We spent the day today just hanging out along the Columbia River in Pasco, Wa. Elisa and I started out the day by visiting nearby Chiawana Park, which is situated right on the banks of the river. We went for a 2.5 mile walk on this sunny and clear day. We had a fair bit of rain last night and it did an amazing job of cleaning up the air. Yesterday, the air was thick with smoke from fires to the West. It was so bad that kids had to stay indoors. But with the rains comes a new day; one that is clear with the air smelling fresh. However, the wind is up and the temperatures are down. Today, it is in the low 70's. Warm enough for shorts, but when the wind kicks up you might be reaching for a windbreaker.
After our brisk walk in the park we drove over to the Country Mercantile Store in nearby Richland. There are several of these stores around the Tri-Cities area and they are really neat. A lot of the food sold here is prepared on premises. A lot of their canned and bottled foods are locally grown and prepared. We were meeting my brother Tim, his wife Becky and their daughter Rene here for lunch. Unfortunately, her husband Ethan couldn't join us due to work commitments. We last saw Rene and her family down in San Francisco, when they were nice enough to stop by on their way to a wedding back in April. We had a nice day touring San Francisco with them and a great Italian dinner at restaurant in the North Beach area. We all ate light - me with soup and Elisa with a salad. After lunch, we couldn't help but pick up some neat items. Unfortunately, I can't eat any of it right now, but it will be there when I can.
After lunch, we headed over to Beaver Bark, a popular nursery in Pasco. It has a lot more to offer than just plants. There is all sorts of beautiful outdoor decor there. Tim and Becky wanted to pick up some items to decorate their front porch for Halloween. While we were there, Elisa found something as well. Well post some pictures of it when we finally have a garden where we can put it. After that, we headed over to Rene and Ethan's home so we could see the kids who were just getting back home. Owen and Reagan are such nice kids. Owen started 5th grade this year and he was doing some geography homework - he was learning about Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay area and the role it played with Chinese immigration during the 1800's. Pretty deep stuff for 5th grade. Reagan was an bubbly and energetic as ever. Owen took me down to see the dock as their home backs up to the Snake river. Their home sits high above the river by about 40'. Ethan has built some steel stairs that lead down to the river and a floating dock. It is quite a hike but it's also handy to be able to dock the boat in the backyard. But I wouldn't want to be the one that has to carry the ice chest down all those stairs. Rene has done such an amazing job decorating their home. She is great at blending antiques with newer items to give the house a real homey feel. After sitting and talking a spell it was soon time to head for some dinner.
Tim and Becky treated us all to dinner at a great place Cousins. I sure wish we had these down our way. It was a really great family, casual dining place. Once again, I had soup, but what everyone else ordered sure looked great. Elisa had the turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy and she loved it. I know it was freshly made, because when she got back to the RV, she immediately went into a tryptophan coma from her Turkey dinner.
It was an all too quick day in the Tri-Cities area and we had a nice time visiting with Tim, Becky, Rene and the kids. After dinner we exchanged hugs and farewells. Tomorrow we are off to Boise, Idaho. We originally were going to be heading back toward the West to Portland, but with all the fires, we changed plans and decided to go home via Boise and then on to Reno. It has all worked out perfectly. Elisa has a long time friend in Boise, whom she hasn't seen in years. We'll get to meet up with them tomorrow evening. Then we head down to Reno, NV. It just so happens that some friends of ours in San Diego will be in Reno. They just purchased a home up there and will be spending part time in Reno. That is great for us, because they will only be 3.5 hours away from us in the SF Bay Area. We'll get to visit with them and see their new home on Thursday.
So more later.