After we left Vantage, we headed to Spokane, WA. We drove through lots of well manicured farmland with big open skies. When we got closer to Spokane, the landscape changed to pine tree forests.
We stayed at an RV park on the north side of Spokane. We got settled in and then- had to take Matt to the airport for a work trip in Florida the next morning. That morning was Mother’s Day! The kids made breakfast in bed fabulous French toast and banana bread in a mug. Claire made me a ‘garden’ of tulips that each had a gift written on it (spa day, fancy meal, help with a household chore, etc.), and Reece made me a paper dahlia corsage! I felt very loved (and yes, I know I have wonderful kids!).
The week consisted of school, laundry, sleeping in, seeing old friends, and exploring the area.
On Tuesday we met up with Rick and Karen Meyers. (I know them from Santa Cruz. They often hosted pizza parties for the young ‘career’ aged people at the church we went to. I don’t think I’d seen them since they came to our wedding in CO. And fun fact – Rick graduated from Hope with my parents!) They picked us up, so we gave them the tour of our set-up (they have a camper too), and then grabbed lunch at a local bakery before heading over to Manito Park. Manito has a number of gardens that you can walk through – rose, perennial, formal English, a conservatory/greenhouse, and a lilac garden – which was in full bloom! It smelled amazing and was beautiful! (Spokane hosts a lilac festival every year and it was happening the week we were there!)
After Manito we got a driving tour of downtown and Whitworth University and then stopped for frozen yogurt right by their apartment. They retired to a newly built retirement community right next to Whitworth (their younger son is a Whitworth grad). It’s pretty incredible. We got a tour of their apartment and the facility before getting dropped back off at the campground (less than a mile away). We had a lovely time.
The next day it was windy and rainy and the Meyers invited us over for pizza and games, which we gladly accepted! We passed a lovely afternoon/evening, catching up more, seeing their oldest son, Jeff (also a Hope grad, but who lives in Spokane now), and going through old guest books from their parties in Santa Cruz – I think we’re going to start a guest book at our house too! Another lovely time – so grateful for the Meyers!
On Thursday the kids and I went hiking at Indian Painted Rocks. It’s a beautiful hike along the Little Spokane River that Rick had suggested. Then we headed over to check out the Bowl and Pitcher area of Riverside Park – the bowl and pitcher are two large rock features in the Spokane River. It’s an historic and popular park in the area with a neat suspension bridge.
On Saturday afternoon we pick up Matt from the airport. And then on Sunday afternoon we went to Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane – what a cool area! Lots of bridges, playgrounds, art installations/sculptures, a tower clock, and a garbage goat!
Matt ended up going to a last minute show when he found out a comedian/magician he likes was performing at the event center at the park. The kids and I needed to get some dinner and didn’t really care if we went, so we stopped by Zip’s Drive Thru on the way home.
On Monday, we climbed in Spokane at Minnehaha. It was a climbing area right off the road, and it was a lot of fun! We also helped our climbing neighbors retrieve the rope bag they had gotten stuck in a tree. It was great fun!
Tuesday morning we packed up and then washed the camper before heading out of Spokane. Moby and Richard are looking sharp!
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