5-27-2023

5-27-23 Luby Bay Priest Lake

Lorena found an open reservation at Luby Bay!  It’s been a long time and I was really excited to be able to spend some time here.  So many childhood memories here.  At the time it didn’t even occur to me that this is Memorial Day Weekend.   We left at home just after 5pm and drove to mom and dads place. Arrive at about 11:30.  We actually made pretty good time.  It’s a lot harder of a drive these days.  It’s Friday, I’m exhausted from the week, after a few hours on the road I feel the struggle to stay awake.  

Breakfast and mom and dad’s.  They knocked the barn down so we investigated the hole left behind.  Lots of memories in that hole too.  Drove over to see Grandpa.  I don’t think he heard a word I said.  The important thing is he is safe, well taken care of, and seems content.  

Drove over to Athol to see Aunt Yvonne.  Her home is warm and inviting and she seems very happy.  Up at the lake by 5pm and set camp up quickly.  Walked down to the lake.  Everything is smaller than I remember.  Still a lot of memories.  The lake is glass smooth and very quiet.  Like when we camped here a long time ago.  The lake is so much noisier in July and August.  I want to walk to Hills tomorrow for nostalgia.  I know it’s nothing like when I was a kid, but the walk should be about the same.  

I expect the drive home on Monday will be very slow and awful.  I want to set my alarm for 4am and be on the road by 5.  I doubt I will be able to manage that.  Probably up at 6, on the road by 7:30 and in the worst traffic has to offer in Cle Elum by 11:30.  Looking forward to it….

5-28-23

Walked down to Hills.  The walk is the same.  Hills is a lot different.  More built up, a lot of hotel. The restaurant is significantly bigger.  Lorena wanted a huckleberry milkshake.  So we ordered 4 and the waiter came back a little later with ‘the machine is broken’ which 99% of the time means it s lunch time, we are busy and we don’t want to spend the time to make them.  We had huckleberry lemonade instead.  The boys had cinnamon rolls and doughnuts.  I had a huckleberry martini.  We stopped at the museum on the walk back.  Set up the hammock and took a nap.  

5-29-23

Up at 4am.  Didn’t think I could do that.  Lorena set her alarm and my bladder did the rest.  Getting old sucks.  We cooked pancakes and made sandwiches for the trip last night.  On the road by 5am, out the other side of Spokane a little before 7am, in Cle Elum at 10am.  Traffic was reasonable.  It was starting to bunch up on the west side of Cle Elum and again just before the pass.  It’s a good thing we left so early.  Got the camper off the truck, washed all the fine Idaho silt off them both and we are done.  I wish it wasn’t so far to the lake.  I really enjoy it up there and would love to be able to see it a lot more.