December 2023 – Paige's Place

We hit Redmond late on Friday night after miles and miles of road construction and delays beginning in Olympia. I’ll say it’s surreal to drive into a town I lived in for over 30 years (my husband nearly his entire life!), and after being gone for just over 2 months, feeling lost. The amount of construction in Redmond alone was shocking; only intensified the following days when it was daylight; it’s a good thing we knew a few backroads to circumvent the chaos. Projects that were mere foundations when we left in June were nearly complete, businesses closed or relocated, and even more signage for projects yet to be started.

We spent 10 days in Redmond and took care of medical and dental appointments, saw lots of friends, took in some culture, and spent time with the grandkids and kids. We stayed at the Redmond Inn on the east side of town; the least expensive of any of our hotel rooms on the trip – they offer a discount for booking directly from their website (not through a travel site). They also have coupons for a percentage off any meal at the Family Pancake House just across the parking lot. They’ll hand you as many coupons as you like – FPH is open for Breakfast through dinner, has a fantastic menu, and great service. Redmond Inn also has complimentary continental breakfast and loads of parking. Plus, they had laundry facilities – you’ll need quarters and detergent, which they can sell at the front desk – which was really useful after our trip.

We had fun visiting with our friends from Redmond Historical Society as they presented their Saturday Speaker Series with a guest speaker talking about a decades-old unsolved murder. That evening we attended the 75^th Anniversary celebration at Camp Gilead in Carnation. Sunday was church and communion with our church family, then an afternoon with all the grandkids and borrowed grandkids at the Outback Kangaroo Farm.

My oldest grandson had requested we make one last trip back in May before we left, but with everyone’s busy schedules, we just couldn’t swing it, so we planned it for our road trip. I’ve taken the kids there every other year since 2013 and they all wanted one last time to pet the ‘roos, tortoises, and llamas. It’s one of the best field trips we’ve taken over the years I nannied, and I enjoy it as much as the kiddos. Even our busy granddaughter and her boyfriend made it!

We’d made advance plans with several friends and family; pretty much every dinner, lunch, and even some breakfasts were booked! We caught a few meals at our favorite Redmond places: Northwest Brewing Company, JJ Mahoney’s, Agave, Redmond’s Bar & Grill, and Victor’s Celtic Coffee; and tried two new places: Noburu and Chianti.

The weather the first week in Redmond was beautiful, in the mid-70s to 80s, but our last three days were overcast and wet with the PNW mist – we definitely have acclimated to the Arizona weather and missed the sunshine and heat.