Last class of the year... March 24th 25th who's in ???

[FLATSDOMINO]

I am all signed up. Flying out of sunny Florida on Friday morning the 23rd. I'll be Staying @ GuestHouse Inn Leaving the morning of the 26th. Maybe some of us could meet up for dinner and talk cabin Friday night??

March can't get here soon enough!!!
See ya there
Dave

[Ellsworth]

Hi Dave, we look forward to having you over.

March won't be the last class of the year, as far as I know. We'll do a couple more before we quit for the summer.

[FLATSDOMINO]

Hi Dave, we look forward to having you over.

March won't be the last class of the year, as far as I know. We'll do a couple more before we quit for the summer.

Sorry I was looking at 2006.

[Imiller]

I'm going. I'm coming from Rock Hill, SC. I think I'll stay at the Best Western in Monroe.

[heavyopp]

I think I'll stay at the Best Western in Monroe.

Can't go wrong there. There probably where 8 of us from the Jan class staying there. We all met the 1st day at breakfast in the lobby. It was pretty easy to spot most of us. Workboots where a dead givaway.

There is plenty of food places nearby to bring lunch. There is a huge supermarket within 1 minute of the best western. They open up at 6am. Had plenty of prepared foods for lunch.

The breakfast at the best western was perfect. Plenty of choices and as much as you could eat. Good company too!

Have fun. Try not to eat too many of Skip's famous cookies.

Jer

[ryoung99]

I will be attending the class on the 24th and 25th. Coming up from the Sacramento California area.

Personally I was hoping to stay at Wallace Falls Lodge

http://www.wallacefallslodge.com/

This was built by one of the students. I thought it would be nice to stay there as it would give another perspective on the method and what is possible.

When I called a couple of weeks ago, they would not take my reservation as I got the impression they were waiting to see if someone wanted to throw an event and rent all the rooms.

If anyone else would like to stay at the Lodge, if we can get a count I will call them back and try and get the rooms reserved. I was planning on being there Friday, Sat and Sun nights. In addition if it works out I would be happy to rent a big SUV and meet you around the airport on Friday and drive you around.

Rick

[ryoung99]

I just called them and they have another 4 rooms available.

Let me know, mine is reserved.

Rick

[heavyopp]

Rick -- I live in NJ. I would have to say that I am an expert on traffic.

Seattle has the worst traffic I have ever seen at rush hour. I took my handheld gps with me to navigate the drive from the airport to the best western. All major roads where taken. My trip was 41 miles and my average speed for the trip was 22 mph. Almost the whole ride was bumper to bumper traffic. My plane arrived at seattle around 3:30 pm.

Just some information. Rush hour (hours) suck.

Jer

[ryoung99]

Thanks Jer,

The good news is that our commute hours to the class are definately off hours.

Is Sea/Tac worse than SF? That would be a shock.

Rick

[Randy42]

Randy---From Nebraska---Staying at Best Western (23rd to 26th)---Looking for land in Oklahoma!!! can't wait :)

[rreidnauer]

Thanks Jer,

The good news is that our commute hours to the class are definately off hours.

Is Sea/Tac worse than SF? That would be a shock.

Rick

When I went out there, I didn't even take rush hour into consideration. (since I was arriving a day ahead) I guess I was lucky to miss most of it, as I arrived around 10AM. The 405 was packed, but was moving fast. I wish I'd had time to look around more, but traffic demanded my complete attention. I remember thinking that they drive dang quick in heavy traffic out here. (this coming from someone who navigates I-95 near Philly regularly) I broke off the 405 at Rt. 520, and once above Redmond, things got nice for the rest of the drive. One thing that I noticed, is most nobody speeds. Me, a person who probably does 80% of the time, found it difficult to keep a cap on that, but concerned that it may be a focus of ticketing, I did. (NJ is the same way) Coming down Novelty Hill Road, and breaking out of the trees into the Snoqualmie Valley was a beautiful sight. I could easily see myself living in such an area. Wide river valleys with the snow capped Cascades in the distance, it was an incredible sight for a Philly flatlander like myself. I imagined someone who might have lived here all their life, may not realize just how lucky they are.

I spent the rest of the day locating the LHBA parking lot, exploring the many (often dead end) back roads from Duvall to Monroe to Gold Bar, and finished up taking a hike to the top of middle falls at Wallace Falls State Park. Beautiful county indeed.

Kind of off the point, but I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's nice to get in (at least) a day early and leave a day late. Heck, you came all this way. Take the time to smell the roses.

[jruz]

Wide river valleys with the snow capped Cascades in the distance, it was an incredible sight for a Philly flatlander like myself. I imagined someone who might have lived here all their life, may not realize just how lucky they are.

Well said, Rod. I was born and "mostly" raised in Connecticut - I was less than halfway through highschool when my family moved out to Washington. We had made regular trips to NJ and PA to visit relatives, so I was all too familiar with the relatively flat landscape. In terms of scenery it was unfortunate that I ended up in Kennewick (southeastern WA) until college. Though the vast openness had its own charm, it was a far cry from the greenery I was accustomed to (think tumbleweeds - like straight out of a movie!).

Now I've settled in North Bend (the foothills of Snoqualmie Pass) with my wife and daughter. I wouldn't change it for the world! :D

Its a little more spendy than the alternatives to the east and south, but I won't be retiring anytime soon...and I look forward to purchasing land and building our log home here so I can continue to commute to Seattle.

To echo and add to Rod's comments - for those of you "flat-landers" I would suggest adding an extra day to your visit. Its possible most of it will be spent in the car. Take a scenic drive and go across the Cascades, head south, and loop back around. From Monroe take Hwy 2 east, then 97 south, then 90 west, then 202 north, and finally 203 north back to Monroe. That last bit is more of a back-road highway but can be worth it for the scenery and tranquility, and a stop at Snoqualmie Falls. :wink:

Hopefully that's not too tangential to the subject. Feel free to ask me if you'd like more sight-seeing ideas.

Jim Ruzauskas