Friday Harbor Lunch Flight, August 2017

Our friend Catherine Howe is currently living in the flat state of Texas and she decided to come back to her previous living area of beautiful Seattle area to visit friends over a long weekend. She stayed with Linna and I in our recently new address of Fall City after living in Seattle proper for 21 years.

She asked if she could fly us from the Renton Airport to Friday Harbor for lunch in her Cessna 172 Skyhawk. The Cessna 172 is the most produced plane in the world with over 43,000 assembled and is still in production today. Her plane is hangered at the Renton Municipal Airport about 12 miles southeast of downtown Seattle near the south end of Lake Washington. The Renton airport is where all new Boeing 737’s take off for the very first time after assembly, the Boeing plant is right next to the runaway.

It was a perfect day for flying, it was sunny and warm with a light breeze. We flew off towards the North and headed in the general direction of our house, in ten minutes we were circling our Fall City compound of 4.5 acres. After a few photos, Catherine put the heading towards Friday Harbor.

Friday Harbor is part of the San Juan Islands and is the only island that is incorporated. There are over 400 islands that are part of the San Juan chain. Friday Harbor is a small town of 2,500 people and mainly caters to tourist people like us. Catherine smoothly landed the plane at the small Friday airport and taxied to a visitor parking lot for small planes. After securing the plane to the ground, we walked just 10 minutes to the quaint little town of restaurants and boutique shops.

We found a perfect spot for lunch over-looking the ferry boats coming in and the many tourists walking by. After lunch we departed and headed straight for the Renton airport…what a fabulous day.

Kendal Katwalk, October 2009

Kendall Katwalk
Date:
October 16, 2009
Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Distance: 11 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 2,700 ft
Time: 5 to 6 hours
Location: Near Snoqualmie Pass, Washington
Users Group: Hikers, Horses & Dogs
Permits: No Permits Required
Hiking with: Linna Freeman, Dr. Catherine Howe & Dr. Robert McElroy

We met up at Starbucks, exit 17 to discuss the numerous trails we could hike today.  We ended up choosing the Kendall Katwalk for the easy gain, big views….and it has been a couple of years since I have done this hike.  It has been a rainy week, but today was a break from the rain.  The trail was free from debris with no snow to be seen.  This was my first time hiking with Catherine; she pleasantly surprised me with her hiking abilities.  Rob and Catherine led the hike with a consistent quick pace.