Stehekin

 

 

 

 

Stehekin is a small village at the north end of our 50 mile long Lake Chelan.  It has 75 permanent residents and can only be reached by boat, air, horseback, or hiking.  The summers bring many visitors to this remote area who enjoy camping, fishing, and the beautiful pacific northwest.  Julie and I took our first camping trip here since 2001 and spent the night on our boat.  We camped at Weaver Point campground, about 40 miles from our house and did enjoy the trip even though we had some high winds and rough  water.  As always whenever we travel, we do meet some interesting people.  It was hot when we arrived so I jumped in to cool off.  I forgot how cold the snow runoff is and didn't stay in long at 54 degrees.  Gees! I couldn't find my boys until the next day.  Lunch at the local Pastrey company is something you gotta do while in Stehekin.  We have seen some really beautiful country while living in Europe during the last 6 years.  I believe Lake Chelan, and Stehekin  rates right up at the top of the list during the summer months here.  It's been 2 months since I've posted a blog and do need to keep the stories going.  Our blog will not be   'Phil & Julie's UK Adventure anymore but will have to be renamed.....I'm thinking about that.....

The three C's

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every one's heard of the three C's to a successful relationship,  if you haven't, this could really help.  Today My bride of about 30 years returns to the US where we will start a new chapter in our lives.  For the first time we will live together 24/7 which is something we've never done.  I am usually gone about 3 months a year working on my projects.  Shown here packing out is my final inbound flight to the US from England. I will miss the outstanding service on a flight that I've taken a dozen times.
 As I relax in business class I gave a lot of thought to this adjustment we will both have to make.  I truly believe the secret is in the 3 C's and that's all I will ever ask of Julie.  Cook, Clean, and Comply,,,It's just that simple.  I will do all the rest no matter what it will be.  She might want to add something to that but it just won't be necessary.  So this evening when I pick Julie up at Phoenix Sky harbor, she will began a one year break from her busy and stressful career.  It will be huge comfort to her when she finds out that I've totally removed any and all stress from our lives going forward.

Crownline 266

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that we will be living at our Lake home for the summer we need a boat on the lift.  We sold our last boat 4 years ago as we weren't there enough to use it much.   I searched on-line while in London and found this 2000, 266 Crownline with only 106 total hours on it, in Sacramento California.  I flew into Sacramento this spring and did a test run on Folsom lake.  A full mechanical check sorted our a few issues so then I bought it.  We needed a boat that was big enough to overnight on but would still work fine for day use, fishing and skiing etc.  A covered bow and a plenty of  power is important on this lake where rough weather can happen on any day.  This boat is 26 ft long with a big block motor and weights 4700 lbs dry.  The fuel tank is 75 gallons so with a few people and gear this will be all our 6,000 pound lift can handle.  Our garage is deep enough to store this inside during the winter months.  Skimpy bikini's get free rides.

Baby Owen

Owen Lawrence Summers was born May 17, 2013 at 1;52 AM.  7.8 lbs, 19 inches tall.  This is our first Grandson,  and the first child for Brooke and Scott Summers.  I was able to stop in the middle of a trip to Sacramento California, and fly into Phoenix in time to welcome Owen into life.  It sure brought back vivid memories of our two children being born.  Very proud of Brooke who was in labor over 30 hours without any food or sleep.  Finally she gets to hold her child and he dumps his very first payload all over her and Scott gets the cleanup duty.  I'm telling you,  they never quit doing that.
 I was in the hospital with Brooke and Scott, and also stayed with them at their house for the first 3 days with their new child. It's a tough adjustment for a young couple bringing a newborn home.  Every parent knows there's not much sleep in the house for a few weeks, but I actually slept quite well in the spare bedroom with the door closed.  I do enjoy being a Grandparent and am really lucky to have my two granddaughters living only 10 minutes away.  Too be honest I wouldn't want to start all over again but this is really fun.

Career Break

Barclays Announcment;  Senior Executive Julie Roddy, Director of Retail Lending Services has decided to take a career break with effect from 4 May 2013, to allow her to return to America to spend more time with her family. Julie has made tremendous customer centric improvements within Mortgage Services over the past two years including the implementation of the Mortgage Originations Program. We'd like to thank Julie for her personal support and her contribution to Barclays to date.

This is what Julie decided to do in December of last year.  We have missed out on family and friends, and would like to spend time with our grandkids in Arizona who we hardly know.  Julie will take up to a year off and will have a job with Barclays to go back to if she chooses.  We will now adjust to living together 24/7 which we've never done.  We will live at our lake home in Washington State for the summer and then be in Arizona for the winter. 

Beer Bike

 

 

 

This might be the greatest invention I've ever seen and found it in downtown Budapest.  This can be rented for 180 euros, ($230.00).  This includes seats for 12 beer drinkers, up to 60 mugs of cold beer, music, and a sober driver.  You can tour the city but of course everyone has to peddle. Go where ever you want in 4 hours, with frequent pit stops also included.  I can't think of any better way to see Europe. 

 

Budapest, Hungary

 

 

 

 

Last weekend we flew to Budapest, the capitol city of Hungary, for the Easter holiday.  A short 2 hour flight got us out of the cold London winter to a very popular European city.  The modern 5 star Budabar Hotel was our base and it worked out well as it was in the heart of the city center.(bottom pic)  Ranked as the 25 th most beautiful city in the world, Budapest still couldn't hide the destruction of WWII which we see often in Europe.(second pic).  The name Budapest came from 2 military forces in 829 AD, Buda and Pest, each based on opposite sides of the Danube River.  We had brilliant weather half the time and more nasty rain our last day.  A local river cruise was a good way to see the city on a rainy day.  The Hungarian stew and the hot spiced wine kept us warm as we checked another great European destination off our list.