I’ve finally gotten around the downloading and sorting the photos I took of the Washington part of my time in the US. It’s summer there and though it was hot and there hadn’t been rain for some time, it was still green and there were many beautiful flowers around the neighborhood.
Of course the fun at the house was seeing my daughter, son in law, and my other granddaughter. A frequent outing is the neighborhood playground, and a favorite toy at home was a box. My Panamanian neighbors did some eBay shopping and one item was Mexican boots, and the box they arrived in was a big hit.
We took a couple days away to go into the mountains where the kids had rented a cabin (really a very comfortable and well stocked house) on a beautiful river.
One unexpected and exciting thing was the Pacific Crest Trail. I saw the movie “The Way” which is about the Camino De Santiago in Europe, and later read the book and then saw the movie “Wild” about a woman’s experience hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and found both hugely inspirational, and motivation to get out there and travel on my bicycle. I never thought about encountering the PCT though, and even having a brief chat with a hiker!
Of course all good things end at some point, and it was time for my trip back home to Panama. It’s quite a trip too, an evening flying to San Francisco, then waiting for an early flight from SFO to Panama, a hotel overnight, and a day on the bus to David.
All very tedious things also come to an end though, and I’m happy to say I’ve been back home for a week now. My stomach flu resolved and I feel like myself again, and Joel and I have spent many hours practicing the songs I have learned to play on the bass. That has gone really, really well and I’m super excited about it. All those hours of practice while I was gone really paid off. We plan to get together with the drummer soon and put it all together, and then I should be ready to step in when I’m needed.
The Panama Adventure 
Hi Kris, happy to see pics of the great NW as I lived there for 27 years and miss it a lot. What area do you take most of the pics you post? I think they look like the Shoreline in the north area or possibly Federal Way in the south… Miss those massive Hydrainges as here in the Sacramento area they burn up! lol. Regards…
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They live in Bellevue WA and the cabin on the river was near Baring. It is such a beautiful part of the country.
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Hola Kris,
I had to LOL on the slide photo. My grands declared it off-limits for abuelo even though I built it for them. Gosh they can be possessive.
Reading the traveling part is enough to wear me out. Usually our trip back is easier since we haul a ton of stuff TO Panama each trip. Nena’s sister just flew back to Panama with her daughter and they each had 2 bags packed to 23.0000 kilos. They took an Avianca flight, DFW to SAL to PTY, about 7 hours flight time. It may be our new ride to PTY.
Looking forward to seeing some “jammin'” fotos soon from da band! (The Blues Brothers keeps playing on my head!)
jim
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It’s funny what little kids get upset about and possessive over.
Yeah, I need to find a better route so I’m not in an airport overnight, but other options always seem to cost so much more. I also came back with a suitcase and large backpack loaded to the max, most of it for other people but it sure beats trying to ship things in.
There are a couple Blues Brothers songs on the list 😀
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Their flight was booked through a travel agency we have used at a local mall, it was a last minute booking (within a week of traveling) and it was hundreds less than any US domestic carrier. The check in was very easy and the lady at the desk even had us repack some stuff from carryon into checked bags because we had space and it made the carryon easier to handle! Their trip was uneventful. The only bummer was the 11PM arrival time in PTY, too late to make the express bus to David.
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I did get a very good price on Delta. It’s just so far to Seattle that’s it’s hard to arrange and I never get into PTY until late. No matter. I’m not spending a night on the bus ever again, cold, can’t sleep, not fun.
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No pressure, no pressure. Just saw this.
http://www.guitarworld.com/news/study-finds-bass-guitarist-most-important-band-member/30789
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Hehe. Yes. It is the bass and drums that drive the energy of the music. Many bass parts are actually fairly simple but quite important.
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😎 isn’t the bass player the coolest member of the band? (The drummer too).
Thanks again for sharing family time and photographs Kris.
Sorry the journey back home was so exhausting. Hope you find a less painful itinerary the next time.
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PS: that’s a beautiful cat (doing what all cats love – sitting in a box).
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They have three cats but that one is one of the coolest cats I’ve met. She lets the baby crawl all over her and pet her, which as you can imagine from a baby isn’t always gentle but she never protests or runs away. She is very loving with everyone else too.
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Of course the bass player is coolest 😁 Seriously, especially in our little three piece everyone plays an important part and I’m so looking forward to putting it all together with the drummer.
I will research other itineraries and hopefully not travel sick again. But when you consider how far you can get in a day it’s petty amazing.
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As always, such great pictures! It makes me want to travel!
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I hope you can go there sometime. It’s really beautiful. Here’s something else from three years ago, one of the coolest experiences I’ve had. Save your pennies, free up some time, and go! https://blog.thepanamaadventure.com/2014/07/25/orcas/
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