(NOTE: I belong to a private e-mail list server group for seniors called, Senior World. My wife and I attended a surprise 40th anniversary party in early June, 2000, in Seattle, Washington for a particular couple. This is an account of our trip which I wrote up afterwards and sent to the group.)
Hi, Everyone:
Well, Lil and I have returned home from the "gathering" in Seattle. Let me just say at the outset that this was one of more memorable trips of our entire life to date. In some respects, it was almost exactly as I expected it would be - in others, it was way, way more than I had anticipated. Since Kathleen and Verbeck have already briefed you (BTW, my thanks to Scoops for forwarding me Kathleen's and Vebeck's letters that came in while I was still unsubscribed) in considerable detail about the anniversary celebration on Sunday, June 4th, I won't dwell on that - except for this one quick thought - plus, I will comment on my first impressions of some of the people I met for the first time.
You see, I am still amazed that Esther Immer was able to plan this so far in advance without the Smiths getting wise to what was going on. With as many people being in on it, I was just sure that someone would slip and inadvertently send a private email to the group instead - fortunately, that did not happen. However, when Verbeck sent an email to the group several days before that Sunday wherein he simply mentioned that there was going to be a small family celebration for the immediate family, it occurred to me that Verbeck might actually know (or have figured out, somehow) what was really going on and that this comment from him was just a ruse to divert our attention. In other words, I worried that the Smiths really knew what was going on but were just being polite by "acting dumb."
Well, let me tell you that all of my concerns were laid to rest the minute Kathleen and Verbeck walked into that 3rd room at Canfield's (Verbeck's brother) house where we S-W'ers were waiting. My only regret is that I can't show you an instant replay of the look on their faces! Any suspicions that I had about it not being a surprise instantly evaporated. And, while Verbeck told you about the tears that welled up in his eyes, he didn't tell you about how my eyes also welled up. I actually don't think Kathleen and Verbeck fully realized the extent of the S-W congregation at first. As they would meet and embrace one person or couple, they then would realize that next to that person was yet another, and so on. Lil and I were near the end of the line and, by the time they got to us, they were genuinely overwhelmed.
Kathleen and Verbeck also told you about the terrific efforts of Esther Immer in planning and organizing the event. I must add my own comments here. Esther is a bundle of raw energy who probably is the type of person who gave rise to that old saw the goes, "If you want to get something done, give it to the busiest person on the block!" She is undoubtedly a person who has missed her true calling. With her penchant and talent for planning, organizing, and taking charge, Esther could be in charge of the White House and Presidential activities. And she does all this with aplomb, grace, and a big constant smile that would melt even the heart of a sourpuss! I should also point out that in addition to all the "big" group planning she did, she also knocked herself out for the five of us who stayed at her home. We were wined and dined and otherwise waited on hand and foot.
Lil and I arrived at SeaTac airport in mid afternoon on Friday, June 2nd. We rented a car and immediately set out for Esther's place on Camano Island which is about 60 miles north of Seattle. We arrived at Esther's at about 6:00 PM and met Esther's husband, Harry, who escorted us on into the living room of their beautiful home. After meeting Esther, we were then introduced to Carol Salgot (an S-W'er from Michigan who has been unsubscribed for some time) and Mike and Re Kramer (who are from Texas and were in the old SU group a few years ago). This is where it was a lot like I expected - there was absolutely no ice that needed to be broken at all - all of us immediately fell into easy conversation just like we already knew each other....and, when you think about it some, I guess we DID. Carol was put up in a guest bedroom and Lil and I were put up in another. The Kramers had driven there in their motor home and it was parked in a corner of Esther's yard just off the highway.
On Saturday morning, I got up rather early and slipped on some trousers to go make a cup of coffee. I found that Carol Salgot had already made a pot and she and I fell into a nice chat. Before long, the Kramers came in and they joined the confab. A while later, Lil walked in and said, "My, you people are sitting around there talking just like you're all old friends!" And, of course, we were. Carol Salgot is a very warm and genuine person. And, she also brought with her a real bonus. You see, she has a knack for baking home made sweet cinnamon rolls - and, guess what we had every morning for breakfast (along with lots of other goodies). The Kramers had spent much time in the Netherlands and Oman. It was fascinating listening to them tell of their experiences overseas. Re is something of a photography buff and she took lots of neat digital pictures which I'm hoping will eventually find their way (Heads up, Terry!) to the S-W web site.
Esther and Harry's home is a spacious big A-frame type house which, while not actually on the beach, is built on a gently sloping hillside with an excellent view of Puget Sound. Several big douglas firs dot their yard along with a profusion of nice hedges and other floral offerings. A view of their home from the front is like something post card pictures are made from! The Immer property is a short walk away from a private beach which is maintained by and is intended for use by the people living in the immediate vicinity. On our first walk to the beach, we saw an eagle sitting in the top of an old tree.
One of the things that really surprised me about Puget Sound is the extremes in height that the daily tides undergo. While they do vary somewhat, the difference between low and high tides while we were there were something on the order of 10 feet or so (I was expecting something like a couple of feet at most!).
On Saturday, Esther took us all to Stanwood (the nearest little village) where we all got a two day fishing permit. This made it legal for us to go crabbing, clamming, and musseling. When we got back, the tide was out so Esther took us all to the beach with shovels and buckets. She then showed us how to dig for clams and mussels. In no time at all, we had plenty which then became the main course for our dinner that night. Esther also made arrangements with a friend, Leo, who briefed Mike and I on how to set Esther's two crab pots - something you want to do at low tide (which I will get back to later). Finally, after baiting the crab pots with cracked clams, Mike and I rowed out about a hundred yards in Esther's little dingy and set the pots. Each pot is a cage like affair which is weighted and sinks to the bottom. There is a one-way door on each side which allows for a crab to get in. Once in, the door closes and the crab cannot get back out. A long nylon line with a floating buoy is tethered to each pot - this, then, enables you to find the pot when you return.
Mike and I "ran" the crab pots early Sunday morning when the tide was in. This is where the 10 foot difference between high and low tide comes into play. You see, one of Esther's crab pots had a relatively short tether on it and, consequently, the marker buoy was now actually underwater - and we, therefore didn't have a clue where that pot was. However, we did locate the other pot, retrieved it, and found that it contained three nice dungeness crabs. (A couple of days later, Mike and Esther managed to retrieve the other pot at low tide - and it contained nine nice big crabs! So, all told, we collected a dozen crabs and, Tuesday night, we had a crab fest at Esther's. But, now I'm getting ahead of myself.)
Sunday, of course, was highlighted with the big surprise party. Again, I won't go into that except to say that Canfield and Georgene Smith are to be commended for putting on such a lavish affair. They have a stunning and gorgeous big, spacious home and their hospitality was generous and left nothing to be desired. Lil and I also enjoyed meeting all the cousins and other relatives who were gathered in numbers that I would guess amounted to about thirty or so. I also want to briefly mention the other S-W'ers who were there and whom Lil and I had never met. Kathleen is a wonderful lady with hair as white as the driven snow. She is very gracious and exudes a quiet and very deep confidence. One phrase comes to mind in describing Verbeck - "an Officer and a Gentleman!" Verbeck is very definitely a "take charge" kind of guy - but, in a very quiet and unobtrusive way. He always has a smile and a nice even manner - I can't imagine him ever having been mad at anyone. Then, there was Miki from Japan. Miki wears a constant smile and we found her to be very sincere, conversant, and eager to get to know us. She brought Lil a beautiful scarf and, if any of you remember my inquiry about sugar cubes, Miki brought me some of the Japanese equivalent. And, there was Ichiro from Japan. Ichiro is a very sincere and pleasant fellow who seemed eager to chat and find out more about us. He gave us gifts which consisted of a beautiful place mat set and some absolutely gorgeous post cards. Then there was Marty and Dorothy Civin (who, incidentally, were celebrating their 45th anniversary!). I had Marty pegged as a rather conservative guy - boy, was I wrong! Marty is a real "life of the party" kind of guy. He and Dorothy both have big, warm smiles and, when they introduce themselves in that neat, clipped "Boston" accent, you immediately know you're among friends. We later spent some time alone with the Civins and found them to be wonderful traveling companions.
On Monday, Esther had made arrangements for two carloads of us to go on a ferry tour to the San Juan Islands. A cousin of Verbeck's by the name of Steve accompanied us on this trip (as well as the one on Tuesday) and we found him to be a quiet but extremely perceptive person. The San Juans are a big group of islands north of Seattle not far from Vancouver in British Columbia. We got on the ferry at Anacortes and sailed to Friday Harbor Island. While there, Verbeck told us all about the dispute between the U.S. and Britain in the mid 1800's over some territory in the area. The matter was finally settled by arbitration and it was this dispute that gave rise to the expression, "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!" We had lunch at a quaint little restaurant there on the island. Some of us went on a tour van (which Esther had arranged and paid for!) operated by an interesting chap by the name of Bob. Bob had a "down home" type of patter and he drove us all around the island while telling us the local history. One place we went was a favored place to spot Orca Whales but, alas, none were to be seen while we were there. While on the ferry, Verbeck and Kathleen pointed out some property on one of the islands that belongs to some of their relatives. After the San Juan tour, on the way home, we stopped at the Light House Inn in a place called LaConner and had a real nice dinner.
On Tuesday, Esther organized a three carload trip to Whidbey Island which is north of Seattle also. Near the north end of Whidbey is a place called Deception Pass which got its name from early settlers who didn't realize that it was an island. They wrongly thought the water flowing through the pass was a river. In reality, it is part of Puget Sound. Once they realized this, that is when someone coined the name, "Deception Pass." (A tragic footnote to all this is that shortly after we were there, a family from Utah came to the very parking area at Deception Pass where we had rendezvoused. They had come to go on a hiking trip in the nearby national forest. One of their party, a 12 year old boy disappeared shortly thereafter and a big search party was organized which included helicopters and patrol boats in Puget Sound. However, authorities weren't very optimistic as a toy of the boy's and skid marks by a 100 foot vertical cliff led some of them to theorize that he had fallen into the gorge. That's where things stood when we left on Thursday - the boy still hadn't been found.)
After we left Deception Pass, we drove up to the top of Mount Erie which is over 2000 feet in elevation and is the highest point in the area. The view from there was pretty spectacular - and it was cold up there! From there, we split up and went our separate ways. Lil and I had agreed to take Marty and Dorothy Civin down to the southern tip of Whidbey Island where we then took the ferry across to Mukilteo. From there, we went on to Everett where we dropped the Civins off at a hotel where they were staying. We then went back to Esther's on Camano where we were just in time for the big crab fest. Miki also joined us for this.
On Wednesday, we got up and said our goodbyes to Esther who had to leave at about 9:00 AM to go pickup Miki at a nearby bed & breakfast. I think she then took Miki to Verbeck and Kathleen's for a short stay while she, Esther, went on to SeaTac to pickup her sister who was coming in from Minnesota for a visit (I'm telling you - there's never any dust of Esther's coattails!). We took Carol Salgot with us so that she could catch the Amtrak train at Everett. On the way, we picked up the Civins and the five of us had a nice lunch at a seaside restaurant. We then dropped Carol off at the train station and then proceeded south to the SeaTac area where we took the Civins to a hotel and got a room in the same hotel for ourselves.
On Thursday, we took Marty and Dorothy to pick up a rental car so that they could continue on to Vancouver. Lil and I then spent the rest of the day in downtown Seattle. We took in the Aquarium and an I-Max movie about the Amazon. We also went for a walk and "discovered" the Pike Street market quite by accident - that is quite a place with its assortment of fresh fish and produce vendors many of whom make it a point to really "ham it up" with the customers.
And, that's about it. On Friday morning, we got up early and jumped on our plane for home. But, if there is one thought I would like to leave you with, it is this: if any of you ever get an opportunity to participate in something like this, jump at it - you will never regret it, trust me! The people who make up this group are first class and Lil and I will treasure this adventure forever. And, thanks again to Esther who made all this possible. We love you, Esther!
"Let us love nobly, and live, and add again
Years and years unto years, till we attain
To write threescore: this is the second of
our reign."
- John Donne (1572-1631)
Tom Fisher
Copyright © 2000 - Thomas R. Fisher, All Rights Reserved.