Spice Girls Travel Club ~ Adventures in Washington

Pencil Art via Gemini AI

Color Art via Gemini AI

Here was The Plan:

Monday morning I fly to Seattle for the Spice Girls Travel Club Adventure in WA. Lisa will pick us up and we'll spend the night at her house. She recently moved so I'm excited to see her new digs. Then we'll go up to Denise's. Lisa lives south of Seattle and Denise lives north. One day they booked a "private soak and sauna" appointment at a resort, which sounds really nice. Then we'll spend the night at a VRBO. One day we're going to make Kartoffelpuffer (potato pancakes) and Apple Strudel. Connie had found the Katoffelpuffer recipe last time we did the girl's trip to WA and they were really good. The Apple Strudel recipe is from a cooking class that Connie and Denise took when they went on the Danube River Cruise in December. 
I fly back to Phoenix Friday. 

Here was The Reality:

Photo credit: Most of the selfies were taken by Connie. 

Fast forward: Not too far off the plan except no "private soak and sauna" at a resort (although we did have a private soak at the VRBO) and no Kartoffelpuffer or Apple Strudel. 

Backing up to the beginning:

Connie was able to book flights arriving and departing within 30 minutes of mine which was great because Lisa lives further from the airport than she used to. 

Preparing for my flight!

Monday 5-4-2026

Both of our flights arrived a little early. Connie was waiting for me at my gate. She did carryon but I had to pick up my checked bag.
Lisa picked us up and we went to her house. She lives south of Seattle. She moved to an over 55 community and she's loving it. Her house is beautiful and comfortable. She has a knack for decorating.
We had salami and cheese and fruit and veggies for lunch then we walked over to the Club House so she could show us around the restaurant, workout room, etc. Then she drove us around to show us the property and where a friend just bought a house. Its in a different development in the same community, about two miles down.
For dinner she put in an Enchilada Casserole and made Cucumber Salad.
Then we tried out her new bed. 

She got a Saatva mattress that has an adjustable base. It seemed very comfy. No we didn't cozy in for the night. We had our own beds!

We chatted for a while and then went for a quick walk around her neighborhood.

Tuesday 5-5-2026

For breakfast Lisa made potatoes and chicken sausage. She served it with fruit, toast, avocado. So good!

After breakfast we drove up to Denise's but not without a stop for SHOES. Connie had on some cute Sketchers so Lisa wanted to see if the store on the way had them. They didn't but she was able to order them. All three of us bought shoes though! 

Denise lives north of Seattle. We unloaded the vehicle and then Denise took us to see her cabin on the lake. Last year a tree fell on it in a storm so they have been renovating it. When we made the plans she hoped it would be done by now and we could stay there but it wasn't. It's close. It's very nice. It's two bedroom and they added on a bathroom. That's an upgrade from the prior outhouse. I forgot to take any pics.

Then we drove to Snohomish to get an Apple Berry Pie to-go at the Pie Co. We each also got a cookie to eat NOW.

We drove down to Everett and had lunch at Scuttlebutt Brewing. Lisa had mini burgers and the rest of us got fish and chips, subbing onion rings (me) and salad (Connie and Denise).

My Fish n Chips Onion Rings

Cute T-shirt

Then we walked around the waterfront for a bit.

This is the picture I used
for the pencil art (top of entry)

Hangin' with the locals

We stopped at a grocery store for ice cream (for the pie) and potato pancake material (spuds and oil). We had decided not to bother with the apple studdle since A) it sounds like a PITA and B) we knew we liked the pie from our last trip. 

We sat around at Denise's chatting until it was pie time then bedtime. 

Wednesday 5-6-2026

Denise made bacon, eggs, cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then we packed up and headed to the Ferry to Port Townsend. 

This is the picture I used
for the color art (top of entry)

The VRBO had an outdoor jacuzzi so we decided to pass on the soak and sauna at the resort. Denise's daughter had found the house for us. It was really nice and right on the water. 

This was the seating area between the
kitchen and living room

It had four bedrooms so we each picked out our rooms. Then we went into town and had late lunch/early dinner at Sirens. We split burgers and salads. 

The burgers were amazing. 

"Here’s to a long life and a merry one,
a quick death and an easy one,
a pretty girl and a true one,
a cold beer and another one"

Chalkboard in the Ladies Room

Hangin' with the Locals

Then we walked around the shops a bit and stopped at a bakery for a loaf of sourdough bread and cookies. I mean, you have to try all the cookies when on vacay, right? Then we stopped at the grocery store to get butter for the bread and snacks for later. 

When we got back we headed out to the jacuzzi. 

It was so nice. It was cold outside but the water was perfect. 

We skipped dinner but there were snacks if anyone wanted. 

Thursday 5-7-2026 

We had toast for breakfast before packing up to checkout by 10. 

We stopped at a lighthouse but it wasn't open so we just walk around a bit.

Then a coffee shop and sat out on their patio enjoying the beautiful weather. 

We went into a few stores before catching the next Ferry. 

Cute t-shirt in one of the shops.
Check out his tattoos! 

On the Ferry ride there was an orca sighting! No breaching. We only saw its fin pop up a couple of times and a tiny part of its back so don't blink!   

Connie's Photo

Connie's Photo

We went to the Bayview Garden and Flower House. There is also a little bakery there. They may have had cookies! The flowers were beautiful. It seemed as if everything was in bloom showing off for Spring.

A lady in the Garden offered to take this one

Then we went to Langley. We shopped around a bit and then shared a pizza and salad at Village Pizza. It was another late lunch/early dinner. 

Then another Ferry and back to Denise's. Round two of pie and ice cream before dinner. 

Friday 5-8-2026

In the morning Denise asked if we wanted her to make cinnamon rolls again. We still had that delicious sourdough bread left so I said I'd be fine with toast. We all had toast and bacon and said our goodbyes to Neesie.

Lisa dropped Connie and I off at the airport. Coincidentally our gates were right next to each other so we sat and chatted until boarding time.  

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As you can see we ran out of time to make Kartoffelpuffer. We all agreed (in hindsight) that there was nothing we would have cut out to make time for making potato pancakes. Hopefully they will all come to my house for our next get-together and we can make them then. 

I'm happy to report the Travel Gods were good to me this trip. Both flights were on time! My checked bag came down fairly quickly. I paid my dues on my last vacay flights! 

*Oh*And* Have you ever heard of Flight Attendant Coffee? On the flight I ordered a coffee with Irish Cream. The flight attendants asked if I've ever had Flight Attendant Coffee. What's that? It is coffee with Irish Cream and Hazelnut Espresso Vodka! Yes please! It was de-lish.