Re-charging batteries

Towards the end of April, we spent a week in our favorite town of Anacortes at the Fidalgo Bay Resort. Alpine had been in storage since our return from the desert and needed a run to re-charge all batteries. 
And we both needed to "re-charge" our own batteries too, after the challenges of the past several weeks. 

Challenges? you may ask.
Herein lies the shortened tale that explains the cast on my arm.

my first break ever!

I flew to the east coast, to Maryland, to visit my folks over Easter. Mom was declining and Dad was undergoing treatment for his cancer that was diagnosed in January. My folks live in a terrific retirement village, which resembles a sprawling university campus and houses around 2,000 residents. 
On Easter Monday, around 9AM, I was walking from my Dad's apartment at one end of the campus to spend the morning with my Mom, in the assisted living building at the opposite end. 

While I was in a crosswalk, one of the residents driving out of a side street claims she did not see me and continued to make her left-hand turn after first stopping at the stop sign, hitting me. All things considered, I was very lucky to have come away with only a broken arm. 
So, for the last several weeks, I have been dealing with an unwieldy cast, discovering just how much I have taken my right hand for granted and how both hands need to work in concert to accomplish most daily tasks. Try flossing your teeth, unscrewing a lid, typing, eating, even washing your hair with your non-dominant hand.  Michael has literally been my "right hand", filling in and helping out while I spent time on the couch with my arm elevated, alternating between feeling thankful to be alive and in one piece, and feeling frustrated at my plight, followed by waves of anger at the old lady who told her insurance company that I was dressed in a jogging outfit and ran into her. In Maryland, as we discovered, there is an exclusion to the law about pedestrians in crosswalks if they are joggers who suddenly dart out in front of a vehicle without giving the driver enough time to react and stop. 
Me, a 60-some-year-old jogger! Really? Darting out in front of her! Really? 
I was dressed in street clothes - jeans, a blue sweater, and casual shoes -  and walking across a cross walk. To add insult to injury, this "lady" happens to be associated with the university, admitted she was in a hurry because she was late for her bio-ethics class, has served on various ethics committees, and is a PhD and also a JD. Pretty highly educated in fact, and obviously quite conversant with the law. I do not know the reason she spun her yarn but it does leave me wondering that, if there is an age limit before one is able to have a license to drive, if there should be a similar requirement for no longer operating a vehicle beyond a certain age. 

Anacortes must have healing powers, and was the perfect get-away destination. We enjoyed our week there and the change of scenery, the daily walks, and fresh perspective. We also enjoyed the company of the Leggs and their friends, the Allgires. And we bumped into the Fords, friends we met a year ago in Lone Pine who happened to be at the resort over the weekend.

Alpine and Michael with Janet Legg and her brood at Lake Tyee

From Anacortes, we were invited by the Leggs to join them and the Allgires at Lake Tyee, where they own lots. We had a blast, hanging out with them and their neighbors.  And in between, we scouted out the gorgeous, scenic Mt Baker area and the little town of Concrete. 

with the Allgires, who were consummate tour guides

The surrounding scenery is breathtaking, the pointy summit of Mt Baker standing tall.
We saw the Baker Dam with its unique sockeye salmon transportation system that hoists the returning salmon back up and over the high dam so they can safely return to their spawning grounds. 
It's a fascinating case where man initially interfered with nature by constructing a high dam, then realized that the salmon numbers were decreasing steadily to the point of concern, and is now making up for the damage with a unique system of collectors (and our tax dollars) to remedy the concrete impediment we created in the first place to harness electrical power.  
It's well described here: 
http://pse.com/aboutpse/PseNewsroom/NewsReleases/Pages/PSEs-new-Baker-River-50-million-fish-passage-system-generating-success-in-first-few-weeks-of-operation.aspx
and here: http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/stories/2012/2013_01_14_floating_surface_collector.html

The tiny town of Concrete also has a claim to fame, based on the memoirs of Tobias Wolff who lived in Concrete, which later was made into the movie, This Boy's Life. 

During the week we spent at Lake Tyee, the Dunhams stopped in to visit, the couple we met this past January when we were staying at Emerald Cove Resort along the Colorado River close to Earp. They were on their way to Idaho and gave us a call while in our area. Linda is the lucky lady with the sewing trailer that I ogled enviously while we were staying at Emerald Cove.

While we were at Lake Tyee, one afternoon as we were all sitting in the glorious sunshine chatting, Michael shared his owl-encounter tales with the group. It's a tale that elicited a lot of amusement and had the group "hooting" with laughter. 
Here is Michael's owl tale, in which no animals were harmed but a human was injured: Just a couple of weeks ago, Michael was attacked yet again by an owl while on his run through the Bridle Trails forest that adjoins our neighborhood.  This was the 4th attack in ten years. One attack several years ago was quite aggressive during which the owl first nabbed the beanie cap off his head, and then proceeded to dive bomb him, attacking his bald head with its talons. He arrived home furious, his head bloodied, and I counted 11 puncture wounds while cleaning and tending to his head. After that ferocious attack, Michael typically wears a bicycle helmet as protection during the spring and fall months when owls are known to be more territorial and protective of their nests. Only he forgot to wear his helmet this last time and within ten minutes of entering the forest, an owl let him know he was not welcome, dive-bombing him and grabbing at his head. Luckily the talons didn't penetrate the skin this time. Or, he has better learned how to dodge the sharp oncoming claws. Once again, within a few days of his encounter, there were signs posted in the forest warning about aggressive owl attacks reported by several other joggers who were also attacked.

The Lake Tyee group found the owl attacks so entertaining that the following morning as we were leaving, the Legg's neighbor, who happens to be a caricature artist, presented Michael with this drawing:

I am afraid that Michael's owl tales have taken on a life of their own, not only with our family and friends, but also with the NoWACA group after Janet Legg shared his misfortune(and also mine) with the group! I suspect we will never live this one down, and will continue to be the source of merriment and jokes for years to come......

the caricature artist, Gary Daum, with his caricature subjects

Our Alpine group socializing continued a little longer. We met up with the Leggs and the Langords for dinner one evening when Mary and Joel were in our area. 

dinner in Edmonds - Joel, Mary, Janet, Todd and T

With all batteries now fully charged, Alpine's and ours, we are again ready to be back on the road after this interim mini-adventure in Anacortes and Lake Tyee. In another few weeks, we will be heading out to Cape Kiwanda on the Oregon coast, after which we will continue inland to the NoWACA Bend-Sister's Rally.