PRIEST LAKE

In early August we had our 2nd annual summer vacation at Priest Lake. It's in Idaho just NE of Spokane. It's a beautiful, serene lake with completely surrounded by pine trees. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing.

Water Sports at Priest Lake

We did a lot of waterskiing and kneeboarding. I was so excited to use a real kneeboard, except I played Wii tennis for 2.5 hrs straight the previous day. My muscles ached so bad I was too sore to kneeboard. I did try and was able to get up but just wasn't able to stay up. I had 15 bruises by the time I was done! It was worth it though. I was so disappointed though as last summer I was able to get up and get proficient 'knee boarding'. The difference was that I just used a foam skimmer board. It wasn't as long, heavy nor did it require getting the knee strap on. I'm going to do it next year though!!!

My nephews are all total water boys! They practically live in the water the whole time we're there. Matt's a killer slalom skiier. He looks so smooth as he glides across the water.

Cavanaugh Bay

We went down to Cavanaugh Bay at Priest lake quite a bit. It was really close to the beach cabin my parents rented.

We met a couple that were from Britain. I just loved their accent. They were there with their entire family. I was quite impressed in that the couple were divorced, but the x-wife and husband were still best friends. He said they just can't live together.

He was telling us how he learned how to water ski barefoot. He learned from one of the world's best barefoot skiiers. It was really interesting. The husband reminded me a bit of Ralph Lauren. Enjoyable talkers...and I emphasize talker.

Lost in Walton Country

I was late heading out to Priest Lake from Seattle. It's a longer drive than I remembered. By the time I actually got down to the the lake it was 9ish, so it was dark. So not good!

I couldn't call my dad as I didn't get a cell phone signal. I was completely lost. The road system really isn't a road system. It's miles of long dirt roads. I was starting to panic a bit as after an hour or so I wasn't any closer. I was about to accept the fact that I may need to sleep in my car.

I decided to go to the bar at Cavanaugh Bay. I was about in tears by then out of frustration. The bartender was so nice! He's like, "You're literally a rock throw away from your cabin." I was so mad when I finally got there as it was the first road I came to when I was looking, but I didn't realize you had to go down the end of the road where it looked like it required a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Nice!

RULE BREAKERS on ROUTE 15 and OTHER INTERESTING STORIES

**Rated: PG-13

I started riding the bus when I moved to Seattle to commute to work as it’s much cheaper than driving. It’s provided many interesting experiences to say the least. Although I get frustrated at times riding the bus in all truthfulness I do prefer to ride the bus as it’s economical , and it is nice to be able to just relax and not have to navigate in traffic.

The problem arises in that I'm someone that has a major germ phobia. Let’s just say I carry hand sanitizer with me. I’m the one on the bus that doesn’t hold the rails with my hands unless I absolutely have to. I use my coat sleeves instead. If I must use the railing, you’ll be seeing me get out my hand sanitizer. I never knew this about myself, but I have certain unspoken rules about riding the bus.

For example:
1. If there are free seats, do not sit next to me.

2. If you have a particular foul odor that emanates from oneself, please try to find seating elsewhere.

3. If you sit next to me, please be courteous and only take up your ½ of the seat.

4. Do not sit on my lap!

5. Be aware of my personal space.

I guess I assumed most everyone else had these same rules. I’ve quickly discovered that that is not the case. For those unfortunate not to know my rules, many have been known to suffer the wrath of the Aimster-- which is not a good thing! It’s like these out of body reactions that I never would’ve imagined! I become a totally different person. My sister gave me a bar of soap. It’s called ‘Bitch Soap’. She wrote in Bus, so it say ‘Bus Bitch Soap’ which I hate to admit it but pretty much describes me. Not good!

Rainy Days & Sundays Always Get Me Down

Okay Sundays don’t get me down, but rainy days sure do when it comes to riding the bus. It was a wet, rainy day here in Seattle.

I was on my way to work. I hate riding the bus on rainy days. The windows get all fogged up, and the air is so heavy and humid. Plus, any unpleasant smells are 10x’s worse! This particular day was especially bad as it was pouring rain.

Some people apparently didn’t have an umbrella and/or the time to run back and get one. One man got on that was so soaked that he had H2O trickling down his face! It was as if people had showered in their clothes. My jeans were wet up in the thigh area as I had to keep my bag on my lap. It took 2-3 hrs to dry at work. I was grateful to have remembered my umbrella that day. It’s definitely no fun to get caught in the rain.

Rule Breaker #1 on Route 15 - IKES...SPIKES!!!

I was waiting to get on the bus one evening to head home. There was a rather tall man next to me. He had blue hair and a dog collar around his neck. The dog collar has spikes that were huge-- must’ve been about 2” in length & 2” thick.

When the bus came he totally jumped in front of me and everyone else for that matter and got on. RUDE! The bus driver was trying to lower the step, so someone could get off that needed assistance. This man just jumped on without any consideration to anyone getting off or on the bus. The bus driver was like, “Sir…sir…..” The guy just completely ignored him though.

When the older couple that had been shoved past were able to finally get on the bus they gave him a dirty look and said a few expressions of irritation. The guy’s response was, “Shut up fat ass!” Nice intelligent come back there. Oh brother! I was tempted to say, “You really don’t have much room to speak!” But I decided it would be in my best interest to keep my mouth shut. No need to get home with a black eye. He was a bit scary. Smart move I think.