How Rood in Redmond!

Upon learning that Julie's sister Cheryl would be undergoing chemotherapy for treatment of an aggressive cancer, we worried that visiting her might be more burden than beneficial. After all, she had already been weakened by months of a diet limited to little more than liquids due to doctors missing the proper diagnosis.

As it turned out, she seemed stronger than the last time we spent time with her. She felt strong enough to go out to lunch and dinner every day, and to our surprise Cheryl was able to enjoy regular meals, albeit in smaller quantities than she used to have.

The combination of prayers, medical care and the generally uplifting spirits of being surrounded by family helped Cheryl embrace the present moments with us.

Had we known Cheryl would be strong enough for visitors spread over a full week, Julie and I would have stayed closer to her condo to avoid so much road time between visits, but our initial plan simply followed Jay and Sasha's choice of the Marriott in Redmond, booking five nights there for ourselves.

I emailed our good friends Mike and Linda Rood, who live in Redmond, to see if they might be available to sample a winery or two, as we had when we all lived in Southern California and as recently as the last time we all were together on a winery tour in Chile's Casablanca Valley at the culmination of our wonderful South America/Antarctica cruise.

Within minutes, Mike and Linda called, asking why we weren't staying with them.

After a series of discussions, we decided that we would spend the first two nights at the Marriott, then two nights at the Roods followed by one night at an airport hotel to be named later.

However, that second night with the Roods would be a Thursday, and that particular Thursday is designated a special holiday in the Seattle area...at least for the Roods.  Their beloved Seahawks would be playing Mike's childhood favorite team, the Los Angeles Rams, as the featured Thursday Night Football game.

The Roods owned season tickets for the Seahawks even when they lived in California and Texas, so they certainly wouldn't miss this game.  No home game experience would be complete without a pre-game tail gate party.  Mike offered to find us tickets, but we declined.  They still gave me a new Seahawks hat on game day.

We decided to move our two nights staying with them to Tuesday and Wednesday.  Cheryl's energy level was so good, and time spent with her plus youngest sister Jacque's extended family so enjoyable, that we didn't arrive at the Rood home until 8 PM on Tuesday and 9 PM on Wednesday.  On top of that, we had more plans to take Cheryl out on Wednesday afternoon, so we basically had late nights and mornings with the Roods.

Julie and I strive to be good houseguests, following any house rules, not making a mess or using up more towels than necessary and never making demands of our hosts.

As such, we felt quite rude to be treating Mike and Linda's home as a bed & breakfast by arriving so close to bedtime, and heading out about noon the next day.

However, what lovely accommodations they are, suitable for a Napa Valley winery inn, and Mike cooked us two terrific breakfasts!

The first day, Mike whipped up a delicious Hawaiian breakfast, with rice, pineapple, oyster sauce, sausage and other secret ingredients forming the sweet and savory bed for over-easy eggs (in Julie's case, scrambles). 

After breakfast, we took their two dogs on a walk through the rainforest trail that begins a few steps from their door.  At the second pond, we saw two playful otters frolicking.

By the time we returnedd to their comfortable home, it was time to head out to visit Cheryl in Bothell, which afterall was our primary objective in flying to the greater Seattle area.

For Jaque's las full day in Seattle, Cheryl really wanted a lunch of just she and her two sisters, so I hung out watching golf with Jacque's husband Mike Skrivanek at their spacious rental house instead.

After our son Jay had finished most of his work day --- though with a worldwide customer base, he regularly receives requests after hours, to which he responds quickly --- he and I went to the Triplehorn Brewery in Woodinville, where we drank a flight of tasty samplers and threw a flexible frisbee for a resident mutt to fetch.  Intervention Imperial Ale and N3M3Sis Imperial Milk Stout were the star pours of the brewery, IMHO.

After we finished our takeout Carolina Smoke BBQ dinner at Jacque's rental house on the last night of  her family's stay, we headed back to the Rood home, where we were welcomed warmly.

After a pleasant late evening of TV and conversation followed by a good night's sleep, we awakened with morning coffee. Mike scrambled eggs scrambled with bacon, sausage and cheese, another taste treat to start the day.

Again, we took the hiking trail, but this time we didn't see the otters.  Instead, we briefly encountered some horseback riders as we reached the third pond.  Mike and Linda brought us on a tour of the clubhouse area in the beautiful 55-plus community in which they live.  It features a huge indoor pool, health club and craft rooms.  Mike and Linda take advantage of all the amenities, including a glassworks studio which Linda enjoys and pool volleyball for Mike.  In short, they live like they're on a cruise all the time.

On our way out, the Roods mentioned to a retired Air Force Colonel that we were heading to Alexandria Nicole Cellars in Woodinville to go wine tasing and invited him to come.  This being very much like a cruise, this fellow "guest" ended up arriving to join us about a half hour later.  Why not?  Isn't life to be enjoyed when the opportunity presents itself?

Mike and Linda are VIP members, well-loved by April, who served us a dazzling array of delicious vintages, beginning with a sparkling blush wine, through a surprisingly pear-nosed Chardonnay which she said she serves to smiles from her ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) friends, and rich red wines.  April called in the manager/sommelier to answer my question about "forced carbonation" used on their Adult*ing Sparkling Wines. 

Once again bordering on being rude, we bowed out before April had served all of the wines, but the others soldiered on without us.  I tried to pay on our way out but April said the Roods' Wine Club membership covered the tasting.  As we drove away, it hit me that I really should have ordered a couple of bottles, but we had milked as much time there as possible and had an appointment with Cheryl for which we arrived exactly on time.

Just to tie this up from a travel blog perspective, when we switched from five nights at the Marriott Redmond to one night, the nightly rate went up considerably, so Julie switched us to the nearby Redmond Inn, which turned out to be excellent, with breakfast included for about $100 a night.  We had another great room with free breakfast at the Wingate Seatac --- where Gina had booked her room in which Amy joined her --- for our last two nights for slightly more.  It would be a comfortable, convenient pre-cruise choice with free and frequent airport shuttles.

When Jay and Sasha arrived at the Marriott Redmond, they had learned their pet policy had changed and JoJo would not be welcomed, so they moved to another Marriott --- their preferred hotel chain --- in Bellevue.

There was a nice lobby restaurant/bar which was closed for business but open for our family to hang out together before and after dinner.

Marriott Seattle Bellevue is within walking distance of many restaurants, including Moksha, which was almost empty despite serving excellent Indian food.  There's also a Capitol One Café, where I learned that cardholders like me get 50% off on coffee.

If you're a metrophile, consider Bellevue as a less crowded downtown alternative to Seattle and all that CHAZ.

If you prefer more of the natural setting and wineries, look into Woodinville and Redmond.