Day 5: Hail to thee, Portlandia (7/26)
PASCO WA -- My original intention was to hit the 8:30 service at Brown's Point UMC, which overlooks Tacoma, and then an 11:00 service at Auburn's First UMC with Chad in tow. However, summer services at Brown's Point instead start at 9:00, which was too little time to return, pack everything up, and be there by 11:00. So instead, I looked in the hotel directory and discovered Federal Way UMC starting at 10:00.
It was a good service, with the sermon dwelling on what happens after the miracle. A parishioner -- self-effacingly calling himself "the dead guy" -- told of how he survived a severe heart attack.
For lunch, we drove up in to the mountains to the Salish Lodge, more familiar as the stand-in for the Great Northern Inn from Twin Peaks. Chad and I ate in The Attic, where of course they have cherry pie for dessert. (Unfortunately, it was there Chad also realized he left his battery charger back at the hotel. He would eventually call to have it sent to him.)
We traveled through the Cascades on I-90, and then slipped on to I-82 through Yakima and into the Tri-Cities of Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco.
We had visited the home of the Tri-City Dust Devils in Pasco before during our Spokane trip, but they were on the road at the time.
Due to its placement on the far side of the Cascades, the whole Tri-City area is technically desert, not receiving the amount of rain that Seattle and other coastal areas receive. So while it was a comfortable 80 degrees at first pitch, the temperature fell and the winds picked up during the course of the 10-inning game. The offense arrived late; 1-0 after 7, Spokane eventually won 6-4.
But it wasn't all bad news for Tri-City. Thanks to Everett's 6-2 loss to Vancouver, the Dust Devils were guaranteed the Northwest League's first-half North Division title.
It was a good service, with the sermon dwelling on what happens after the miracle. A parishioner -- self-effacingly calling himself "the dead guy" -- told of how he survived a severe heart attack.
For lunch, we drove up in to the mountains to the Salish Lodge, more familiar as the stand-in for the Great Northern Inn from Twin Peaks. Chad and I ate in The Attic, where of course they have cherry pie for dessert. (Unfortunately, it was there Chad also realized he left his battery charger back at the hotel. He would eventually call to have it sent to him.)
We traveled through the Cascades on I-90, and then slipped on to I-82 through Yakima and into the Tri-Cities of Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco.
We had visited the home of the Tri-City Dust Devils in Pasco before during our Spokane trip, but they were on the road at the time.
Due to its placement on the far side of the Cascades, the whole Tri-City area is technically desert, not receiving the amount of rain that Seattle and other coastal areas receive. So while it was a comfortable 80 degrees at first pitch, the temperature fell and the winds picked up during the course of the 10-inning game. The offense arrived late; 1-0 after 7, Spokane eventually won 6-4.
But it wasn't all bad news for Tri-City. Thanks to Everett's 6-2 loss to Vancouver, the Dust Devils were guaranteed the Northwest League's first-half North Division title.