Summer 2025 ends here

It seems like only a few days ago that I was starting my summer 2025 holidays. Yet here I am, 7 weeks later, back home at Castle Ryan. It was a long visit, but also far too short.

I was feeling very emotional the first couple of days, knowing that I would be doing a lot more clearing out at the family home, ultimately getting things ready for when Dad decides to sell up. I’m more upset about this than I probably should be, but that’s because I have so much “invested” in the house on so many levels. However, as the visit progressed, I gradually began to come to terms with the changing dynamics and the inevitable “loss” of my childhood home.

My holiday began at my sister’s house, where we celebrated America’s Independence Day. I participated in the annual Four on the Fourth run, where I ran a slow 4-miler, and Cameron and Royann did the 1-miler with friends. Later, we watched the parade before enjoying a BBQ back at Royann’s. Then it was over to Cle Elum for another Independence Day celebration at my eldest sister’s house.

We spent a few days in Cle Elum making cherry juice (again) and culling Mum’s vast cookbook collection. And I mean vast: I think we calculated about 500 in total. We also began the process of clearing out more of Mum’s treasures. From Avon collectables to 400+ sets of salt and pepper shakers – and all sorts of weird and wonderful things in between.

All of that purging and sorting led us to a decision to hold a yard sale, with money raised going to the local food bank. That gave me better focus, which I think helped to ease some of my upset about the process. It also meant clearing through some of my own treasures that are still stored in my childhood bedroom. I’ll share more about this next summer, when we do our final clear-out and another sale. But for now, I’ll just say that we managed to raise more than $1,000 for the local community. I think Mum would be happy with that. (Well, I tell myself that because it’s easier than thinking about how mad she would be that we’re getting rid of her treasures!)

In between spurts of clearing through treasures, I enjoyed a lot of great adventures this summer. The first adventure was a day-long hike with my niece, Krystyne. We met in the Central Washington Cascades so that we could walk the full length of the Iron Goat Trail to explore the old ghost town of Wellington, which Daddy and I explored last summer without the nearly 14-mile hike!

My next adventure was a day trip to the Washington Peninsula with Daddy, Royann, and Cameron. Motivation for the trip was so that Cameron could take his first ferry ride. The trip took in two ferries, two forts, two lighthouses, and two beaches – all of which were repeats of the road trip Dad and I enjoyed the summer before, but I enjoy seeing places again and again. Cameron really enjoyed the day out, but it was an early start and a long day, so he was also pleased when we finally returned home.

I also enjoyed my traditional summer road trip with Daddy. We logged 1,315 miles and 50 geocaches as we explored around southeast Washington and into the northern bits of Oregon. It was great to see so many of Washington’s early settlements and some of the area’s ancient geological wonders! And, of course, to have the time with Dad. You can never have too much of that.

In between the various adventures, Cameron and I built a large papier-mâché volcano, dubbed Mount St Cameron. It was a long process, and Cameron got bored at certain points (I don’t blame him), but everyone got involved with the fun of testing out eruptions. I think it was a great way to spend the summer!

Of course, I also visited with my sisters and several friends from high school. And I ate lots of lovely, delicious food. And I scattered rocks all along the way: Rocks from Mum’s collection that were returned to the world in which she found them. I like to think that a little piece of her energy has stayed with the rocks, allowing her to enjoy some of her favourite places and a few new ones. (Yes, I know I should have done that. Too late now.)

A selection of my holiday photos is below. Other galleries from my summer holidays are:

Revisiting the ghosts of Wellington, Washington
Road tripping with Daddy: Summer 2025 rendition
Road tripping with Daddy: Geocaches along the way
Random July (2025)
Mount St Cameron: The best papier-mâché volcano ever
Random August (2025)