Washingtonians to visit

The grandkids were a riot!

Washington is arriving

            Do any of you remember what all Kay and I did during our stay in the great Northwest? Remember the week in Oregon? In the house on the beach?

      Yes! Curt and I ran down the mountainous sand dune. A couple of you saw the photos. And, before you say it, sand dunes always look smaller in photos.  From where I was standing, it was as if I was planted on Mt. Rainer.

            In the fall we picked apples, Concord grapes, cherries and peaches. We had a family       gathering where everyone helped make apple cider. Kay and I made our own grape juice with grapes that we picked. It tastes better that way. We also got to watch hops being harvest and actually got to ride on a grape picker during a nighttime harvest. – No, Lamar, the picker wasn’t an actual person. It was a monster machine. Always the clown. 

            What else? We saw the Spruce Goose and witnessed a 95 percent eclipse of the sun. And, that’s just a few of the hundreds of things we got to see and do in Washington thanks to our Washingtonian kinfolk. And now, Curt and Rhonda Still are flying down here to see what all Kay and I do here in Texas. Do you see the dilemma? Our area does not lack for things to do. I just don’t do enough of ‘em. And, the things I do do are not all that exciting. (Yes, Jill, I said “do do.” You are so juvenile.)

            Before I go any further, I’ve got say that I really will be glad to see Curt and Rhonda. When you’ve chased goats together, sat hours out on a remote road on a cold night to see the northern lights that never showed; when you’ve walked through a corn maze in the late evening after jamming your knee coming down the giant tube slide, well, you form some bonds. And, we few; we happy few; we band of relatives did some serious bond forming.

            All of that aside, what on earth can Kay and I do so that Curt and Rhonda will form memories of a wonderfully fun week… short of me going away for a week. Oh, I forgot to tell you. They’re only staying the week… which actually creates a massive amount of concern for the hosts. That’s me. Kay doesn’t care. Well, let me rephrase that. Kay is not worried. If you ask me, that is the same as not caring, Any responsible person would be worried about this.

            When we arrived in Washington, my sister Sue and Colonel Don put cute notes and cartoons  on the refrigerator about where things were and what to look out for. Susan is not going to be here, be here this trip, but she and the colonel set a mood. Cute notes? It’s all I can do to find both my shoes at any given time of the day.

            So, now you know what we’re up against? Any suggestions? What? Yes, we could take them to one of the Super Kroger’s. They’ve never even heard of a Kroger. I could introduce them em to Martha, our pharmacist. She’s so sweet.  – What else? -- We could even get them a Whataburger. They don’t have Whataburgers in Washington. They don’t have a Vernon’s, either. Market Street at The Woodlands would impress them. We could eat out and go see Avengers: Infinity War, but I’m not sure Rhonda could sit through Infinity. Curt is the one who likes action movies. Rhonda likes movies where there is talking.

            I know that, because when we were in Washington Friday was movie night. Curt created a  theatre in the basement. We’d pick something from their dvd library or rent something from Redbox. Curt would project the movie on a big white wall, painted with special movie paint. I might have imagined that. Anyway, I got to sit in a loveseat with Kay and eat pizza. One night we had a double feature of two action movies. The girls were forced to leave the theatre.

            Kay suggested we take them to Waco to see Chip and Joanna Gaines, the “Fixer upper” couple. They’ve refurbished a landmark café in Waco and turned it into a huge, classy-looking restaurant. In another area, the couple has the Magnolia Market with shopping, entertainment, eating places, and a couple of silos. Yes, silos. I guess there were no cotton gins available. Kay and Rhonda are all gaga over the Gaines.

            What? Right, some of the other Hayters could get involved. I guess I could take Rhonda and Curt to Pasadena to watch Larry play softball during the heat of the day. Dennis would be playing, but he separated his collar bone from his shoulder during a fall while rounding third. His brain quit communicating with his legs for a second, and that’s all it took. If that hasn’t happened to you yet, it’s going to. A weird sensation.  

            I’m about at the end of space here, so what I’d like you to do is e-mail me some places nearby that you could recommend we visit. By the time you read this our company should have arrived. So please send ideas. No goats, though. Even if they beg me, I’m not taking them to see goats. I don’t even care to joke about it.
(NOTE: By the time you read this, Curt and Rhonda will have come and gone. A great time was had by all. Some of what we did is in the article just above this one.)

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Mark can be contacted at hayter.mark@gmail.com. An archive of Hayter’s articles can be found at http://markhayterscolumn.blogspot.com