Day 8-we started our day leaving Seattle to drive south to Portland. Drove in rain and seen a few accidents, made for a long 2 1/2 hr ride much longer. We made it to Portland and tried to see the waterfalls but with the fires they had closed the roads, we tired to get around the road closed so we went down some cattle road, it was beautiful but unfortunately I got car sick :( I told chris to get my back to Portland, we stopped at a look out for some pictures of the Columbia river. Between Oregon and Washington state. We arrived at the Delaney household by 5:30 to see off my two younger cousins to their homecoming dance. They are so handsome and have grown up so fast! McCalls girlfriend is absolutely beautiful! It's so wonderful to be back in my aunt and uncles house! Aunt Erin took us out to a hit place! Top golf 🏌 is where you order food, drinks and hit golf balls into these colored nets for points, 3 floors of awesomeness! I totally think Iowa city or Des Moines would be rolling in the money if they had one! We are calling it a night so we can get some sleep and go to mass in the morning! 

-BP 

Day 7- Today was the last day for Rottler Open house, every two years this company that  builds shop equipment for around the world, invitees Salemans and their customers to look at new and coming equipment. What a wonderful experience and how well we got fed! Tonight we went to LeMay museum where the whole place was reserved to us so we got to see the cars and trucks, see who can take off a tire quicker with air gun, and who can drive better on the racing simulator. Chris won the tire changer at 20 seconds and I had 33 seconds. Then when it came time to prove it on the track I whooped him! The guy said I had a pretty good time best so far! NASCAR driving! 

We have big plans for tomorrow and sunday! We will head to Portland in the morning! 

Night night 

-BP 

Day 6

Rottler Open house day! A big shout out to Jamison equipment for being wonderful people out of Iowa and always being there for all our shop equipment needs. We started our day off by checking out Rottler CNc machines, Seat guide machine, line bores machines, valve grinders stuff that I didn't know much about but I know they cost a lot! But Rottler has a wonderful chew behind them and their software is one of the best of the best! We was fed a wonderful lunch and attended some seminars in later morning and right after lunch. We stayed there all day looking and asking questions. The food for supper was amazing and the pie... oh so many to choice from! Tomorrow we do it all over again along with seeing a car museum in the evening. 

Night night

BP 

DAY 5
We got a full 8 hrs of sleep! Yippy! We decided to get our first Uber ride this morning so we could go downtown Seattle. We didn't like our first driver, ran two red lights and on second one I yelled out RED LIGHT! He was more worried about the lady telling him where to drive then watching the road. He dropped us off at the city train where we bought a day pass so we would get on and off. That was the way to go! Lots cheaper then getting a uber from our hotel in Kent to right downtown. We walked a few blocks west to Pikes Market! What an experience! I LOVE the fruits and vegetable out for sale and the FLOWERS! The flowers was cheap and BEAUTIFUL! Wished I could have taken one home!  The colors in that place plus the sunshine just made me want to stay there all day! The art work and jewelry makers had some fun pieces. The gum wall only freaked me out. If you don't know what that is its a wall with gum stuck to it. We shared a fresh apple and beef gyro very for lunch it was delicious! OH about forgot, finally got to see them throw a fish! We walked down to the shoreline and got on the harbor tour. It was an hour long ride, it was good to hear some of the history. We then looked in some shops, Chris was bored and thought we could use our time better actually doing stuff, well I thought some of the stores was neat! ;) We seemed to walk and walk but only got in 8 miles. We decided not to do the space needle, we wanted to try the fairy over to one of the islands well instead we got on the boat to west Seattle. When we walked down the street and went to a sit down restaurant. We knew it was fancy but not this fancy. Big glass windows looking back at the Seattle buildings, blue glasses for water, candle and the cheapest item you couldn't find it on the menu. We was high rolling, well we can't walk out now so we played all our cards. King crab legs 1lbs, and this was a lot of meat! I think back home the 1lbs I get a joke compared to what I got tonight.  Chris ate cheap so I could eat high! Just kidding, Chris had to have a burger cause he allergic to fish and we had went to a fish restaurant. I asked him if the 22$ burger tasted any better then what you could get at home. No comment. We took the boat back across the ocean channel and quite a few guys was showing up at dark to fish off the dock. We got to see the sun setting in front of the waterfront! It was so pretty!
We had to walk 7 blocks to get to the train. One thing I'm not use to is tents set up in allies and on sidewalks. For the homeless people are sleeping in these tents and the smell of urin at time on the sidewalks was unbarable! I see a girl probably my age sitting with a bunch of tents and sleeping bags pulling a dress over her head and slipping off her jeans, I really wonder what she was doing :( I seen her again later visiting with a lady at a table by the market place. I am not use to seeing a mom and two kids sitting on the corner with a sign, ........(this is stuff we watch on Facebook right..... Little videos of family begging or people wanting money. is it or isn't it true cause its Facebook right, they just want money so they can go to drug store?......  Well I think sometimes we need to see this with our eyes and not on a Facebook video and let it bring us back to reality that people truly live like this everyday and even in our backdoor and some truly do want our help to get back on there feet. I have had this conversation with a lady on the train one morning at breakfast. There are people that don't want your help and there are people that really do. The same for trash, getting dropped off anywhere someone wants to, and don't worry about pickings it up. Items that can be recycled need to be need to be recycled and don't leave your mess for someone else to pick it up.
Anyways, sorry I got off on that, maybe another day right?
We uber back the rest of the way to our hotel, my second uber driver was excellent! Very nice guy and drove very well. We are calling it a night, for tomorrow and Friday starts the Rottler open house where we will get to touch and learn about some of the new and up coming machines.


NIGHT NIGHT!
-BP

Day 4- woke up to lady puking her guts out on the train in the middle of the night this lasted couple hours.... what I shouldn't start my day off that way.... but it's the truth! If I would have known for sure it was alcohol related I would have drug her butt to the bathroom. Obviously she didn't care about other people gagging reflexes! 

Started my morning in the observation car at 6:00am watching the sun come up in Northern California. 

Went for breakfast and sat with a wonderful couple who was traveling back home. We then found a good seat in the observation car to listen to some volunteers talk about the railroad and history of Oregon! Lots of evergreen trees! Someone helped explain to me a evergreen and fur tree differences. We sat next to a retired couple who happen to be a Sargent for a town in Northern California! Very cool guy! We came rolling through Portland and before we know it we are looking at mt hood and mt St. Helens!  Hour later we got to see salt water! We had made it to Seattle area when the salt water meets inland! Beautiful sunset! Our salesman for Rottler offered to come pick us up at the train station we got off early for it was easier to make it to our hotel from there! Tomorrow we will make the 25min drive into Seattle to look around. Sorry it wasn't a long note, I am looking forward to a real bed and I'm tired!

-BP