Troy's Week

The oldest grandchild came to spend a week with us. I think a good time was had by all! Troy basked in the attention of two adults not distracted by siblings.  Papa got to impart so much knowledge.  And Grammie got to take pictures!

Olympia is only a two-hour road trip, so a same-day turn-around is not out of the question.  Lindsay brought all four of her kids AND two daycare kids!  They had time to stretch their legs at the playground at Percival Landing, and here they are at the top of the tower at Port Plaza Park.

Troy was surprisingly uninterested in driving the boat, but he was excited for seafood harvest and consumption, and looked forward to dinghy trips.

Baiting the crab traps

Troy dubbed this the 'crab prison', created to keep the catch fresh until we were ready to cook them.

Troy had coaching and was able to shuck oysters by himself!

Clam digging

Cleaning the mussels

At high tide Troy got to drive the dinghy all the way around McMicken Island, overseen by Papa

He tasted everything.  He was a little disappointed by the pan-fried oysters, and didn't want to slurp one raw on the beach.  He liked the mussels the best, except for crab.

Eating crab was a synchronized event!

 

Many happy hours were spent on the dock with a dip net

Catch and release

Proud to take Grammie on a tour of Jarrell's Cove

We went for a hike and discovered a fern crown left behind at a campsite, and a shell necklace on the beach

On our last morning in the cove, Al asked Troy to test the dinghy motor after changing the spark plug.  Troy was eager to help!

While Papa finished up some other very important chores.

Skipping stones on Hope Island.  Clam shells work pretty well too.

It's not ALL fun and games.  Troy gets a whiff of the holding tank.

When we got back to Olympia, it was the first night of Lakefair.  They made sure they were 'that tall' for the pirate ride.

A big day for the boat -- she's going to the spa!

Entertaining himself, and trying to fill Al's hat

We had some time before Michael arrived, so we visited the Capitol campus, where Troy's Great-Grandma worked in the later 1940's.

It was NOT a quiet week. He sings in the shower. Troy is very busy, though he did not get as grimy as we thought he might. And we don't know if the painful red spots on his left hand were mosquito bites or poison oak -- but they responded to hydrocortisone cream.  Troy wanted to stay longer, and at the very least wants to come back soon.  But we have 6 more grandkids waiting their turn.