Washington Part 3 - Huskers & Family

Ok, so finally we got to the whole reason we made this trip. Yes, I used Nebraska football to get myself to Seattle. It was Ben's entire reason for going and thankfully the Huskers did us proud. It was a logistical mess to get ourselves to the game, so nearly all of Saturday morning was consumed with getting ourselves to the place where a bus would transport us to the game. The bus system was running late but thankfully we made it to our seats with 5 minutes left until kickoff, phew!

There was a lot of "T-Magic"

and this is the stadium. It had an amazing view of the lake and although I didn't take any of these photos, it was actually a bright, warm and sunny day.

We sat on the side in the shade (in the photo above) about the 40 yard line and not too high up. They were great seats and besides for some odd folks sitting near us, we had a wonderful time.

The crowd was at least 1/3 red and by the end of the game (56-21 final score) there were more people wearing red then purple left in the stadium. It was pretty cool. We even had the wave going around the stadium.

Then, in the after glow of the win, we drove across the state, through the Cascades to Eastern Washington. The rolling, arid farm land that is home to my great aunt Dorothy, my cousin Kay, her husband Dennis and their son and his family.

I kid you not, I've spent many years dreaming and scheming how I could get myself to this place. Growing up, Dorothy and sometimes Kay would come to visit in Kansas. Dorothy and Kay were always "fancy" to me when I was growing up. They would FLY here and wear SILVER jewelry and they had a SWIMMING POOL and a house with an ELEVATOR. I thought they were amazing and beyond "cool". But, now that I'm an adult, I understand them so much better and while the "fancy" adjective has worn off, I would describe them as beautiful, charming and gracious.

It was wonderful to see their farm. Farming where it rains 5 inches a year and the soil is mostly volcanic ash is a far cry from farming in Central Kansas. With irrigation though, they have been able to diversify their crops which still include a lot of wheat and barley, but also potatoes, peas, cannola and rape seed.

Thanks for hosting us Kay and Dennis!

On our way off the farm toward Spokane to fly home, there was a crew picking spuds (or potatoes to the rest of us). It was fascinating to watch.

What a trip! And sadly, now that we are two weeks past when this trip began, it seems like something that happened a long time ago. Life keeps marching us forward and making time and space to enjoy these memories is not as easy as I would hope.