Sizzling Saturday At 109 Degrees In HOT Wichita Falls

This third Saturday of August is scheduled to be the HOTTEST yet during this way too HOT time of the year.

I suspect I shall be getting my daily endorphin dose acquired via high speed walking in an indoor venue today.

Usually that venue is one of my nearby Walmarts. But, the most recent indoor venue was Lowe's.

Lowe's made for a pleasant walking venue.

Maybe will opt for Home Depot today.

September is rapidly approaching. We are past the Ides of August. When September arrives one can have some hope the outer world will begin to cool down.

Taking A North Cascades Nap On A Granite Slab Overlooking A Hidden Lake

There are many things I miss about the Pacific Northwest.

Things such as having four distinct seasons.

Along with plentiful fruits and vegetables, often growing wild, free for the picking, like blackberries and mountain blueberries. Freshly picked corn bought from a roadside vendor selling the corn 10 ears for a buck, on the honor system.

Streets with sidewalks with a grassy median separation from the road.

Politicians who are not national embarrassments.

Public works projects the public actually approves of, via voting, which then actually come to fruition. What a concept.

Way fewer balloon people. Way more people who look like they have had the air let out of them.

And, the scenery.

Mountains in every direction. Saltwater beaches. Real islands.

The Washington scenery came to mind via today's Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day.

One of the photos was of me laying on my back, taking a nap, on a slab of granite, overlooking Hidden Lake, in North Cascades National Park.

I have no idea what the total number of hiking trails is in Washington. Thousands?

Hiking trails in the lowlands, in the foothills, in the Cascades and Olympics. Thousands of miles of hiking trails.

Just within a few miles of where I lived in Washington, in Mount Vernon, in the Skagit Valley. Hiking and mountain bike trails on Little Mountain in Mount Vernon. The hike to the top of Big Rock in east Mount Vernon. More trails a few miles further to the east. Heading to the west multi trails in Washington Park and Deception Pass State Park, and others. 

All within about a 30-mile radius of my abode.

Why did I move from this paradise on earth I do wonder every once in a while...

Attending Senior Day In Burlington's Maiben Park With Little Brother Jake

Incoming email from FNJ (Favorite Nephew Jason).

Text accompanying photo...

Via Go Skagit I saw vintage cars displayed in front of 1027 Washington for Senior Day at the park. I know your brother attended.  Thought you'd enjoy the photo.

Go Skagit is a news website associated with the Skagit Valley Herald. The Go Skagit link does not go to the article to which Jason referred. The link goes to the Go Skagit home page.

The park to which Jason refers is Burlington's Maiben Park, the park from which I grew up across the street. That grayish looking house you see above is the house I grew up in, 1027 Washington Avenue.

That looks like it might be brother Jake, also known as Jason's dad, in the middle of that cluster of people you see in the photo.

My memory of this location includes a row of trees where those cars are parked. I think those trees were removed after I no longer lived there.

Remembering Pick Quick Blackberry Milkshakes With David, Theo & Ruby

 Arriving a few minutes ago, in my incoming email, today's Microsoft One Drive Memories from this Day.

And today, for the first time, I think, this photo did happen on August 15. Though the day was a Tuesday, not a Thursday. 

And the year was 2017.

Left to right, that is nephews Theo and David, me, and niece Ruby, at Pick Quick Burgers, in Fife, a little town between Tacoma and Seattle.

Theo, David, Ruby and their parental units were taking me to Sea-Tac, to put my on a plane, to fly to Arizona to see their grandma, also known as my mom.

In addition to Pick Quick burgers we also had, except for Ruby, blackberry milkshakes. 

If I remember right, and sometimes I do, I have previously shared this photo, what with it being one of my favorites.

That was one fun, poignant week in Washington, that week in August of 2017.

Also, in today's memories, is one of me being dropped off at the airport, after lunch at Pick Quick.

Theo is looking a bit sad at saying goodbye to his uncle. I was a bit sad too, wondering when next I was going to see these three I'd come to feel so fondly about in such a short time.

It would be almost two years before I would see David, Theo and Ruby again, in March of 2019, when they flew to Phoenix for a week of fun with their uncle, grandmas, grandpa and cousins...

Remembering Birch Bay Sandcastling With Theo & Ruby

Continuing on with this week's Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day, which I remember, from a week in August, way back in 2017, several days of which were spent at Birch Bay, a few miles south of Washington's border with British Columbia, Canada.

Whilst the tide was still way out, Theo, Ruby and I started building a sandcastle.

In the above photo, I cannot tell if that is Ruby or Theo shoring up the sandcastle as the tide starts to threaten the wall of our castle.

The Birch Bay tide eventually breeched our wall defenses, after a long, valiant effort.

The morning after sandcastling Theo and I elevatored to the roof of the place in which we were staying.

Theo was quite pleased to see that we could make out the remains of our sandcastle, still visible, after an incoming and now outgoing tide.

You can see those sandcastle remains pretty much at the dead center of the photo documentation.

That week up in Washington, back in 2017, was one of the best times I had had in a long time. From the moment I exited security, at Sea-Tac, to see David, Theo and Ruby, for the first time, and the days which followed, getting to be uncle to kids was something I thought was history, but almost instantly, upon meeting the Tacoma Trio, I found myself in full uncle mode.

I have not seen the Tacoma Trio, or their parental units, since March of 2019, which was another fun week, in Arizona. And then in 2020, COVID hit.

I do not think I have had a mighty fine fun week since COVID, that I remember...

Fondly Remembering Birch Bay Driftwood & Other Things Like Slotemaker Road

Apparently, this week's Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day are going to be ones I actually remember, due to the fact these photo memories are from a memorable week in August, back in 2017.

It was Saturday, August 12, 2017, when the Tacoma Trio of David, Theo & Ruby, their parental units, mama's Kristin and sister Michele, and little brother Jake, were staying in a large condo type place located near the middle of Birch Bay.

Birch Bay is a super popular touristy location located a few miles south of the border with Canada.

Growing up in Washington, with many relatives located in Whatcom County, where Birch Bay is located, going to The Bay was a frequent occurrence.

Often camping at the state park located at the south end of Birch Bay.

Birch Bay is shallow. When the tide goes low a large expanse of sand is exposed. That sand heats up, then when the tide rolls in the water gets heated, making Birch Bay, when the conditions are right, almost a tropical-like swimming venue.

As kids we would spend hours playing on the Birch Bay beach. At the state park part of the beach there was a big chunk of driftwood which we would climb on, over and over again.

That Saturday, back in 2017, we were scheduled to be in Lynden, at the Monumenta Cemetery, that afternoon. Brother Jake was my ride to Lynden that day. We decided to leave Birch Bay early so as to try and see some of the locations which were such a big part of our lives as kids.

Starting with me asking brother Jake if he thought that big driftwood still existed at the state park part of the beach.

There is one way to find out, said my little brother.

And so, we drove to the south end of Birch Bay to find ourselves pleased to see that all these years later that chunk of driftwood was still there. 

But, somehow, all those years later, it looked way smaller than it seemed when we were little kids.

That is the driftwood you see photo documented above, in the photo I took that day.

After leaving the driftwood we continued on to find a location we simply called the Van's. A farm we frequented frequently, with the Van's being our cousins. We often camped and vacationed together with the Van's. I remember the Van relatives relatively fondly.

Continuing on we made it to Lynden, to Grandma Vera's house. Grandma Vera was my mom's mom. The house seemed HUGE when we were kids. Did not seem so huge in 2017.  And then it was a block to the north, to Grandma Slotemaker's house, the one we most associated with that grandma, though there were several others. It was at Grandma Slotemaker's I first learned of The Beatles and saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Then Jake and I tried to find our way to Slotemaker Road, the location where our ancestors first settled in Washington. We gave up after a while.

Later, will a couple hours later, when Jake and I verbalized our inability to find Slotemaker Road we were told its location, and how easy it is to find, barely out of town.

Eventually Jake and I ended up following David, Theo, Ruby and their parental units to the Slotemaker Road location.

And here we see Ruby Slotemaker, on top of me, almost reaching the top of the Slotemaker Road sign.

Ruby's cousins, Jason and Joey, somehow managed to come into possession of the Slotemaker Road sign, a time, or two.

At my ripe old age, I sometimes wonder if I shall ever see Whatcom County and Slotemaker Road, again.

That and Birch Bay....

Once Again Remembering Pedaling A Tacoma Cab With David, Theo, Ruby, Kristin & Michele

In the incoming email this morning, more photos from a week way back in August of 2017.

In Tacoma.

Touring the Tacoma waterfront, from Point Ruston, via a pedal cab, with Kristin, Ruby and Michele in the driver's seat, while Theo, David and me are backseat drivers.

I think I have opined before that the town I am currently in, Wichita Falls, Texas, needs a pedal cab franchise so people can have themselves a mighty fine time pedal cabbing along the Circle Trail.

I do not remember if the Tacoma pedal cab had a braking system, or simply relied on ceasing to pedal to cause the cab to stop.

If there are no brakes, pedal cabs of the sort I pedaled in Tacoma would be problematic if the pedal cab franchise was located at the MPEC (Multi-Purpose Event Center) due to the fact that the Circle Trail near that location has a couple semi-steep hill sections, of the sort where I could see it might be a bit problematic pedaling up the hills, that, and speeding out of control going down the hills, if the pedal cab had no braking method.

But, a pedal cab franchise located at Lucy Park would work just fine, what with the Circle Trail circling around Lucy Park being pretty much flat.

If you pedal cabbed out of Lucy Park, on the Circle Trail, heading to the Wichita Falls artificial waterfall installation, there is a slight elevation change of the going up and down a hill sort. But, not too drastic an ascent, or descent.

A pedal cab in this, at times, HOT town, might not be too popular during the blistering summer months, but the cooler other times of the year, getting too HOT does not happen too often...

Microsoft OneDrive Remembering Me, Theo & Ruby At Point Ruston

Today marks a rare occurrence of the daily Microsoft Memories from this Day actually being a memory that easily did happen on August 11.

The year was 2017. I flew to Washington on, I think, August 8 or 9. One of the days following my arrival, prior to driving north to Birch Bay, the Tacoma Trio of David, Theo & Ruby, and their parental units, took me to Tacoma's Point Ruston.

If you are ever in Tacoma, drive the Tacoma waterfront north til you reach Point Ruston and Point Defiance. You won't be disappointed by what you will find there.

It seems to my memory that I recently shared the above photo which showed up in my email today. That is me between Theo & Ruby in a Point Ruston ice cream parlor.

This is one of my all time favorite photos.

Where in the World are the Theos?

On the right, that is Ruby's twin brother, my Favorite Nephew Theo, known in Tacoma as Theo S. Next to Theo S is Theo's best friend, known in Tacoma as Theo C.

The two Theos are currently in Spain. I know this because a couple weeks ago Theo S's mom, my little sister, Michele, told me Theo was going to Spain with Theo C, with Theo's C's mom, to visit Theo C's sister, who is attending a university in Spain.

Now, I think the answer to that where in the world are the Theos question is fairly easy.

I believe the two Theos are in Casa Botin, founded in 1725, determined by the Guiness Book of Records to be the oldest restaurant in the world.

The restaurant's specialties are suckling pig and lamb roasted in the Castilian style.

If I find out what the Theos had to eat at this restaurant, I shall let you know...

Happy Birthday From Toothy Great Nephew Cade

Incoming text message from young Mr. Cade Weston, this second Sunday morning of August.

The text message accompanying the photo of Cade....

Happy Birthday Great Uncle Durango! Grandma told me to show you my teeth for your birthday!! Happy Birthday!!

Great Nephew Cade looks like his papa, my Favorite Nephew Christopher. Christopher was always such a smiley kid when he was a young one.