Arizona 6--The Wedding

 Our friends were married in a beautiful ceremony on the golf course at the Forest Highlands Golf Club.

We celebrated with a reception and dinner at the clubhouse

Arizona 5. More Flagstaff

Where we stayed in Flagstaff. This Airbnb on Coy Street housed 4 couples for the weekend.

Arizona 4--Flagstaff

 On Friday, we left for Flagstaff, a two hour drive from Scottsdale.  We had a wedding to attend on late Saturday afternoon.  In the early afternoon, we explored the town.

Flagstaff is located on the historic Route 66, as I tried to capture with this street sign. 

One more picture from downtown Flagstaff

Arizona 3--One Full Day In Scottsdale

This is Camelback Mountain from our unit at the Worldmark.  That evening we stopped in Paradise Valley for a drink at the J.W. Mariott Camelback Inn.   Pictured below.

Arizona 2--Wet Arrival

This picture is a little out of sequence, but, please bear with me.

We left sunny Seattle to arrive in rainy Phoenix. Almost a reverse of what you would expect.

By the next day, though, it was nice enough to check out the pool.  The picture below was taken at the Worldmark Scottsdale, where we stayed. 

Thursday was our only full day in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. 

Walla Walla Resident on Jeopardy

Congrats to David Sibley, an Episcopal priest who lives in my old hometown of Walla Walla.  Even though the DVR cut off in the middle of Final Jeopardy, it looked like Sibley did very well

The Barers Go To Arizona

We just returned from a trip to Arizona where we watched the daughter of Marjie and Rick get married. 

This picture was taken after we got our rental car at the Phoenix Airport.

We rented the above BMW from Sixt Car Rental.  We set it up online, so we did not have to wait in line.  This is the second time that we used that company and both times we had excellent results.

Dad reads a story from his book.

My Dad would have turned 93 today.  I  am posting this in his memory. 

Happy Rosh Hashana!

 L'Shana Tovah!

Go Cougs

Washington State plays Oregon today!

Wear Your Blue!

 It's Blue Friday as the Seahawks will take on the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday. Go Hawks!

Former Dodger Star--Ex Mariner Manager Maury Wills Dies

 Maury Wills, who once held the Major League record for the most bases stolen in a season, has died.  He was 89.  Wills is best known as shortstop for the LA Dodgers in the 1960s.  

He also managed the Seattle Mariners in the team's early days. 

Wills was 89.

Brandi Carlile "My Song"

Maple Valley favorite daughter, Brandi Carlile.  From "The Story" album.  

Carlos Santana DEMOLISHES a GRAND-SLAM! | 18th HR of 2022! | Seattle Mar...

Today was the 19th and the Mariners beat at LA Angels 9-1. turning around the date as well as their fortunes in the series.  LA had taken the first 3 games in this series.  

Mid-season acquisition Carlos Santanta had two homeruns including this grand slam. 

What To Watch?

 Keep your remote close, the Seahawks will play the San Francisco 49ers at 1:05, while the Mariners, vying for a wild card spot, face the Angels at 1:07.  Both are road games and both are in California!

Cougs Face Colororada State Rams

 Go Cougs!

It's Blue Friday

 Go Seahawks!!

Gated Prey Has Twists And Turns

 Gated Prey is the third book in Lee Goldberg's Eve Ronin series.  It is a whodunnit about a series of crimes in a gated community in Calabasas. 

Once again, Eve has to fight enemies on both sides.   As she actively persues the criminals, a gang of cops of outlaw cops is after her.  While guided by her  instincts and her desire to do right, and by a promotion that was based more on good PR for her department, than on her merit, she is pretty much despised by both her command and the rank and file.   Her saving grace is her soon to be retired partner, Duncan "Donuts" Pavone.   

As this is the fourth book that I have read in this series, (I started with Movieland, Lee's latest) I found this to be a great installment to the series.  Great characters and a plot of many twists. 

I would strongly recommend every book in this series.  You can get your copy of Gated Prey by clicking here. 

Walla Walla Paper Has Tribute To "Newspaper Guy" Angell

 Last month, I was saddened to read of the passing of classmate Jim Angell. Angell had worked at school newspapers at Wa-Hi and WSU, then went on to work in Wyoming.   When googling his name, I was shocked at how much of a mark he made in the journalism field. His obit turned up in newspapers around the country.    

I'm very honored to be quoted many times in this wonderful tribute by Union-Bulletin feature writer Annie Charnley Eveland. To see the story, click here

Seahawks, Fans Ruin Russell Wilson Return

 By, coincidence, one day after watching the Mariners come back victory over the Braves, with the tying homerun and winning homeruns in the 9th inning, I joined my friend Rick to watch the Monday Night Football game featuring the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. 

This was the much-anticipated return of Russell Wilson his trade last March.   Like the Mariners game, this one went down to the last play, as the 'Hawks barely won after Denver curiously attempted a 60 plus yard field goal in the final 20 seconds.   The kick went wide, and the Hawks came away with a victory.  The question was, why not give Wilson a chance to get the first down and get in better field goal range? That's his forte.

While a mixed reception was predicted for Wilson's return, after all, he quarterbacked the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory, the boos were overwhelming.  

Go Hawks!

Seahawks on Monday Night Football. We are near 12th man flag

Go Seahawks!

 Seahawks open on MNF with the return of Russell Wilson to town as a Bronco.

Mariners Beat The Braves

We watched the Mariners play the world champion Atlanta Braves today.  

The Mariners had a 6-2 lead in the 9th, but the Braves were able to come back with 5 runs to take the lead.  

The crowd was desolate in the Mariners half of the 9th until Julio Rodriguez hit a homerun to tie the game.  Then, in amazing fashion, Eugenio Suarez parked one in stands  to give the Mariners an 8-7 victory (pictured above).  

On the anniversary

Bagpipes to honor victims of 9-11 in a tribute on the anniversary of the attack at the Mariners vs Braves game at T-Mobile Park.

We Remember

 

Cougs Upset #19 Badgers

 The WSU Cougars, yesterday, stunned the Wisconsin Badgers 17-14.   It was a huge win for Coach Jake Dickert, starting his first full season. 

A Beautiful Moon

A nearly full moon from Patrick's Faire Park in Maple Valley 

Three Eras End

 Perhaps, I'm the only person who could tie these together, however in just two days, three constants, for me, one a decade and a half, one over two decades, and lastly, a multi-generational one, came to an end.

Tuesday morning, one day after Labor Day, I read that Ken Levine curtailed his 16 year blog, something that I read every day, showing me there were still bloggers out there.  

Tuesday night, I watched on TV as the Seattle Storm lost in the WNBA playoffs, it being the last game for Sue Bird, who inspired our area with her outstanding play, her charisma and compassion for over 20 years.  Bird won championships, Olympic Gold Medals, and the hearts of area sports fans.

Thursday, Queen Elizabeth, who served for well over seven decades, ruling Great Britain, but virtually "grandmother" to the world slipped away, leaving us something that most of the world has never seen, a King of England. 

The Queen Is Dead

Queen Elizabeth II, 96, of Great Brittain, whose reign started before I was born, has died.

England will now have a king for the first time in my lifetime.

The top picture was from the Post Alley blog, where former Seattle PI and Times columnist Jean Godden wrote a terrific piece about her visit to Seattle in 1983, almost 40 years ago.  You can find the article by clicking here.

Brandi Carlile Exclusively Reveals 2 Exciting Album Announcements

Just as humble and lovable as ever, Maple Valley's Brandi Carlile, now a 6 time Grammy winner, made an appearance on The Today Show. She also performed a few songs, of course, knocking it out of the park.

Ken Levine Retires From Blogging

 For years, the word is that blogging is dead and in fact, my two brothers curtailed their respective blogs when they joined Facebook.  My dad had a wonderful blog that I still enjoy reading, however, he passed on in 2016.  At the time, he was 2 years removed from his last post.

One that I could always count on was By Ken Levine.    I remembered Ken mostly from his announcing of Mariner games on the radio.  He had a short tenure in the 90s.  However, he is most famous for comedy writing on classic shows like Mash, Cheers, and Frasier.  

Levine has had the success in the TV industry that most of us dream about, but on his blog, he comes across as down to earth and approachable.  That trait is further demonstrated in his very successful podcast, Hollywood and Levine, that is released every week.

Levine blogged daily, which has inspired me to try and blog daily.  Like this blog, it was not tied to any subject, just whatever crossed his mind at the time.  

I was truly saddened to read yesterday that Ken is curtailing his blog, saying that his latest post would be his last.  His blog will stay on the web to entertain readers with 16 years worth of content.  He said that maintaining it had gotten to be a chore and distracted him from other projects. Ken has always had his fingers in many pots including writing plays, cartooning, and podcasting, in which he plans to continue.

So to Ken, I want to say, "Thank You" for the morning entertainment, which made readers feel like they were part of something special and didn't cost us a nickel.  We learned, we laughed, we cried, and we got angry.  We fantasized about being in his world and really, what more could you ask for? 

End Of An Era--Sue Bird's Career Ends With Playoff Loss

 After 21 years, Sue Bird's WNBA career, all of it with our Seattle Storm, ended with a 97-92 loss to the Las Vegas Aces in the playoffs at Climate Pledge Arena.  

After the game, the crowd chanted "Thank You, Sue".  Bird stood on the court in tears and then walked off, to take her place amongst players like Edgar Martinez and Steve Largent as local sports heroes.

 

The Art Of Racing Cars In The Rain

After a rare early September downpour, we watched car races at the rain slicked Monroe Speedway at the Evergreen State Fair.

It's Labor Day

 

Evergreen State Fair Boat Races September 4, 2022

A rain downpour did not deter crowds at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe.  A line to buy scones, an area fair tradition was seemingly a mile long. 

The event includes auto races including the one above, known as the "boat races" involving demolition cars pulling boats without trailers in a figure 8 track.

How Bout Them Apples!

This tree in our backyard was planted in memory of my father in 2016.

It was a gift from Deb's parents.

I'm happy to see it has yielded a bumper crop of apples.

Orange Moon Last Night

While walking the dog last night, we couldn't miss the orange coloring of the moon.

Ichiro Suzuki shocks "Ichiro Girl" again, before hilarious introduction ...

It was Ichiro weekend in Seattle last weekend.  I'd heard of the Ichiro girl but could not quite understand what the whole thing was about.  Luckily, it's illustrated here.  

Also shown is Ichiro's speech as he was inducted into the Seattle Mariner Hall of Fame.

Beginning My Fourth Eve Ronin Book

 I've started on Gated Prey, the third in Lee Goldberg's Eve Ronin series and my fourth book (I started with the last, Movieland and got hooked).  You can find the book by clicking here.