The Elliott Chronicles: 2009 Red Carpet Tour

The Red Carpet Tour with the Horseless Carriage Club this year was a lot of fun. Troy and I volunteered to assit with maps and tour routes around the Olympic Penninsula. We started out by ferrying across the Puget Sound from W. Seattle to Southworth. The day was beautiful and the water so calm. It looked like glass. The tour started Thursday afternoon with a short trip to the Undersea Warfare Museam in Keyport, WA. This was a "get-your-feet-wet" tour to kick off the weekend. The museaum had a lot of neat things to see and Troy had fun explaining what we were seeing...I captured a picture of him looking through the periscope.

The fun thing about the Red Carpet Tour is that not only do the local club members come, but their friends to the North (Canadians) come down to participate. It is a great reunion for friends who love their cars and love to drive them. There is much laughter, great food, and new sights to see.

The Ferry Dock

The Ride Over

Troy Periscoping

The next day started out a little rocky for Troy and I. Seeing as how were were leading people we needed our truck to start. It didn't. You can see that having too many mechanics under the hood can hinder anything from getting done. We had no choice but to leave it. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it turns out we needed to include a lot of specifics for the cars following us. But, to make a long story short, the day turned out well and we learned what we need to do next time we lead a tour. With encouragement and help from my parents and their wonderful friends, we made it!

Gene and Rosalee have a 1963 Wildcat Convertible, which is the car we rode in on Friday morning. Their traveling companion, Chester, enjoyed many a breaths of fresh air hanging over the side of the car. The tour took us to a beautiful state park in Seabeck, WA. The views were stunningly beautiful and again, the water was like glass. It is most impressive.

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

Chester

Seabeck

Saturday went flawlessly because I made Troy drive the route Friday evening. Everyone loved the tour and we even made it to the ferry ontime for the "trip to Seattle" leg. Mom, Dad, Troy and I walked up to the Pike Place Market to look for a gift for my brother. My dad wanted to find the tiles that have mine and my brother's names on them. The upper level of the market is completely tiled. Each tile has someone's name engraved into them. We can always be a part of this historic place. The market was VERY crowded and has changed a lot since we were little. It seems to have lost a lot of its "artsy" feel and has turned into more of a tourist destination for the cruise ships that port in Seattle now. But, it is good revenue for the city and it is nice to share our special city with visitors. For lunch we went to Ivars on the Waterfront. Jill, we will go there when you and Dennis come to visit. The food was great! After, we went back to our hotel in Silverdale and enjoyed the Luau the hotel put on to celebrate Hawaii's 50th anniversary. It was a lot of fun!

Pike Place Market