Family Time

Rules are meant to be broken. One rule early on was not to stay with family on the way for my official hosts. Well forget that. This is pretty cool.

I’m staying here in Spokane with Betsy and Doug. Betsy is my mom’s cousin (or my first cousin once removed). They haven’t seen each other in 35 years. And that was at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Well today I got a quick tour of Coeur d’Alene with my Great Uncle Alden, a retired dermatologist. Coeur d’Alene is such a beautiful spot. The rolling hills are packed with big green pines (much bigger pines than in Michigan) surrounding the lake. Even on a foggy drizzling day like today it’s a beautiful spot. When I get married someday (any takers?) I think it will be high on my list of places to go on a honeymoon.

This evening I was treated with a fantastic family dinner. In addition to Betsy, Doug, and Alden there was Betsy’s sister Melissa, her son Simon, David (Betsy and Doug’s son), his wife Melissa, and their son Luke. So… Besty and Melissa are my first cousins once removed. Alden is my great uncle. And David is my second cousin.

Alden is the only one of the bunch that I’ve met before and I’m in awe of how much he looks like my grandma. Of course they said the same thing about how I look like my mom. It’s amazing that I get to meet family that I’ve never met on this trip. To me it is rewarding and very special to learn a little more about my heritage from Alden , and see how the family branches out. Of my generation, David is the first to get married on this side of the family, making Alden a great grandfather. There’s not a value you can put on spending time with family you’ve never met, this is great.