My last day of work was on Tuesday, the 18th, and Tuesday evening Mark and I began to pack the accumulation of furniture and clothing that family had given us into the back of our truck.  Wednesday morning, I took Mark around with me to say goodbye to Mom’s neighbors whom I’d gotten to know.  We left Mom’s house and stopped in Vancouver to have lunch with Mark’s mom.  Then we headed up to Lynden, WA to get the rest of our stuff out of storage.

Like the Beverly Hillbillies… everything except Granny in her rocking chair is packed in the back of our truck.

We stopped in Everett, WA for a break and I noticed I had a missed call from my boss at H&R Block.  I called her back and she asked if I could come in the next day to help pack up the office.  I told her I was in Everett on my way to Lynden, WA.  Then she asked if I could come in on Friday and I told her by Friday I’d be on my way to Wisconsin.  That’s when it finally hit her I’m gone!

I had a reader request to see the jacket Mark got for his business.

Yesterday (Thursday), we got a U-Haul truck and emptied our storage unit as well as our truck.  Then Aunt Marg took us to see The Case for Christ.  It’s a riveting movie about an atheist reporter for the Chicago Tribune who set out to prove that Christ couldn’t have resurrected from the dead.  It’s a true story.  The man is now a minister.  I highly recommend the movie.

The beauty of Lynden, WA. I never grow tired of it!

The U-Haul truck towing our truck, ready to roll!

This morning we said goodbye to Aunt Marg and began the first leg of our trip to Wisconsin.

Mt Rainier

Snoqualmie ski slope

Up in the Cascades

At a viewpoint

Shadow play

As we were approaching Yakima, I was looking out the window on my side shooting a picture…

Crossing the bridge

…when Mark said, “What’s going on here?”  There were a whole bunch of police cars parked along his side of the bridge.  We got to a rest area on the other side and, as usual, took our cameras to see what we could see.

The bridge we had just crossed over

There were three police cars in the bottom of the canyon…

…and an ambulance parked some distance from them.

I could see a group of police carrying something heavy.

Oh, dear God! That’s a body!

We figure someone jumped off the bridge.  Please pray for the family and friends of the jumper, as well as for the police that witnessed this.  It’s hard to know what to say beyond this.

Going through the Blue Mountains

Sunset in northeastern Oregon

Mark clowning around

We’ve landed in a Rodeway Inn in La Grande, OR.  More tomorrow.