Off to the East Again

Oops!  This one was supposed to be published yesterday, and yesterday's post was supposed to appear today, but something got fouled up... I think it was someone, and it was me! 

Prince Go-for-It's last, big tournament was in Moses Lake, WA.  This was during Princess Bossy's visit, so she came along!  Since we didn't get the schedule until that week, so thought we might be playing first thing in the morning and it's a 3 1/2 hour drive, we arranged to arrive the day before.  As it turned out, the first tournament game was at 8 PM.  That meant we were there about a full day and a half early.

The coaches were glad to hear that, because the 18 year-old team was playing in nearby Ephrata, and needed some extra support.  The prince ended up sitting the bench the first day, but started the game on the second day, several hours before his own game that evening.

The team always warms up for up to 2 hours before a game, so Bossy, CuddleBunny, and I had some time to kill, and drove to get snacks, water, and sunscreen.  (We also got just a little sidetracked at a quilt fabric store and someone forgot we had a schedule to keep!) Prince Go-for-It thought the game started at 1:00.  Unfortunately, it started at 12:30, so, according to the report from his coach, we missed 2 amazing plays our prince made in center field.  But we were there for his first at-bat.

See that ball in the last picture, headed for the plate?  


Turns out it wasn't headed toward the plate, but toward Go-for-It's hand!  The ump was sure he'd hit a foul ball, since the ball landed somewhere past first base.  But it hadn't.  It struck the bone on the top of his right hand, leading from his ring finger to his wrist.  The knuckle below that finger seemed to have disappeared into his hand...Not good.  

Amazingly, the little town of Ephrata has its own hospital, so off we went to the ER.  The bone was broken, and they splinted his hand and gave him pain meds.  Once we were back home the following week, we consulted with his own doctor, then saw an orthopedist and it was repositioned...OUCH... and put into a cast.... A cast that stayed dry for about 1 1/2 of the 3 weeks it was supposed to be on.  But I digress...







Meanwhile, the 16 year-olds' tournament began...


Princess Bossy was a little taken aback that 3 days of her stay would now be spent, sitting in nearly 100 degree temperatures, watching kids she didn't know play ball. But we knew them, we'd paid for the hotel, and Go-for-It was still a member of his team, who wanted to, as he should, support his buddies through their games.  

He had great fun serving as first base coach, and again, they finished in a very respectable 3rd place.  They could have done better in that one... Maybe with their starting center fielder?

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Why I'd Love to Go Back to Moses Lake: Fabrics and Food!

Yesterday I mentioned the quilt shop in Ephrata.  It was this sign, posted up on a corner of a building, that caught my eye as we drove on the main road through town.  

Image from The Fabric Patch Facebook page

We were supposed to be headed to WalMart or Safeway for snacks, water, and sunscreen.  But we had 'a lot' of time, so I veered off to follow the arrow.

I wasn't expecting much...just a small shop with a few interesting fabrics, perhaps.  Was I in for a surprise!  This place is GREAT.  The Fabric Patch website says, "Worth the drive from anywhere," and I agree!  They have high quality quilt fabrics and LOTS of them!!  They also carry machines, have classes and clubs, of course, and great displays of sample quilts.  I just noticed on their site that they also have a retreat house for rent, especially set up for quilting.  I'd love to stay there for about a month!

Princess Bossy and I were mesmerized... Thankfully, Prince CuddleBunny is up for almost anything, and didn't mind looking with us.  Without specific projects in mind that we came in to shop for, we hardly knew where to start.  SO many beautiful fabrics, and, as it turned out, in this situation, so little time!  

We had gone into a different world in which schedules and baseball faded into a fog.  Before we knew it, it was 12:30, so we needed to make our purchases, and run our errands, in order to, we thought, get into the bleachers for the start of Prince Go-for-It's game at 1:00.  I will go back!!



The Fabric Patch would be reason enough to make the drive to the area, but, also, I'd like a reason to revisit some restaurants in Moses Lake.  We had 3 evenings there, so 3 dinners out. Prince Go-for-It always elected to hang out with friends, grabbing fast food near the hotel.  But after so many days on the road in the previous weeks, I was worn out on such things, and wanted to discover what else the town might have to offer.

An ad for a restaurant overlooking the lake caught our eye for the first night, so we went to Michael's on the Lake.  We sat outside, and the weather was perfect.  It was warm with a warm breeze, and the view of the lake was spectacular.  The restaurant was well above the lake, but we felt like we were over the shoreline.

Seared Tuna and Mango Salad

Princess Bossy can be Princess Finicky, after working as a nanny for, and treated as a member of the family by a couple who are gourmet cooks and fine restaurant connoisseurs in the Big City, while she attended college.  She admits to having extremely high expectations of the service she receives in any restaurant, and declared the service in Michael's to be 'just exactly as it should be,' from suggestions made, to attentiveness and courtesy.  

It was a lovely meal in every way.  The food was fantastic, and the Princess was particularly happy with how her tuna was prepared.  

We were having such a fine time, we even splurged and shared a dessert, although we were all already plenty full!

Classic 1/2 pound Burger with Bacon

Warm Italian Doughnuts with 3 dipping sauces...
Oh My Goodness!

While we were at Michael's on the Lake, we overheard a member of the staff mention that there were 2 other restaurants in town under the same ownership, but with different personalities. Michael's on the Lake was about casual elegance.  The other two included a deli and a burger restaurant.  That decided where we'd spend our next 2 dinners... We were so impressed with the first, we needed to try them all!

Michael's Market and Bistro was more casual, with orders taken at a counter and delivered to the table, or packaged to-go.  We tried to sit outside here, too, but the view of the street, with car exhaust from cars parking next to the sidewalk, wasn't as pleasant.  Besides, it was too hot and bright that evening, so we moved inside.  

The prince and princess both chose Salmon Burgers

I had the Portobello Panini

We enjoyed the open air feeling, the brick walls, etc.  We also enjoyed our sandwich dinners, and the stroll through the attached shop that offered beers, wines, gourmet foods and gift items, and kitchenware.  We returned to this spot to grab lunch our last day in town.


The 3rd night, we visited Rock Top Burgers and Brew.  It seemed a hip and popular spot on a Saturday night, but we were seated almost immediately...inside this time.  The interior decor was modern, yet warm and kind of lodgey... Lots of wood and stone.  

I tried the BLTA (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado) Croissant.
The helping of fries with the sandwich was modest.
The big batch we were given when we requested more was NOT.
I'm sorry I didn't get a photo!

There weren't as many 'brew' choices as I'd expected.  Also, what I didn't expect was the chance to try a small sample of the beer I was interested in before committing.  --So much nicer than being stuck with a pint of something I don't like!  

Princess Bossy enjoyed her Farmhouse Veggie Burger

Prince CuddleBunny loved is Rock Top Rumbler.
It had bacon, a fried egg, and 'the works.'

Again, we were all very happy with our menu selections...and they had 'bottomless fries,' which pleased Prince CuddleBunny no end, even though his tummy had less room for his 2nd helping than he imagined.  Even the crisp and tasty sweet potato fries were endless, which I didn't expect, but took advantage of.  Yum.

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WSU Tourney

I've lived and worked on college campuses, and have yet to see an ugly one.  The atmosphere is so positive and energetic, and the grounds so parklike. WSU was no exception.  

And being and playing in the stadium was no less "big time" feeling than at the Husky ballfield.  It just lacked the urban surroundings, which is the more relaxing environment I prefer --without the fuss and fury.

My niece, who now works at UW, is a WSU
alum and highly recommended the Cougar Country Drive-In
for a burger and one their famous Cyclones
(like a Dairy Queen Blizzard...Ice cream and candy, basically)

Independence Day fireworks over the city.
...from the WalMart parking lot! :-)

Even further from any urban hustle and bustle were the tournament games held on a field in nearby Colfax.  One of the moms went into the local grocery store, and the checker thought she was from the new family moving into town.  Everyone knows everyone else there, apparently, and a new face attracts attention.  

The field itself was on the far edge of town, beyond it, only a narrow road along a river.  But Hubby (the only time he was able to come with us to a tournament), CuddleBunny, Eager, and I had time to kill during team warmup, so enjoyed a leisurely ride and took some photos.  

It was interesting to note wildlife and bugs that are different from those we see on our side of the mountains. 

The boys did well, and finished 3rd in the tournament.

-- And I should have mentioned previously, that almost all baseball photos, particularly action shots, were taken by Prince CuddleBunny.  Princess Eager, an avid photography buff, was often behind her camera, too, and she supplied a lot of individual shots for the team members to share on their respective social media options.

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Eastward Ho!

The next big tournaments for Prince Go-for-It's team were in Eastern Washington.  In fact, we left immediately after the championship game at UW to head to the cross-state rival stadium at Washington State University in Pullman.  








The drive was long, but beautiful.  It's always interesting and nice to change environments, and enjoy scenery unlike that we see everyday.  















I am convinced, for whatever reason there may be, that the clouds on that side of the Cascades are just different.  They seem so much more dramatic, and with more depth.  Awesome.

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