Tri Cities June 2017

June 25, 2017

We were on the way to Kennewick at about 10:30 this morning. It was a beautiful sunny day. There was a lot of construction along the route which slowed us down and an accident near Ellensburg where a pickup towing a 5^th wheel had flipped in the median. Traffic was stop and go for several miles in both directions. We stopped in Prosser for a great lunch at Wine O’clock Bistro. We got to Kennewick at about 4 and I tended to getting us set up in 100 plus degree heat. We are staying at Columbia Sun RV Resort. The park opened in 2013 and is very nice.

June 26, 2017

After a leisurely breakfast we went out to visit a few wineries and other sites. We stopped at J Bookwalter’s restaurant, Fantasy, and tasted a few wonderful wines and had a snack. Then on to Atomic Ales for a cup of their “world famous” potato soup and a sandwich. This was a good choice. We each had a cup of soup and sandwich. The soup is very rich so we each saved half of our sandwich for dinner. We made one more stop and returned to the RV park. It was 103 degrees and quite calm. I went to the pool for a quick refreshing swim but it was out of order. At about 3:30 Gail heard on TV that there was a thunder storm coming. By 4 the temp had dropped about 25 degrees, thunder and lightning was all around us and it was raining hard with some hail mixed in. Then the power went out in the park and surrounding areas. When the power came back on and the storm subsided there were places in the RV park where some rigs were surrounded by water. It was still about 80 degrees at 10 PM so we sat out for a while.

June 27, 2017

It is only supposed to be in the 80’s today so that will be a relief. We headed out at about 11 to visit Goose Ridge Winery. Alyson, our hostess is very nice and treated us to a nice selection of their wine. When we were leaving she suggested we stop at the Country Mercantile near the winery. We expect a mercantile to be a barn like building with lots of collectibles and other merchandise. This place was a brand new building that looked like a fancy location for a hotel and winery. They make their own breads and pastries, candies and chocolates, salsas and cheeses. They also have a deli where they make sandwiches to order. We bought some bread, barbecue sauce, a marinade and a couple other things. Then we went to the Ice Harbor Brewery and Pub to share an order of nachos for a late lunch. Back at the park I went for a swim and later we sat out until about 10:30. It was a nice clear night with a great sunset.

June 28, 2017

Another beautiful day for us. We drove about 55 miles to Walla Walla to visit the town and some wine tasting rooms. After a few tasting rooms we went to the Bakery Restaurant for lunch. Gail had a grilled cheese sandwich that had three different cheeses on it. It looked and was delicious. On the way back to Kennewick we made a stop at Cougar Ridge Winery for one last taste. We bought a Portuguese wine that we were told pairs well with stew so we'll see later.

I forgot to mention a few days ago that we met two new friends in the park. They are Liam and Ellie, six year old twins from Pullman. They are really fun little people. They come see us all the time riding their bikes in circles at out site. The day we arrived at the park I saw Ellie riding her bike with training wheels on it. Yesterday the wheels were gone. I told her, "Ellie your training wheels are gone." She said, "Yeah, my grandpa took them off." When we got back to the park today both of them were happy to see we were back.

Our friend Ellie

June 29, 2017

Today we drove into the Tri Cities to drive Columbia Park Trail. This is a 5 mile drive along the Columbia River from Richland to Kennewick. After that we went to lunch a Anthony's Homeport. It was great with a view of the river. When we got back to the park I went for a swim. Ellie was in the pool and her older brother had sprayed water in her eyes and she was crying on her Grandma's lap. As I was lounging in the pool she saw me and smiled. The next time I turned around she had jumped in right next to me. We played for a while until she had to get out of the pool. When we were sitting at our site Liam and Ellie came over to see us. When they were going back to their site I told them we were leaving in the morning. Ellie said she was going to get up early so she could see us again.

June 30, 2017

As I was packing up to leave Ellie rode up,  laid her bike down and came running to me with her arms outstretched for a great big hug. As she was riding away she turned and told us to be careful driving. What a little sweetheart. We had an easy drive home taking about 3.5 hours.