Just got back from visiting with the lawyer south of Seattle.  With road construction and not having a clue where we were going, we were 1/2 hour late then after someone using the bathroom for another 1/2 hour, we were an hour late getting started.

When Mr. Gates asked what we were there for and finding out Dad had a permit but it expired, he told Dad a great thing to do for his case would be to get his permit renewed.  It would show them he is serious and that it was just a memory lapse.  However, after he looked at all the stuff I had taken and saw the doctor's letter stating Dad has a memory problem and being evaluated for it, he said it would be best not to get it renewed at this time.  They might not even let him have a license anymore with his problems.  Mr. Gates is going to try to get the charges dropped to a gross misdemeanor if he can which will mean no jail time but a $5000 fine and maybe two years probation.  The other options would bring with them fines up to $20,000 and 5 years in jail.  He felt the prosecutors in Burien  where we went to court, are fair and easy to talk to.  Tomorrow he will go talk with them and see what they have and see what they might have to offer.  He wants to get the pre-trial set later than August 8th but will try to get it all taken care of by the end of September so we don't have to put off going back to Salt Lake.  We don't want a trial so that should be the last court we have to attend.

It's nice not to have to worry about it.  Nice to have someone in our court who knows what they are doing and has our best interest at heart.  The only thing we have to worry about is the money!!!!!  He will need $3000 to start and estimated another $10,000 by the end.  So.........I'm looking at around $20,000 on the low end for the attorney plus whatever fine he has to pay.  Maddening, really.

The long anticipated court date was yesterday.  We went Wednesday afternoon to spend the night and do a "dry run" so we'd know where we had to go for court.  We ended up getting to the court house 45 minutes early and wouldn't you know they don't open their doors until 8:30am.  That's weird because our time for court was 8:30am.  We found a little doughnut shop nearby and sat and ate a Maple Bar and a drink to take up some of the time.  When the door was finally opened at 8:30 on the dot, there were about a hundred people waiting to get it so by the time everyone went through security screening, it was close to 8:45.  We went in the court room and were among about a hundred other people with cases before the court at that time.  It was interesting to watch the proceedings and see what really goes on in an actual courtroom.  We were sitting on a hard bench and I was sure Dad would be fidgeting and upset because he had to wait.  However, he enjoyed watching and thought it was all very interesting.  Turns out that all they do at an arraignment is hear the prosecutor's charges and you enter a plea and set another date for the "trial jury."  We were told if we pleaded "not guilty," Dad would not get his gun back and that was unacceptable to him even if he never has a permit again.  Because we live out-of-state, they did a continuance and set the court date further out so we would have to to get back up here before the date.  We would be back in Salt Lake for the family get  together at the time everyone else's dates were scheduled.  I had no idea what attorney to call.  We had double checked to see if we qualified for a public defender, which, of course, we did not qualify.  I called the state bar when we got home and they referred me to an attorney referral service.  For a $10 fee they give names who deal with the types of cases we needed.  I spoke with the attorney and we set a meeting for Monday at 1:00pm so we will be heading back towards Seattle again late Monday morning.

One of the things I do in the mornings, is work on a jig saw puzzle.  I love doing them and this morning I finished the one I've been working on the past week or so.  Here's a picture of the completed puzzle:

Since this is our first summer in Bellingham, we are now able to see and feel first hand what it's like in our Condo when the sun sets in the evenings.  Oh my gosh!!!  From about 5:00 pm until after 9:00 pm the sun comes directly into our front room.  I swear we could get sunburns just by sitting on the couch with the door open.  We actually get a double whammy with the reflection off the water.  It's so beautiful but there is no way we will survive if I don't get some type of blind on the windows to block the direct sun while it sets.  We thought we could get away with doing nothing!  Ha!!!  So, I ordered some blinds on Monday and have to wait for two weeks for them to be delivered.  Just have to leave and go for a walk down by the water while the sun sets.  Don't you all feel sorry for me?

On one of our, actually "our" only walk was downtown to look at the falls on Whatcom Creek just before it enters the ocean.  Whatcom Creek is the first area of water closest to us when you look out over our balcony.  The river and falls are beautiful and the trail along side the river is shaded and beautiful as well.  We would have walked along for a ways but alas, nature called and we had to leave before something horrible happened.  I did walk quite far to see if they had rest facilities but couldn't find anything Dad would be able to walk to.  Anyway, here are the pictures I took on my phone.  Enjoy!

Whatcom Creek Bridge originally built so an army back in the day could cross the river.

Looking down from the observation deck.

Don't you love the Greek Fisherman's hat.  I love it on dad.

Natural bathtubs carved by the swift current.

We are going to Seattle tomorrow afternoon to spend the night so we don't have to get up so early Thursday to be to the courthouse by 8:30 am.  Yes, I'm nervous!!  Just don't know what to expect.  I'll let you all know what happens.

THE VINCENT WEATHER SERVICE HAS RECENTLY ANNOUNCED

"IT'S RAINING"

Go figure!

Still beautiful no matter the weather!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012
It was a really nice morning when we took our walk this morning!  Everything is so green and colorful.  While walking and talking with Mimi about our car problem, she mentioned she has road side assistance and if that happened to her she would call them and have them come and jump the car.  That way, they could tell if the battery was good or bad.  I had forgotten we had road side assistance added to our mobile bill so when I got home, I called them and they were there within 30 minutes to jump the car.  The fellow who came asked me if I wanted to sell the Excursion because he would be interested in buying it since he just purchased a 35 foot trailer.  I looked on the Kelly Blue Book site and found what it would be worth and will call him in the morning to see if he's still interested.  Kind of interesting, I thought.  The battery was just dead, dead, dead but he said it looked like it would still be in good shape if we could get it started.  I did start so it was well worth the call.  Whew!!  When I told Dad about the incident, he said we can't sell the Excursion because we need it to pull the boat.  I reminded him we are selling the boat and then he seemed okay with the idea.  So....we'll see what happens.  We can't afford to go anywhere in it because the fuel economy is non-existent.  Gas here at the Fred Meyer discount station is $4.27 a gallon.  It's pushing $5 at Shell and other stations.  Doesn't make sense to me to keep it.

I woke Dad up around 3:00 pm so we could go register the car here.  It was a simple process and that's one stress crossed off my list.

I had told Dad when I woke him up that if he would get up and get the registration taken care of, we could go the Avenue Bread for one of his favorite sandwiches.  He had forgotten all about the place so he was excited to go do that again.  I think I told you in an earlier post about the amazing sandwiches at this little place in downtown Bellingham.  Dad always get the Villa Grind.  It has pepperoni and other stuff on Rosemary Bread that he loves.  I always get the Turkey Bacon with Avocado.  Makes my mouth water thinking about it.  Here are pictures of the quaint little place and Dad in heaven........

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

We flew out of Salt Lake City at 10:00 am and landed in Seattle around 11:00 am.  The shuttle to Bellingham left at noon so we didn't have a long wait by the time we got to the loading area.  One of the other passengers had on a BYU jacket that, to me, didn't look like an ordinary jacket that fans wore so I figure perhaps he was in the sports program or something like that.  Dad, of course, had to make a comment as he passed him in the aisle.  He asked Dad if he went there as a student and Dad told him he was just a fan.  I heard him say he was a teacher.  He was two seats ahead of us so I asked him what he taught.  He said "Nursing."  He told me that every time he has a graduating class, he takes them abroad to get some experience with other countries' healthcare system and to volunteer so they would have a unique experience.  The had gone to Viet Nam or somewhere like that and since it was close to China, they took an extended tour of 3-days to visit China. He said he was running on three days without sleep.   Can you imagine what kind of an experience it was for those students?  He lives in Anacortes but got off the bus at the Tulalip Casino Resort.  Don't know exactly what that means but it was interesting to talk to him.

We arrived in Bellingham at about 2:30 pm and our neighbor and my walking partner picked us up.  It was good to see her again.  Of course, as you can imagine, the car battery was deader than a door nail so my friend took me to Fred Meyer to buy a battery charger and long extension cord.  It seemed to be charging okay but when it was finished and we tried to start it, as luck would have it, it still wouldn't start.  Dad decided we needed to buy a new battery so that would be on our agenda after walking tomorrow morning.  We're here so of course it's raining and cool.  It feels so good to me after the last several days in Utah in the upper 90's.