Mr Hopper does Seattle

After a five hour flight, we arrived in Seattle. It took us an hour to get to the hotel due to all the traffic. We had a nice dinner close to Puget Sound and then walked through the Public Market. Mr Hopper really enjoyed all the fresh fish! The first Starbuck's is across the street. We then took the monorail over to the Space Needle which was built in 1962 for the World's Fair. Mr Hopper was impressed by the Space Needle and tried to climb to the top. Don't worry, it worked out fine.

We had to make a quick shopping trip to Macy's. Dick forgot his sports jacket which is necessary for the formal nights on the ship. Now, we suspected he "forgot" it on purpose because he and Jerry both have been opposing us on dressing up for formal nights. But Dick is a good sport and, luckily, Macy's had a good sale on jackets. Thanks to our outstanding clerk, Art!

Tomorrow we actually board the ship. Stay tuned.

Mr Hopper goes to Alaska

Well, we are hours away from flying to Seattle to board the ship for Alaska. This has been a dream of mine for a long time and it is hard to believe it is finally going to happen. I have been visited all 48 contiguous states. Alaska will be my 49th. We will have to wait a couple of years for Hawaii. Maybe our 40th wedding anniversary would be a good reason to go. That will be in 2011.

I guess you are wondering about Mr Hopper. Well, our friend and all around animal lover, Jennifer, takes Mr Hopper on all her trips. For some reason, he didn't go along when she went to Alaska with her mom a couple of years ago. So, Jennifer asked if we would take Mr Hopper along with us. Since we will be visiting several of the same places she visited, she requested we take Mr Hopper's picture at some of those Alaskan landmarks. Of course, we will. So, Mr Hopper is going in the computer/camera bag along with all the cables. Watch this blog for more of Mr Hopper's journey.

I have got to get to bed now. I am exhausted from moving my two daughters this week and getting ready to go on vacation. Gee, I sure need a vacation!

Community 4th of July Parade

Our community has an annual 4th of July parade. Residents line up at the clubhouse driving their cars, trucks, SUVs, lawn mowers, scooters, bicycles and even Segways! There are some pretty neat prizes for the best decorated vehicle and best costumed person. The parade winds through the community lead by a firetruck as other residents stand along the parade route to see the sights and catch some candy. The first year we lived in the community I didn't quite understand that it was a "real" parade. I sat out on my front porch and was surprised when the parade circled the roundabout. Every year since we have decorated the hubby's convertible and joined the parade. For the first couple of years, my mom would ride in the front seat with my daughter and grandchildren in the back. Last year my mom wasn't able to join us so it was just the four of us in my sedan since it was raining. My big, Buick is bright blue so it matched the theme even though we missed riding with the top down.

This year we were back in the Sebring with the top down but my daughter was out of town so the grandkids were in the back alone. I was a little apprehensive about them sitting on the boot with no one to hold them but I gave them strict rules that their legs had to be hanging in the seat at all times. After all, we reached a cruising speed of, oh, maybe 17 mph. They pelted by-standers with handsful of candy and consumed a good bit themselves. They behaved quite well but, as you can see from the video, Grandma did not. Since there was no one to document this event, except me, I had to be the driver and the camera operator. It is amazing how perceptive a four year old can be and how direct. It turned out to be a fun morning -- the weather was perfect, no one fell out of the car and Grandma did not crash into a tree!