Upcoming Lupi-Soo Number Two

March 7, 2013 | My Jottings

Last fall my oldest friend Denel and I held our First Annual Lupi-Soo Convention. Or perhaps it was our First Annual Lupi-Soo Reunion. We convened and we reunited.  If you didn’t see the photos of our trip to the Rocky Mountains, you can click here.  

I chose the destination for our first trip — I had a hankering to be secluded away in a cabin in the mountains. We had a wonderful time in Evergreen, Colorado, even if the “Secluded Chalet” wasn’t quite what was conveyed on the owner’s website. This time we’re going to a place where we’ll be allowed to use more than ten squares of toilet paper per visit, and where (hopefully) there won’t be any leftover feminine products under the bed or discarded lip gloss under the couch. Bleh.

Denel chose the spot for our Second Annual Lupi-Soo (that was going to be the name of our girls’ detective agency when we were ten years old, combining the first letters of our then-last names) and I wonder if you can guess where we’ll be flying?

This peak below will probably always be in our view:

And I’m sure we will stroll through this famous place and grab some wonderful, fresh produce. I’m not sure we’ll buy a lobster, though. Does that give anything away?

Many of you will have guessed by now. I know my friend Shari will have figured it out with the first photo of Mount Rainier.

This view below is what we’ll see….

…after we’ve boarded this elevator to zip us to the top of one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world:

It’s called The Seattle Space Needle. I don’t care for flying, but oddly enough I don’t have a fear of heights, so I should be fine at the top of this structure. As long as there are no earthquakes during the time we’re there. This part of the world is prone to earthquakes, and I really thought I had said goodbye to those when I left SoCal and moved to NoMin.

After a couple days in Seattle, Denel and I will board a ferry to cross Puget Sound, so we can spend two quiet, idyllic days and nights on Bainbridge Island.

Have any of you ever visited Bainbridge? I never have. In fact, I’ve never been to Washington state before.

And Denel found the most amazing “cottage,” which is actually a lovely home, where we’ll relax, catch up, read, sleep in, and refresh. Here’s one of the bedrooms and its stunning view — you can just see Seattle on the left horizon and Mount Rainier to the left of the right tree. (I learned today that Mount Rainier is considered an active volcano….)

Denel and I are planning to meet each other in the Seattle airport this fall, and I’m already working on putting things in place here so I can make the Thursday-Monday trip.

There are meals to plan, appointments to record, plane tickets to purchase and respite care to schedule. But I think the most pressing thing I need to do before I fly off to the Pacific Northwest for The Second Annual Lupi-Soo Reunion/Convention is have one of these ghastly things put in my right knee:

I’ll be seeing a surgeon next month and am praying I’ll be a candidate for a minimally invasive knee replacement, instead of the conventional total knee. In the former, the quadriceps muscle isn’t cut, the surgical incision is half the size, and the recovery time is much less and not as difficult. I will know more soon.

I’m still on Paperwork Status here. I didn’t accomplish as much as I’d hoped to yesterday, and will only be able to do an hour or two of it today, because today is a special day. Aside from being our Schnauzer Edith’s 11th birthday, it’s our granddaughter Lil’ Gleegirl’s 6th birthday! Everyone will be coming over tonight for dinner to enjoy the menu she personally chose: cheese pizza, roasted Brussels sprouts, and dirt cake. Here’s a photo for those who don’t know what dirt cake is. And Lil’ Gleegirl has also asked that we play Pin the Tail on the Donkey, so I’m going to attempt to draw a big donkey and craft some tails. 🙂

What are you up to today?