passing
Edinburgh Castle. We sent a few ePostcards on the trip.
Exploring the Lower Chamber of the publicly accessible Taversoe Tuick, a 4500 y.o. Neolithic Chambered Cairn, Rousay Island, Orkney Archipelago, Scotland
News & Notes
Again this year we spent Mother's Day weekend in Libby MT helping Jim host the Pipe Creek Summit stop on the Scenic Tour of Kootenai River (STOKR) bike ride. The 97 mile circuit is a charity fund raiser for Habitat for Humanity, and this was the 25th year. So, we adorned our stop with a silver heart-shaped helium balloon. The day was spectacularly beautiful, and the riders, as always, were happy to rest and enjoy our snacks and drinks at the top of the pass.
Pipe Creek Summit Rest Stop Celebrates 25 Years!
After STOKR we kept busy socializing, including ...
- Brunch with two of L's former assistants and their husbands
L, Judy, Larry B, J, Dave and Vicky
- A week later we took in a Mariners baseball game with Judy and Larry B.
- As usual, we stopped by the Hardy Fern Foundation's annual Fern Sale.
Scoring the smallest fern at the sale
- We joined our friends Sarah and Dennis to explore the new Meydenbauer Bay Park near their home on Lake Washington. It's an impressive waterfront park, but we concentrated on taking pictures of ourselves as phone-enabled people should do.
- Our contractor-friend Richard Green texted to say he and his son, Sam, had "caught" a king salmon. He included this picture for confirmation. That evening, Richard, Maggie, Sam and Ayla brought the filets over so we could share a delicious impromptu dinner.
Sam, Richard and King
- We worked in another visit to Libby to see Jim and Julie. This visit included a fishing trip that started with catching about a dozen kokanee - fresh water salmon - but finished up with us scrambling off the lake as the dark storm clouds approached, bringing their lightening.
- And, we found time to make a batch of apricot jam. Not only is it quick, easy, fragrant and tasty, it's pretty, too.
The Start of Something Good
Brendan and Melissa joined us in Vancouver for the Canada Day Celebration. As part of the festivities they played a quick game of cardboard-cutout hockey. Also, there was a protest in downtown Vancouver in support of the citizens of Hong Kong objecting to the proposed extradition law. We've all visited Hong Kong and glimpsed how China interprets 'self determination for HK', and so we joined in their protest.
Melissa and Brendan Celebrating Canada Day
