Back from Bucuresti…

SUE AND JACK TINGSTAD of Coupeville have just returned from a 13-day trip to Eastern Europe where they sailed the Blue Danube from Budapest to Bucuresti and five countries along the way.

Of special interest to Jack, a railroad aficionado, was the Children’s Railroad in Budapest. “This railroad is run by and for children, except for the engineer. After taking a cog railroad up a steep hill, you walk a short distance to board the Children’s Railroad. The trail travels through a wooded area and ends in a popular park for families getting away from the heat of the city,” he said. 

Sue noted, “The scenery is a mixture of bombed-out homes and buildings from the conflicts of the 1980s and the wonderful and beautiful architecture hundreds of years old. The people have done a marvelous job rebuilding, even though they have little to work with besides their bare hands. The economy is still a hardship for the average person.”

According to Jack, Hungary has the distinction of having the highest gas prices in the world. “The equivalent of $5.16 a gallon,” he said. Still there are plenty of cars in the cities and on the highways.

There seems to be a museum for everything. For example, Sue said, “In Budapest, you might want to stop at the Museum of Ambulance Service or Museum of Railway History or the Museum of Ethnography or the National Geological Museum or the Foundry Museum — they go on and on. And if you need a snack there’s always Burger King and McDonalds all over the city.”

By the way, Buda and Pest joined to become one city in the late 1800s. Buda was named by Attila for his brother, Buda, which means ‘brother.’”

Don’t miss them…

The bad news is you may have missed the recent performance of the BOON BROTHERS at the An-O-Chords concert. The good news is you can catch them on the Skagit County Fair main stage on Aug. 12.

All local boys who grew up in Oak Harbor, the group is composed of LES BOON, Oak Harbor; STAN BOON, Mount Vernon, DAVE BOON, Mount Vernon, and CHARLIE BOON, Mount Vernon.

Thank you to SARAH BOON REINSTRA, daughter of Les and Joan Boon, for providing this information. When one grows up in a family of singers, it is expected you will sing too. She recently sang at the baptism of her husband MICHAEL and 1-year-old daughter PAIGE.

Knitting at Safeco Field?

“There is no knitting in baseball!” Tom Hanks would be shocked.

Yet on a recent Stitch and Knit Night at a Seattle Mariners’ game sponsored by Pacific Fabrics, thousands of knitting needles clicked away.

BECKY PEATTIE of Oak Harbor brought her knitting, causing her husband DAVID to complain, “We get free tickets to an M’s game and wouldn’t you know it would be Knitting Night!”

100 and counting …

The SANDER and DESSA JOHNSON family reunion met on Saturday, July 30, at Oak Harbor City Beach. One hundred relatives came from Nebraska, California, Oregon, Oklahoma and Washington.

Ten children were born to Sander and Dessa of Crescent Harbor. Their names are IDELLA, THURMAN, ARTHUR, GRACE, STEWART, SANDER A., HAZEL, HAROLD, BERTHA MAY and CAROLINE. Sadly, Harold died on July 19 reports sister Caroline. Our condolences.

When Coupeville calls …

I recall one August Saturday in 1978 when Coupeville’s Front Street swelled to capacity. All one had to do was let herself get carried along and turned around and around by sets of shoulders, as if caught in a revolving door. People said “Excuse me” or just smiled.

I recall seeing the late BETTY McPHEE and DEL BENNETT out among the people. There were some in the community who thought visitors might overwhelm and be unruly in their gem of a town. Rules limited the number of vendors and how much space they could have, and by what time they should be packed up on Sunday.

People were still mellow in those days. New Age music and incense filled the air; tie-dyed shirts blew from their hangers. On Sunday around sunset, stragglers with sunburned faces and ice-cream covered kids looked for their cars. By dark, it was hard to tell anyone had come at all.

Then as now, artists, merchants and vendors do a big percentage of their business at Festival. Rules have changed to accommodate more vendors and it seems the public can’t get enough of Coupeville. Everybody’s happy.

Folks from faraway cities tell us we’re plain lucky to live here. I believe they are right.

See you in Coupeville this weekend and on Aug. 17 for another look at Life on Whidbey.