Cousins out West

Al and I are back from our trip out West to cover 2 of the 3 remaining States we need to visit.  We flew to Portland, OR, visited the Capitol in Salem then had dinner with a semi-cousin, Gerry Veley, in Portland.  I first met Gerry through the Lycoming County Historical Society.  There are Veley’s who married Packards, so that is the semi- cousins.  We had a delightful meal at a Greek restaurant and caught up on how we are related, what interesting people we meet through genealogy and fun facts about our relatives.  Gerry gave me some of his Cinnamon Honey from his own company.  I tried it when I got home and LOVE IT.  Thanks, Gerry.  It was wonderful to meet you.

After Portland, we drove out to see Mt. St. Helen’s, but got rained out and headed back to Washington (the State of) to meet up with cousins, Lance and Gay White, for lunch in Tacoma, after a quick visit to the Capitol in Olympia.  Another fun meal seaside at Anthony’s Seafood Restaurant in Puget Sound.  I can see what everyone loves about this area.  The seafood is fresh, the sights are beautiful and it is so relaxing.  It has been a few years since I was in the area and could spend a little time with the West Coast White cousins.

Lance gave me copies of pictures of his Mom and Dad, to put on the World War II website, to honor them for their service.  Lance tells me that is how Charles and Marcia met.  Looking back on growing up with my cousins in Troy, PA, I have such fond memories of hiking over the hill to swim with them in Laurel Lake, sitting with Lynn White in many of my classes at high school, and just having lots of family around.

No more relatives after Tacoma, but fun travels to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.  This is a great time to go to the parks.  The animals have their babies, haven’t totally headed for the hills and are still around the roads so you can see and photograph them.  Have some free time?  I have a few hundred pictures I can bore you with, of animals, mountains, water, geysers, bison, bison and more bison.

If you are a senior and haven’t heard about the National Park pass, look it up.  Free admission to all National Parks, except Cape Canaveral.  It is the greatest bargain the US Government gives seniors.  We certainly have gotten a return on this $10.00 investment.  Thanks, Jackie and Randy for turning us on to this.

We traveled from Washington, in and out of Idaho to Montana (our second State to check off our list), in and out of Wyoming to the parks and ended our trip in Jackson, WY for our flight back to Harrisburg via Denver and Chicago.  We put 2075 miles on our rental car and would do it all again in a heart beat.