Lakehouse: first visit to Hawaii

Years ago, Absher Construction did many projects in Hawaii. But the bad economy made them unable to get jobs for several years. But, they recently won a bid, and Stephen selfishly volunteered to relocate to a tropical paradise. Stephen traveled to the island of O'ahu for some planning meetings in August. Ginger got to tag along!

We met Stephen's new QC (Quality Control) Manager, Steve. Steve came to Hawaii for college as an international student from Korea. He married another Korean international student, and they've raised their two children on the Big Island. Steve wants to relocate to Washington after this project is complete. He's familiar with local companies.

We had a fun team dinner with Absher and their architects, WJA Design Collaborative. They also designed the project Stephen worked on in Rhode Island.

We visited Pearl Harbor. There are a variety of ships and museums to see there. For this trip, we chose a submarine, which went on a revenge mission after Pearl Harbor.

Exploring the USS Bowfin submarine.

 

We visited the beautiful memorial built on top of the sunken USS Arizona. This memorial is free to visit, although you do need to schedule a time. Groups leave on a boat together to access the memorial. We are reminded to be respectful; we are standing in a graveyard. 

 

There were historical markers telling about the Arizona. We were moved by the story of the survivors who have chosen to have their cremains returned to the ship with their fellow crewman. 

Another good place to visit with some history is the Diamond Head Crater trail. It's just 3/4 of a mile long, though some parts are steep! The main challenge was the heat of the day. 

Amazing view from the top.

The trail includes several old military lookouts,

A section of this spiral staircase was incorporated in to the hike.

Of course, we tried to spend lots of time at the beach. Although Stephen will be working in Kanehoe (on the other side of the island) we stayed in Waikiki, where most of the hotels cater to tourists. It's a short walk to the beach. We liked this path where surfers store their boards.

Several catamarans go out for evening cruises.

Ginger loves all the tropical flowers, especially hibiscus.

Our favorite tree in the banyan, which send out roots from its high branches to connect to ground again and again.

Sunset on the beach.

We are excited to move here!

Tacomawa: Tacoma Summer + Simon Seattle

Simon Visits + Seattle

Simon and his friends David and George have been traveling the country this summer on a research grant. Geographies of Logistics: Organization and Culture in the New Company Town. Their first stop was Seattle, so we had a great day seeing the city with them. (Next was San Francisco, then Las Vegas, then home to NYC.)

 

Simon's high school friend Ben also joined us, talking a weekend off from his PhD studies at WSU. Our first pilgrimage was to the Seattle Public Library, a Koolhaus design.

Stephen, Simon, George, Ben, David

Other exciting places to visit- Freeway Park is begging for parkour, and the Olympic Sculpture Park (part of Seattle Art Museum.)

The next day, the guys made a trek on a Mt. Ranier trail. Their goal was Camp Muir, a base camp for mountain climbers planning to reach the summit. They made it 2/3rds of the way, and enjoyed views and snow at 8,000 ft.

Tacoma WA

Back in Tacoma, Brock and Jill adopted an adorable Wire haired Pointing Griffon named Sprocket. He and Clementine made instant friends, and added to summer bbq fun.

Julie and Jason, with their sons Issac and Seth showed us around Sequim, WA. On the beach, our cells phones texted us, "Welcome to Canada!" and informed us of new rates. (We could see the Canadian shoreline across the water, but not sure why we were connecting with their towers.)

Sequim is home to the Olympic Game Farm, a drive-through petting zoo where feeding the animals is encouraged. The animals think it's a great idea and do their best to join you in the car.

Stephen made friends with a baby bison.

Summer camping has a new outlet- we bought kayaks this summer! There are many places to get out on the water here, so we're trying to find the best. American Lake, Lake Steilacoom, Alder Lake, or in the Puget Sound: Owen's Beach, and Titlow Park. Kayaking in the ocean is a bit more intense- we spent most of an evening trying to reach the Tacoma Narrow's bridge. After resting for two minutes, the current carried Ginger backward a distance that had taken an hour's paddling to achieve. So, we gave up for that day. Maybe by this time next summer we'll have stronger arms.

Ginger spent many happy hours this summer painting and redecorating the Stem Coaching Center, where she tutors Math and Reading. The center was formerly painted white and red, but after several coats Ginger changed it to a Spring green. She added two trees, which will be covered with origami cranes made by the students over time.

Other projects- a world map where readers can pin the locations of the stories we read, a giant ruler to measure their height, and a rubick's cube.

Tacomawa: Portland OR + End of Summer

Tacoma WA

Stephen's project at Hillside Terrace has taken shape- this is the community center.

Stephen set up his own office, cubicles, desks, computers, and other details so everything could be perfect.

Absher brings employees to special events, like the Ranier baseball game. (The mascot is a reindeer!)

We are having fun exploring Tacoma Museums, like the Museum of Glass. Ginger was excited to see works by Chihuly. (She and Nathaniel saw a Chihuly exhibit in Dallas, but didn't know Chihuly was from Tacoma!)

 

The top of the Museum of Glass is a large cone that funnels smoke from the furnances where you can watch glass blowers at work.

Our next museum was the LeMay America's Car Museum. Below, the large window viewing downtown Tacoma.

Weekend in Portland

Our friends Brett and Ashley have been living in Portland, OR the last three years, with the Coast Guard. Ashley is experimenting with gluten free cooking while she works on her novel, and Brett is working on his photography. Ginger and Brett compare photos on their cameras, yet continue using instagram!

We toured Pittock Mansion, an historical house with a beautiful view of the city. We liked the tea party room! 

 

Friends reunited on the grand staircase! Brett and Ashley are moving to California next for Brett's training at "A School." 

Home in Tacoma, summer is over, and we're starting to experience some Washington weather:

Stephen flew to Connecticut for a weekend to be a groomsman in Jess and Tim's wedding!

 

Ginger finished her summer job decorating cakes at Albertsons. Her fall job is math tutoring with Club-Z Tutoring. Cakes from her last day: 

InterVarsity

Ginger is volunteering with the Puget Sound area team of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. She got to meet everyone at the pre-semester staff retreat.

Back: Jess, Caleb, Ben, Ashley, Nick, Marshae, Benita, Chloe, Allison, Deanna. Front: Ellen, Felicia, Sarah, Tasha, Tim, Ginger.

Ginger is planting a new InterVarsity chapter at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom. She has met many students. First: Grace has been reaching out to international students. Second- We've started several small group Bible studies on campus. Alexis, David, Tyler and Conner.