We had a nice evening for a campfire and roasted marshmallows and made s’mores. It was a classic ending for a great couple days.

We headed back to Rainier with the kids. Weather wasn’t perfect but the Mountain was out at least part of the time. We hiked to waterfalls and checked out the visitors’ center and a hot spring (really just a seepy warm spot nowadays) then checked out the big trees in the Grove of the Patriarchs. We headed out for a moonlit picture of the mountain and saw lots of deer along the way. Fortunately the deer were pretty intent on eating the new growth just peeking out of the snow so they didn’t wander out into traffic.

Unfortunately, none of the tasting rooms had nearly the view we found in the Gorge. We sampled at two wineries and managed to find some wines we enjoyed and even bought a couple bottles.
The oldest winery in the area Chateau St Michelle, has beautiful grounds and the winery is on site so we took a tour…wouldn’t you know, its Friday and they work four 10 hour days so all the equipment is quiet. The tour guide was great though and still made it informative and fun. He is a retired teacher and has a wonderful way with people. We all enjoyed it, the tour, the talk and the wine. We were hanging around after the actual tasting and just chatting and we go a special tasting of their “most expensive’ cabernet sauvignon. It was awfully good but we settled just for the taste.
We had a picnic and strolled a while then headed back to camp. It was a fun afternoon.

Back at Pike Place Market.
Kent found a front row parking place right by the entrance of the Market that was free! It was sort of funny given how much fussing around we did yesterday looking for a spot within walking distance and reasonably priced.
The rows and rows of beautiful fragrant flower bouquets were still there. This time I came home with a sweetpea and mint bouquet. It is bright and cheerful and it fills the whole motorhome with a wonderful heady scent.
We checked out some local beer and I had a local hard cider. It was pretty good.
We ended the day with a stroll through the Olympic Sculpture Garden.

The week is over already. We had a wonderful time with our first houseguests in the motorhome.

A fire in the fireplace at Mom and Carol’s hotel room. It was a fun way to relax.

The food was delicious and fun. We shared a broad assortment of appetizers and a couple yummy desserts.
Diner started with great views of the cityscape and Rainier. The weather couldn’t have been better. As we moved on to dessert the sun set and the night skyline was equally amazing. We finished the evening up on the roof of the needle. They have a live camera you can control and zoom. Pretty cool

Seattle Pike Place market.…ugggh, city parking is a pain
First, lunch at Ettas. Dungeness crab salad, dip, and crab cakes and a couple great versions of salmon. We were all pretty pleased with our choices.
We walked the first floor of the market through booths full of trinkets, clothes and about any vegetable and fruit you might think of. As we walked we passed through alternating clouds of inescapable smells of fresh fish and sweet flower bouquets. It is about all a body can stand! We got a picture of the thrown fish. We probably saw about a quarter of the place. It was a lot of fun.

He loped across the road right in front of us. Close enough for a great view. Cool!!! Unfortunately, nobodies reflexes were quick enough to get a picture. Later we learned that the bear are lower down the mountain later this year year because of the heavy snow fall and late melt out. Some of the park just opened July 1 and many of the trails are still snow covered.