Zoe writes from her Santa Fe trip that this staircase was constructed without nails by a carpenter who showed up in answer to a prayer, built the staircase, and disappeared without accepting payment.
She also told me that it was built as an afterthought because the male choirs used to climb up a ladder to get to the loft and the church had to change that when the ladies joined.
Good intel gleaned from your tour, Zoe!
Sara’s cat was in his final days and she stepped away to give him some time on his own. This was the last postcard she wrote before finding out the surprise wedding.
Our announcement arrived today. I sent one to myself. You can see our specially chosen stamp that has a secret code. (We think most people missed this detail. See if you can read the hidden message.)
And here’s the pretty St. Johns Bridge on the back of the envelope.
One area I keep well weeded is the part in front of the catio. Sentinel tends to push on the wire part trying to get to any greenery. Sometimes I can distract him with some of the wheatgrass I grow for the cats to snack on.
On the way back to Portland, we stopped in Seattle and visited with the Clark-Garcia family and this cutie.
We stopped in Seattle and had lunch with our friend Hafidha (and took no pictures) and then checked in at Anderson School. I basically collapsed at that point. We discovered that the movie 10 Things I Hate About You was on Disney+ so I watched that and marveled at the fact I was just standing in the exact same place while Matt played Pathfinder.
We spent Saturday taking a few walks, eating, and generally lounging. I was so tired I couldn’t concentrate on any books, so I went and bought my old plane companion Variety Puzzles and worked on them.
This is a working high school! It was built as a luxury hotel and then converted to a high school when the hotel went bust, and it remains a high school today. You can see why it stood in for the fictional Padua High School. It looks so fancy.
Here we are with a timer photo.
Look at the view!
Look at the stadium! The field is also featured prominently in the film.
This was not far from the Elks Temple, and I recommend taking the walk if you have the time.
I took a few photos of the property before breakfast.
I love the round window and the Monkey Puzzle tree. Those trees take a very long time to grow.
The Spanish Steps are gorgeous. One of my coworkers lives in Tacoma, and when I mentioned I’d recently visited, she said that she had her engagement photos taken on the Spanish Steps 20 years ago.
Little bit of cat art sneaking in.
Because the building was empty for a long time before McMenamins took over, there was a ton of graffiti. Because of that legacy, there is a goodly amount of graffiti art throughout the building. Here’s what one floor looked like before restoration.
Here’s that same floor now. You can see the doorway in the back right of the above picture.
And a picture of one of the artists working on that same lintel.
Our empty ring boxes, the ironing board and iron we somewhat successfully used, and the masks Matt brought along to avoid COVID.
Breakfast, this time with rings.
After we finished with the ceremony, we called our family and friends. I had more calls to make than Matt did, plus I think he left more messages.
While he was waiting, Matt took a picture of his ring.
And his shoes.
This is my favorite picture, curtesy of Laurie.
Here’s the front view, curtesy of Burt.
Then we headed to Viva Tacoma for our take-out wedding dinner. We wandered until we found Mason Middle School (they were the mustangs) and ate while sitting on this bench. I also made a few more calls.
Burt and Laurie also got us a card and a present.
After that, back at the Elks Temple Matt and I trudged up and down the many flights of stairs looking for the answer to the clue so we could get all our stamps. Eventually we had to ask Laurie and Burt for help. I was too tired to soldier on using my own brainpower.
We met up with Judge Williams and went to his courtroom to have the ceremony. Thanks to Laurie and Burt for taking these photos. They weren’t just the witnesses, they were the official photographers too!
Signing the paperwork. Burt and Laurie signed too, but there are no pictures of that.
Ring time.
Ceremony done.
Rings on.
Official photo.
Official photo with witnesses. Thanks, Judge Williams!
On our way out, Judge Williams told us that he lives in Tacoma and has a daughter named Sienna. He owns a Toyota truck, but it’s neither the Tacoma or the Sienna. I quite enjoyed that tidbit.
