Trip Down Memory Lane

I was thinking back on 2009 today.  Mike and I took Mom and Dad back up to Washington for two week vacation.  We drove from Las Vegas up to Washington, down to Oregon then back to Las Vegas.  Driving was the perfect way to go as we stopped whenever we wanted to and it gave us time to chat about all the old times.  We went to Walla Walla where mom was born and raised and visited my grandparents' graves.  We were also blessed to be able to go inside the house where mom was raised.  It had been totally remodeled but when we went inside you could still feel the air of familiarity and although much larger, the main part of the house had the same floorplan.  Mom and I recalled where each piece of furniture was and enjoyed walking through the side and back yard where the trees my grandparents planted had thrived and grown tall.  When we went to Moses Lake we met up with old friends and drove around "the base" where dad had been stationed before it closed.  We went by all the houses we lived in, the places dad worked and where mom and dad's music store used to be.  It was sad so much had changed but at least we had memories.  We went across the mountains and stopped to visit Mike's sister and then on to Seattle to see my nephew John's family.  After that we went to the Portland area to visit our oldest and dearest friends...the Rye's.  They had been stationed with us in England before I was born and Tess (who has since passed) and Floyd almost delivered me in the back of the car on the way to the hospital.  We then drove back to Las Vegas through Reno.  We had many weekend trips to Reno when we lived in Washington and it brought back many fun memories there as well.

I'm so glad we took that trip, it was not only fun but I think brought us all closer together.  We laughed, cried and remembered.