Neither rain nor hail nor lightning

Saturday was supposed to be simple. A four-hour flight to Detroit, landing at 2:30, would give us plenty of time to get to the expo for the Detroit Free Press International Half Marathon before it closed at 7pm. We had to go in person because we needed to show our passports (!!!) as the race crosses into Canada and back into the US.

The timings were good -- we got up early, got to Sea-Tac, cleared security quickly, and then got on the plane to Detroit. The flight wasn't bad, I read my book about Harley Earl, design director for General Motors, and the time passed quickly.

About an hour before we were supposed to land, we were told that it would be bumpy going in to Detroit, so they were going to clear everything and seat the flight attendants early. So we all got our seat backs upright, our tray tables locked, and our electronics unplugged. ("There's a blue light in the aisle that we can see if you have something plugged in.") Then we hit the turbulence.

At first it was just some wobbles and sways. But then it got worse and worse. The plane got super quiet -- even all the kids were quiet, which was a pleasant surprise for all of us. The fight attendant came on the intercom to say that there were "little white bags" in the seat backs in front of us. I thought, "Well, I won't need one; I don't get airsick." Five minutes later I thought, "Well, it would be good to at least find the bag so I know where it is." And five minutes after that I thought, "Let me just get that bag and hold on to it." And five minutes after that I thought, "I'm gonna get that bag open and ready so it's there if I need it." Luckily, it didn't come to that. But I've never been so close to needing it.

The flight attendant also told us that turning on our vents would cool the air around us, which would also help -- which made me and half the plane reach up and turn on the vent. I even ended up taking off my long-sleeved shirt because I was really heating up as the plane lurched and shuddered.

We were circling Detroit for a long time -- and it seemed that we tried to make three descents. On the third one there was a very bright flash, and the captain seemed to accelerate quickly and climb. We had been struck by lightning -- but, apparently that happens at least once per year to most planes. Just a first for me!

Then we flew and flew and flew. Over big water for a while. And then we started to descend… this time too it was really rough, and the actual touching down felt like we got one wheel, started to tip, skid, and then righted ourselves. When we were rolling smoothly, the entire cabin burst into applause, and you could feel the tension release. It was about 3:30.

A flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, as you can tell we have safely landed. What some of you can tell is that we are not in Detroit… and I'm not sure where we are. When the captain tells us where we are, I'll let you know." Cue half the plane firing up their phones and looking on maps: we were in Toledo, Ohio.

Now, I don't know much about Toledo, apart from the phrase "Holy Toledo!" (etymology fuzzy); that Corporal Klinger from MASH was from there; and their minor-league baseball team is called the Mudhens. I have just learned that in 2016 the Mudhens played a game wearing a special "Holy" jersey. Bless.

Turns out that Toledo Jet airport isn't a big airport … it's shared military, private, and the occasional commercial flight. But they seem to have only one gate big enough for a 737, and it was about to be used. And they didn't have staff ready to handle an unexpected plane … so we came to a stop and just sat. And sat. And sat. For 45 minutes. While we waited for someone to be able to guide us somewhere out of the way. I suspect it would have been a longer wait except they had a plane coming in, and needed the runway. Seriously.

So we were moved to a space near the private aviation building, where we sat some more. Wil and I pondered our fate. Do we try to get off the plane, get an Uber, and rush to Detroit? Do we hope the plane would refuel and take off and try again to land in Detroit? Will they come with buses? What might our options be?

The sleepy little airport eventually sent someone out to give us some information. We could take the little shuttle bus to the terminal, but it only seated 12 at a time, so it might be a while. We could also get off the plane and get picked up at the private aviation office. Wil and I -- and a couple of other runners on the plane with the same idea as us -- got off the plane and ordered up an Uber. It was 4:30.

We met a nice woman named Semida and the three of us got picked up about 10 minutes later by Jason, our Uber Superhero. The four of us chatted and laughed at Jason's #UberHumor -- my favorite was when we were talking about how many races we'd run, how many states, etc., Jason said, "Umm, haven't you guys ever heard of cars?"

Despite some stormy weather, Jason deposited us safely at the COBA center a little before 6 -- plenty of time to spare! So of course we took this team photo:

We hugged everyone goodbye -- I mean, we had been THROUGH IT -- and then went in to the very well arranged expo. A big space to pick up your bibs and packets, all well signed, then a nice race merchandise area where I bought stickers and a pint glass.

Then the way to the exit was a nice, wide zig zag. No short cutting, but it meant that you had to walk past every booth to get out. This is my favorite expo arrangement. A one-way system with plenty of room.

We were still buzzing from the day we'd had, so set out to walk the half mile or so to our hotel. A few feet away from the conference center it started to drizzle. Wil wisely made us stop and Gore-Tex up … and then a few minutes later there was lightning, a thunderclap, and a sudden hailstorm. WHAT'S NEXT, FROGS?!?!?!

We dove into the first open establishment we passed -- a Ping Pong bar (?!?) -- shaking piles of hail off our shoulders and hat brims to the astonishment of the other patrons. A quick rum and coke later and the storm had passed, and we eventually arrived at the Siren Hotel.

Housed in the former Wurlitzer Building (who knew?), the Siren is in a "soft opening" phase. Guestrooms, a bar, a coffee shop, a bar, and a barbershop … but more is on the way. We were staying in a "Chamber" -- a very small room, but nicely appointed, and with a beautiful terrazzo-tiled shower. And I'm not the sort of person who either sleeps well in a hotel or waxes poetically about sheets, but WOW, that bed was comfy and the bedding was glorious. Seriously.

We went around the corner to Wright & Co., a buzzy "gastropub" -- which really is a restaurant with a big bar running along one side. But we took seats at the bar, got some spectacular cocktails, some great food, and clearly timed it right because the bar got RAMMED about 15 minutes after we arrived.

After dinner we walked around Detroit a little bit, admiring the architecture, and wishing we could have spent the afternoon there.

Back at the hotel we wanted a nightcap at the Candy Bar in the hotel; we're both still fuming a bit at the mediocre drinks, frankly terrible snacks, and poor service we totally overpaid for. But lessons learned.

Back up to the room by 10:15, and in bed at 10:30. Race day the next morning!

Swan Stitch-a-Long, part 2

Hi everyone! Just a quick little post today, as there's not that much to show. Here's where I was three weeks ago:

The piece partway attached to my big old floor frame -- big, but not big enough! The feet, the outlining of the feathers and the body and a few "proof of concept" sections on the right swan, but that's it.

And now? Not much different, really...

wow, that's a dark photo -- sorry!

I started frogging the stitching in the tail of the right-hand swan (wrong cream! blast!), I stitched the feet of the left-hand swan, I've started outlining the feathers, and I've started outlining some of the center leaves.

But most important, I got a new frame -- a "table / lap frame" that fits perfectly. So I'm happy to have gotten the swan on a frame that I can unroll as I go.

My plan of attack is as follows: alternate between stitching the "ground" and working on the outlining. The ground is a particularly difficult to scan combination of green and brown that I struggle to differentiate. In certain light it's almost impossible. So I'll take the opportunities when it seems right. The outlining, being in a different stitch, is pretty fun to do, if tedious after a long time. Once the outlining/shaping is done, I think I'll allow myself to do some mindless filling-in with the lighter blue in the center section. It all still seems backward, but means I can do the swans last.

I apologize in advance if I'm missing any updates to the list -- we'll be in Detroit running a half marathon on Sunday, so I'm writing and scheduling this a few days in advance.

When we return to the west coast, I look forward to seeing all the amazing work my fellow stitchers are doing -- but you should take a peek now!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Kate, Jess, Sue, Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Hayley, Tony, Megan, Catherine, Deborah,  Connie, and -- belatedly! -- welcome to new member Clare!

Hike-let of the Week: Blue Lake Trail

While camping at Rasar State Park recently, we went on a little walk to Blue Lake. I'm not gonna lie -- we had planned to hike up to Dock Butte, missed the turn off, found ourselves in blissful solitude at the lake, and decided to just hang out there for a while and not hike up to Dock Butte. This walk was so short that I didn't even take any pictures along the way... until we got here:

What was really wonderful was that, somehow, we had the place to ourselves.

So you can see, I hope, why we lingered... sitting in the sun, listening to birds and the sound of water lapping on the shore.

I should point out that it was c-c-c-cold out, so there wasn't any wading. 

After a while we decided to turn back and go explore the campground. I think if we hadn't missed the turn, we would have happily hiked up to Dock Bute ... but having gotten somewhere that felt like a very worthy destination, we were happy to turn and walk back to the trailhead.

The day was beautiful, and I'm sure we would have had an amazing view. Heck, the view of Mount Baker from the road was incredible!

Blue Lake

1.6 miles

207 feet elevation gain

Quick campsite review : Rasar State Park Campground, site 43

We spent two nights at Rasar State Park near Concrete, camping in walk-in site 43. 

Parking for the walk-in sites is not far from the entrance to the campground ... but we forgot and drove past them as we arrived after dark. But it's not a huge campground, and we found our way quickly.

This map isn't super accurate, but it will give you an idea... We walked down the path to get to our site.

Really nice, and quite private:

Here's the view from the back of the site towards the path; you can see that it's quite private:

I was a little surprised not to have actual tent pads, but there's easily space for two tents, if not more if they're small. The site was quite level, too. There's a fire ring with a flip-down grill, and a picnic table in good condition.

Two of the walk-in sites have "rustic shelters" on them -- small huts with 4 single bunks built-in, and open on one side. No electricity, heat, or padding. Maybe they'd be nice in the summer? Site 41 (below) seemed pretty non-private, just off the path and without a ton of room.

Site 42 -- our closest neighbors, below -- had a much larger area and felt much more private. The people who stayed there when we did actually didn't use the shelter and just had tents set up. At least until they packed up and left late on Saturday afternoon, abandoning a huge pile of damp wood. Um, yes, we brought more wood home than we took with us...

 

The restrooms -- about 100 yards away -- were very clean and well maintained, and offered hot showers between the hours of 6am and 10pm for 50 cents. We're so out of practice that it didn't even occur to us to bring towels! Drinking water was closer, right at the walk-in site entrance, but we didn't try it as we had brought our own. 

There's also an amphitheater, though we were too late in the season for any ranger programs. Next summer!

Another great feature of the park is its location on the Skagit River, and its network of trails:

On Saturday afternoon we went for a walk along the river in the glorious sunshine.

Eventually we headed back to our site for a nap -- we had a GHOST WALK to take that night, so needed to rest beforehand!

Rasar State Park Campground Site 43 at a glance

Privacy: Yes! This site felt really private.
Tent pad: Not actual pads, but the site was level and there was room for at least 2 tents.
Fire ring: Nice, with a working flip-down "grill"... which frankly felt too close to a big tree, but it wasn't movable.
Picnic table: Nice table, in a good location.
Bathrooms: Super clean, well-stocked, with flush toilets and coin-operated showers.
Water: Drinking water available, but we didn't try it.
Pro tip: Enjoy the trails in the park!

SpoooOOOOooooky: The Concrete Ghost Walk

Mrs. Thompson on her husband's namesake bridge

While camping at Rasar State Park, spent a quirky evening on the Concrete Ghost Walk. Now in its 13th year (oooOOOoooohhhh, spoooOOOOoooky), the event happens every Saturday evening in October, and highlights spooky tales from former residents of the small town. Wait, did I say former? Many people think they're still here.

We met in the adorable Concrete Theatre, a sweet, 130-seat movie theatre that was founded in 1923. Valerie Stafford, President of the local Chamber of Commerce, co-owner of the Concrete Theater, and FEARLESS GHOST GUIDE welcomed us to the evening, showing us some old photos and getting us into the spooky mood by telling us stories of unexplained events in and around the town.

Then it was time to head out for our walk. Our group was so large -- sold out! -- that we divided into two for our nighttime wandering. We met our first "former" resident at the Concrete Heritage Museum -- a little girl who drowned. While there we also learned about the founding of the museum, and where their artifacts came from.

Then we walked down to the Thompson Bridge -- a fantastic setting, with the beautiful old bridge, the old-time streetlights, the rustling of dried leaves in the wind … and Mrs. Henry Thompson, who refuses to leave or accept the fact that her husband is gone. That's her in the main image at the top of this post.

Our charming, hapless bank robber. Whoo-wee!

In other locations we met a hapless bank robber who now does little pranks on the employees of the bank, a little girl afraid of her mama's anger who lives in the town hotel, a former barber who won't leave because his son's spirit is trapped there too, a disgraced judge, and an immigrant from Italy whose husband murdered her in front of her children.

Finally, we regrouped and went to the Concrete Community Center for more tales in a brothel. I guess that's why they don't let kids under 16 join the walk!

It's nice to see a town celebrating its past and having a good time doing it.

The Concrete Ghost Walk takes place every October; tickets are required in advance and it's clearly very popular!

Learn more about the Concrete Ghost Walk on the Concrete Theatre site.

A semi-secret project: October OMG

I should be honest, I do best when I try to focus on one project at a time. Maybe a side project, like the scarf I bring along to crochet by the fire when we go camping. But CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

So when I heard about the "One Monthly Goal" link-up, I thought it might be helpful. The challenge, of course, is that the intended recipient is a reader of this blog. So we'll see how this goes. The link-up provides group motivation by encouraging you to focus on, well, one monthly goal. So my goal for October is to actually get started on the secret project, prep my fabric, get it on the frame, and stitch the center section. This section isn't challenging to stitch -- not a ton of counting, no color changes, though the stitching is pretty dense. Still, getting started is the biggest hurdle!

I do still really want to make progress on my big Swan tapestry -- if I can finish the outlining on the right-hand swan plus the center leaves before the next stitch-a-long check-in on October 21 I will feel like an absolute ROCK STAR. 

Here's a closer look at some of the outlining, along with a bit of "proof-of-concept" filling. Doing these little patches has shown me that I can just do the outlining and save the white and cream stitching until last. 

There's still a little time to join Elm Street Quilts's October One Monthly Goal link-up; click on the link below to learn more!

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal October Linkup

Mount St. Helens weekend, day 3: Windy Ridge, and the long way home

After our successful Mount St. Helens climb we slept like logs in our little cabin at the Lone Fir. 

We got up early on Saturday hand ad a slow-moving morning, both of us feeling a little stiff and sore. I consulted the Googles and determined that we could go up to the Windy Ridge viewpoint -- which we had never been able to visit, since the road is often closed -- and then on to either the campground we were considering for the night, or home. So we packed up the car and set off for Windy Ridge.

It's a funny viewpoint -- not too far opposite, it seems, from where we were on the rim the previous day. This is, apparently, the closest you can get via car to the volcano.

From the parking lot there's a trail called the "sand latter" that goes up to a viewpoint. And, well, it's a pretty good name! It's 368 steps up, up, up the hill.

Lots and lots and lots of steps.

But the steps lead up to a nice viewpoint, with interpretive signs (my favorite!) and great views of Spirit Lake and the Pumice Plain.

Oh, and the big blown-out crater, of course...

You'll note that the skies are grey and hazy ... did I mention how lucky we were to get such glorious weather for our climb???

There's the parking lot waaaaayyyy down below.

And, yes, we needed to go down all of those stairs.

Verrrrrry slowwwllly....

We made a few more stops on our way back out to the highway, admiring the view of the volcano over and over again. 

Then we hit a bit of bad news -- the highway to Randle was closed just north of the Windy Ridge turnoff... and Google didn't know. So our trip home from the Lone Fir via the Windy Ridge Viewpoint went from this:

To this:

Sigh. Looks like our theme of things taking longer to get home than to go out continued! Between the traffic and the tiredness, we decided to forego camping and just head home to sleep in our own bed. But the weekend had been a success!

Wil, looking tired immediately after our climb