Lake Pleasant RV Park - Bothell, Washington

Located in Bothell, WA Lake Pleasant RV Park is 30 - 40 minutes from downtown Seattle and 20 min to Lynnwood  - it was ideally situated for us. At $44 a night, it was a bit higher than we wanted to pay- but it was, by far, the most convenient and nicest spot we found in our search.

Pros:

This park is in a lovely setting. It was ALWAYS refreshing to drive back home after a long day of exploring. It is an oasis in the midst of the urban, Seattle area.

 

 

The grounds and facilities are well-maintained and clean. The laundry room was equipped to handle the business from the park.

The grounds are lush and green. We enjoyed the buffer of grass behind our trailer and the playground (the flip side of that below). This was close enough to Lynnwood  our son could get off work and stop by for dinner.

The "lake" is filled with catch and release bass - this was fun for the kids and they'll want to stay again. 

Blyth Park and the Burke-Gillman/Sammamish trails are minutes away from Lake Pleasant. Shopping is easily accessible. 405 on ramps are close.

Cons:
The advertised "free wifi" - is one hour a day. Our data plan worked well for us.

The spaces are narrow and packed tight - some are very unlevel. The hooks ups are at the rear of the pull through sites. This means you cannot leave a tow hitched - it also meant a bit of juggling for us to fit where we needed considering slide outs, length of space and position of hook ups. Cedar shrubs are planted between sites in an attempt to give privacy.

The grass behind the playground is used by residents as an off-leash dog run. This is noisy, messy and not safe. Yes, this happened daily. Yes, I made the staff aware.

Playground - dog run - general use grass

I was told (on the phone) there are no weekly or monthly fees - but it appears a majority of the park is occupied by residents who stay somewhat permanently. When I asked in person about extended fees, I was told there are no weekly fees but there are "seasonal/monthly" fees - though there are "rig restrictions" for seasonal residents. This was the first time I felt maybe our 2007 Outback wasn't quite "up to snuff" in a park....and I didn't like the feeling. I much prefer the mix of vintage, spanking new motor homes, and everything in between that is found in state parks and fam camps. LOL

It is what it is. This is NOT camping. It's a beautiful, clean, relaxing spot to land near a big city and is much cheaper than hotel accommodations. It was MUCH nicer than parks which are, in reality, paved parking lots with hook ups! Yes, the spots are tight - but that seems to be the case in most RV parks near big cities. Unless we find something comparable at a better price, we'll stay here again when we visit our son.

Unexpected Memories

We set up camp and gathered for a late lunch. As we sat around the table, I began to feel a familiar sensation.

"We're having an earthquake. Do they have earthquakes in WA?"

Everyone agreed it felt like a quake. Then we heard the whistle and the rattling became instantly understandable. It appears our new spot for is situated between I 5 and VERY active train tracks.  Yes, they run through the night.

Other than the trains - this is a great park. Tents for Troops originated here. We are receiving two nights of free stay. We've used this program three or four times - I guess a couple of days and nights of noise (while we enjoy a lovely park and great service) is small appreciation to show the originators of a program many enjoy. This park has the friendliest people and the nicest amenities we've experienced to date - except for the tendency to shake, rattle and roll every 20 - 30 minutes - it's quite perfect.

Fun in the pool and sitting in the hot tub IS a great way to end a travel/set up day!

 

 

Lessons from this stay: choosing to find the humor makes any situation better (and choosing joy is Biblical), unexpected memories may become some of the very fondest, and ALWAYS check Google earth before booking future campsites.

What are some of your fondest unexpected memories? Have you ever had a campsite come with "unexpected features"?

Blissfully Ignorant

 

 

A picture is worth 1000 words and words fail me in the face of such horror. There are some parts of moving day of which it is best to stay blissfully ignorant. Just stay inside, plump pillows, bang pans and seem to be generally terribly busy preparing to move....that's the best plan.

 

 

I may have blown my cover by venturing outside to take this photograph. 

Blyth Park and Rail Trails - WA

Today is our last day in the "Seattle" area. We looked for an activity up north near Josiah which would allow us to take Yuuki.  During our searches we discovered the Washington Rail to Trail movement. Basically, railways which are not currently being used, are paved and turned into walking, jogging, biking, skating (sometimes equestrian) trails.  The trails go past historical sites and are usually in gorgeous areas. Here is a list of Washington's Rail Trails. We'll remember these for future trips.

The 27 mile Burke-Gilman Trail begins in Fremont/Lake Washington (Seattle) and goes all the way to Blyth Park in Bothell. There, it intersects with the western end of the  Sammamish Trail and continues on to Marymoor Park in Redmond.

We met Josiah at Blyth park at 1130 - give or take 30 min. Josiah added a bit of adventure to the day by locking his keys in his car. Turns out apartment managers in Lynwood don't open apartments to retrieve spare keys. This led to meeting the least talkative locksmith in Washington. ::snort::  We made use of the wait by eating our picnic and playing frisby.

Stacia was happy to discover Hayley and Miles, kids from a former RV park we stayed in, were at the park. They played together for a solid hour or so. The kids asked for her big brother and dragged him into their game as well.

The kids have gotten much better at Frisbee in the past month

While the guys played Bocce, I took Yuuki and explored the Burke-Gilman Trail. This was a beautiful walk wandering along the river.

Renovated trail tunnel

Amazingly large house on river with LOTS of boats moored in front

 

Eventually, games were over and we decided to walk up the Sammamish River Trail a ways.  This was as beautiful as the previous trail.  You'll note we didn't do a great job getting a family picture today.....but I'm including them anyway.

Family Photo #1

 



The trail led to another park and the Bothell Historical Museum. This looks like a great spot to explore on a future trip. They were closed today. We stopped at the memorial to vets and peeked inside buildings.

Family Photo #2

We'll need to come back and explore the story of these three gentlemen.

Our next stop was ICE CREAM - because it WAS Sunday - and some traditions cannot give way to life-changing moves into trailers.

It was great to see Josiah. I'm glad we made the trip to see him. The Lynnwood Chick fil A is beautiful, he's enjoying the new challenge at work and his new position.

We're proud of him. We love the  man he's become.

Point Defiance with COUSINS

I have three cousins who live in the Seattle area - Lois, LaDonna and Launny.

LaDonna suggested Point Defiance and Dinner for our meet-up. It was absolutely perfect - and is a spot we'll need to explore a few more times to fully experience all it has to offer. We have discovered we like combining visiting with seeing sights in an area - at least ones that lend themselves to natural discussions (like falls, hatcheries, hikes, parks, obscure art museums, bird hikes or Simpson murals).  All of my cousins seem to be photo-adverse. Michael snapped some anyway - which I will look at and smile...but I won't post online as I know they wouldn't like it. (I really like one of LaDonna and I face to face in the exact same pose - genetics are wonderful).

Point Defiance Park began as a military reservation after the Wilkes Expedition visited Puget Sound in the 1840s to map the bays and estuaries. Wilkes is thought to have noted that with a fort positioned at the point, and at Gig Harbor across the narrows, one could "Defy" the world. In 1888, President Grover Cleveland authorized its use as a public park.

Point Defiance has a zoo, aquarium, beach, boathouse, ferry dock, wildlife (fox, eagles, sea lions, raccoons, wolves) trails, old growth forest, Fort Nisquilly and GARDENS. There are rose, dahlia, rhodendrum and Japanese gardens.

Fort Nisqually is a replica of a Hudson's Bay Company's fort from the 19th century when the company had trading forts stretching from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, to Fort Yukon on the Yukon River in what was to become the state of Alaska. We were unable to get inside the fort as they were preparing for a Candlelight event.

 

We walked out past the boathouse and watched the ferry for a bit....and walked on a terribly unstable dock. I found myself motion sick by the time we left the dock. Michael welcomed us to his world. That stopped me in my tracks.

"Do you really feel this much motion and instability?"

"On a bad day."

Hmmmm.....maybe we can overlook his distraction.

 

We walked down Owens Beach and visited as we walked. Stacia was excited to find SEAGLASS.....she found a bright blue piece and Alex found a brown piece.

This was a pretty walk. The whole day was lovely. On our five mile drive (which we stretched to about 7 with a detour) We saw EAGLES, old growth forests, raccoons, narrow bridges and lots of beautiful scenery.

These guys were begging - obviously people ignore
 the signs about feeding the wildlife

Not even worried about cars

As I said, we'll certainly visit Point Defiance again. All we did today was FREE. We need to explore the many gardens (also free), visit the Fort and the Zoo/Aquarium.

We ended the night sharing dinner together. Despite suggestions for Yeti Yogurt, we settled on El Torros. The meal was wonderful and our waiter was great.  I'll remember my "crispy burrito with nothing on it" for a long time. ::grin:: Launny, my cousin, made the kids' evening by giving us a couple of new kites. He knows how to fly the custom-made kites.

All our walking this week seems to be aggravating Michael's hip, we're looking for a low-key, sedate, fun outing with Josiah tomorrow...we'll probably save the tours we didn't take for another trip.

#WYFF - Fishing @ Lake Pleasant

This week's #WYFF proves one can find, and enjoy, nature in the middle of a fancy RV Park.  Note how close they are to the back of a big ole Mother Home. LOL  While you can barely see feet in this photo - I assure you they each have wet, cold feet.

Stacia got up EARY this morning and sat down beside me on the couch. She didn't seem extremely motivated to have breakfast, go to the shower-house, or to start school. She wasn't complaining of a bad dream or feeling ill. I finally asked why she was up so early.  It seems Dad told them last night if they got up early, he'd take them fishing before we moved. Big time Daddy Points!

At 0 Dark Thirty, Michael, Alex and Stacia headed out to the Lake- in the drizzly mist.

Alex dropped his line and immediately caught a fish.

 

He then had a dry spell, while everyone else caught fish. Fishing at Lake Pleasant RV Park is catch and release. He eventually caught six more fish.

Nothing screams "back to nature" like a lake ringed by 40ft motorhomes ::snort::

 

In the end they caught 21 fish, enjoyed a beautiful morning, and made a zillion memories.

Yuuki and I checked in on them during our morning walk. We decided it was too cold and wet to stay and watch.  Three hours after leaving the Caboose, they returned with stories - fish stories.

Stacia retells her glory-filled exploits. She caught "almost 11," and she's sticking by the story and has no idea why we all think it's cute. Michael says she's a natural fisherman - her determination, she set and reeled them all in, her MATH, as well as her cute stories. Alex caught 7.  Both were happy!

The above photo also serves to illustrate an upcoming repair project. Our "WOOD" is buckling and peeling. We've been too busy to take a heat gun to it yet - but we're diligent to tear off the hanging, peeling sheets of "white wood."  We'll paint it one of these days....still pondering the color question.

Oh yes, we relocated from Bothell to Tacoma (Fort Lewis Travel Camp) today. We saw one of the first chaplains Michael worked with at the BX, went shopping for Baby D - this is boy week - though I may have found a couple of girl things too; never know if I'll be around stores next week -  and enjoyed an evening of movies in the Caboose.

#WYFF is sponsored by Fulltime Families. View more of our Friday exploits by clicking the #WYFF tab above.

 

 

It's GRAND - We're having a Grandbaby!

I'm going to be  Gemma, Granna, Grammie or whatever the little darlin wants to call me. Michael is going to be Grandpa. ::wink::  In fact, I have an electronic Grandbaby count down and it tells me that Baby D is due in 194 days.

For this child (we) prayed; and the LORD has given (us our) petition which (we) asked of him: Therefore also (we) have (given) him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be (given) to the LORD. And (they) worshipped the LORD there.

I Samuel 1:27, 28

Many of you know Izaak and BreAnne's journey towards parenthood. Many have been praying God would grant them their desire for a child. Months longer than we would have liked to wait - but in His perfect timing - HE HAS GRANTED THEM THEIR HEART'S DESIRE.  We are so excited to announce BreAnne is now 12 weeks pregnant and Baby D is slated to arrive in April 2016.

Those of you who have faithfully prayed for this day - thank you. You're the advance prayer team. Please continue to pray for this little life.

Here are some photos Bre has texted over the past weeks....enjoy the journey to date in photos.

Bre has the most creative ways to share news with Izaak!

1 August - and we're just a wee bit excited to hear that Bre is just pregnant!  Yes, with each Skype request we told ourselves not to expect a pregnancy announcement but this time there WAS ONE. Michael and I in the upper right corner.

We happened to be in Eugene for Bre's first OB appointment. It was a fantastic day when Bre saw a little heart beating.

It's been wonderful fun as Bre texts weekly photos of herself and Baby D. She has been charting growth and development on a chalkboard. We've used these as prayer prompts and the kids have been excited to know what is growing each week.  Here are a few of the weekly shots.