Field Trip!

Today we went on a field trip. We were blessed by the company of my grandparents. Grandma is a retired school teacher and Grandpa is a retired scientist and both are full of all sorts of interesting information!

We took a shorter trip than had been planned, but it worked out beautifully and I think we all had fun. First we went to Ice Harbor Lock and Dam. We saw absolutely gigantic fish, learned about dams and the effects of dams on the fish population, learned about the commercial traffic on inland waterways (which was really cool as it tied in with my recent job at an export company), and visited the memorial to the Native Americans that are buried beneath the lake behind the dam.

In Dayton we found the oldest surviving train depot in Washington. It is amazing. They have turned it into a museum and, even though we did not get to go in, we enjoyed peeking through windows and wandering the grounds. FYI, they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and even though the sign says that if you go ask at the Weinhard Hotel for a tour, the people at the hotel had no clue what we were talking about when we did! LOL But, I decided that I need to have my portrait done there in Victorian dress and that it would also be a great place for a wedding.

The Weinhard Hotel would be the perfect spot for the honeymoon. I honestly thought I had stepped back in time about a hundred years when I walked through the door. I actually dragged Grandma in to look around because I wanted to enjoy it with someone. Off the lobby are an internet cafe and an art gallery. The gallery holds prints by Jill Ingram, who does beautiful work in watercolors. Grandma and I both bought cards from the gallery, since we could not afford prints and we could not leave without some! I think she is framing hers. (Oh, and yeah, the hotel does have to do with the beer in some way.)

We also took Grandpa to the library in Dayton, where the lovely librarian was kind and helpful even though she was doing the job of two women at the time. Helpfully, Grandpa dug up all sorts of info and resources for the boys and I to use to continue their education--this trip counts towards their WA state history & government (required to graduate no matter where you are schooled in WA), history, social studies and science. My grandparents are so cool. (please note that the hotel visit does not count toward any school credit for the boys as they thought we were nuts for going gaga and basically they sat in the car surfing off the wi-fi from the 'net cafe!)

Way cool tidbit: My grandmother is 20 years younger than one of her sisters, and I am 20 years (and two days!) older than one of mine.