Double Header, In A Way

Linda visiting her Dad at Tahoma.

Linda and I packed up the Kia and left Post Falls at 6:30 AM. Linda drove to Ellensburg, and then I took over and piloted the final miles down the pass, southwest to Tahoma National Cemetery. This was our first chance since his service to visit the resting place of Linda's father and his brother Uncle Jake. The cemetery is so beautiful and well-maintained. We found the site and paid our respects. Linda had some time with her Dad and then we used our memory of the area to find Uncle Jake's gravesite. It was a good visit and one that we needed to make.

After Tahoma, we drove north through Renton and Bellevue using the 405 to the 5 into Everett where we found our spot at the Hampton Inn Seattle/Everett. Linda and I settled in as the Andersons made their way north to meet us.

Once everyone arrived and got settled in we all loaded into the Kia (including Lucy, Julia's friend who lives a bit north of Everett), picked up some Taco Time food, and made our way to Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, WA. We watched people and enjoyed our dinner as the sun set.

Uncle Jake.

The next morning, we had breakfast provided by the hotel and went for a walk around the area with Rayelle and Mike. Linda and Rayelle discovered a Goodwill thrift store and headed there after our walk. Later that afternoon after Lucy got back to the hotel from work, we drove to Northgate Mall at the Northgate Station. We parked our car and purchased tickets on the #1 train into Seattle.

The train was packed with Seattle Mariners fans and we all went with the flow making our way to  T-Mobile Park. This was the first part of our doubleheader. The Mariners were playing the Royals and were in contention for first place in their division.

We found our way to our seats and they were great! Just as we got settled, the game started and the first batter came to the plate. J. P. Crawford stood at home plate and smacked a home run! What a start!

The game was a bit of a battle with Seattle getting the lead and then the Royals coming back, but in the end, the Mariners won the game.  It was also fireworks night at the park, so we stayed put and watched a wonderful fireworks display. We had a blast! (Excuse the pun.)

Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo WA.

Afterward, we all gathered together and walked with swarms of baseball fans back to the #1 Train. Mike and I were amazed at how well the light rail system worked. They can move thousands of people to the interior of the city and out with very little stopping and waiting. We moved consistently towards our hotel and were back to our room at 1:30 AM.

The next day was super nice and everyone was looking forward to the second part of our doubleheader, the big concert! The ladies, Julia, Lucy, Rayelle, and Linda had tickets to the Ed Sheeran concert at Lumen Field. Mike and I were going to stay home and relax.

Wall art in Everett, WA.

Our relaxation became a bit of a joke when someone suggested that we could spend the time that the ladies were watching Ed sing, at the strip clubs of Seattle. Linda even paid Mike for our Mariners tickets using 100 one-dollar bills. She handed him the pile and said "Make it rain, Mike!"

We loaded up again and drove to Northgate Mall at the Northgate Station. We got our tickets again and rode the #1 Train into Westlake Center and walked down to Pike Street. There we took in the crowd. We watched the Fish Tossers by the big Pig. We did some shopping and then had lunch at The Athenian Restaurant and Bar overlooking the water from Pike Place Market. Once that was done we did some more shopping. The ladies went to the concert and Mike and I went back to Everett where we ate dinner and returned to our rooms. No strip clubs for us! 

Walking into T-Mobile Park for the
Mariners vs. Royals game.

Linda had a great time at the concert. There were 77,000 fans in attendance and it was very crowded. They were part of a record-breaking crowd at Lumen Field. The light rail did its job and got everyone home. I was asleep when Linda returned. She told me all about the concert the next morning: Ed Sheeran was amazing, Ben Haggerty (otherwise known as Macklemore and a native of Seattle) made a surprise visit and sang a couple of songs, and the crowd was LOUD and lots of fun.

We got up early on Sunday morning, had a great breakfast, and were on our way. We had a wonderful weekend filled with laughing and exploring.  The drive home was uneventful, but our weekend doubleheader was a blast!

Baseball selfie.

Julia, Lucy, Rayelle, Mike,
Linda and guess who?

The troop just after the fireworks,
We are heading home.

One hundred $1's. Make it rain!

Concert stage during the opening act.