Riverfront Park- Spokane, WA

Each day we spent in Spokane, we were thoroughly spoiled with lazy mornings and delicious homemade breakfasts.  Then, and only then, were we allowed to embark on some other fun adventure.  It was just what vacation should be.  Some whimsy, some DOing, and a lot of crossover from one to the other.

Thursday morning we headed to downtown Spokane.  We met up with some of MaryAnn's work colleagues who wanted to meet her "adopted daughter" (as she calls me) and the fam.

From there we walked to Riverfront Park.  I remember several field trips in school that took us to Riverfront Park, but there were things I didn't remember.  Things that have been added since my growing up days in good ol' Spokane.  I was glad to see some updates, but I was also very relieved that it looked almost exactly as I'd remembered it.  It made me feel right at home again.

 

First stop was feeding the ducks (it was mostly geese actually...)

Auntie MaryAnn packed each girl a bag of bread crumbs and the girls thought it was Uhhhh-mazing to throw the pieces every which way for the geese.  

Next we had a snack by the old clock tower.  In Spokane's earlier days when the Northern Pacific Railroad Company came through this area was a railroad depot.  The Clock Tower is all that remains from that time.  

 

 

From the other side of the tower... 

The World's Fair (Expo '74) was held in Spokane (in 1974, duh!).  My parents traveled there for their anniversary.  The pavilion in the pictures is one of the structures built for the big Expo.  

 

This water feature in the pictures below was new since I moved out of the area (so it was added sometime in the last 15 years or so....)

 

The big red wagon slide was something familiar from my childhood, but they added the fun blocks that spell out City of Spokane.  

Here is MaryAnn lobbing a beach towel up to some other fun-loving dad who was willing to help out, so that the girls could implement their idea to put the towel on the slide and go even faster (see Elise in action below)!

 

haha, my silly hubby.  

*Note* There will be another few posts because MaryAnn took a bunch of pictures (lots of family ones!) and Chris took a bunch of pictures on our nice camera too.  These last few "road trip posts" are filled with pictures from my phone only.  

Now, just one more with the iconic clock tower before we leave the park for today....

When we got home, MaryAnn taught Kayla some hula dancing (she and Paul are from Hawaii and MaryAnn is a hula instructor now actually).  It was so cute and rather like taking a step back into my childhood, remembering MaryAnn teaching my brothers and sisters and me hula dances. 

Later that evening MaryAnn and Paul hosted a get together to see some other dear friends from the good ol' days.  Tom and Melinda and Fr. Bradley were some family friends that were part of many a birthday celebration, Christmas party, backyard BBQ, or Hawaiian Luau in my growing up years.  

 

We are already planning another trip back up north (only in our minds at the moment) to hike and camp with Tom and Melinda who are avid hikers.  They apparently developed a greater love for that after my family moved to CA, but Chris and I were happy to find that they love it because we do too, of course!  Kindred spirits!  :)  

And Paul read the girls a lovely bedtime story, inserting Spokane in to make the girls giggle and smile.  Sweet dreams!

The following morning we were spoiled with a yummy breakfast once more and then we had to say farewell to Spokane for awhile.  Thank you, MaryAnn and Paul, for having us and for just being the most amazing friends and "second parents" to me.  We had so much fun with you both and can't wait to make another trip up north to see you again!

 

As they say in Hawaii...

Aloha!!!!!!!!!!