July 2020 Books I read

It is so sad that I have not been able to get a book from the library since March. I am making my way through my stockpile of books here at the house.  Ryan approves because many of them are going to be sent away and it does clear space (for more books!!) for the future. I have purchased some books online and by phone (my local used book store delivers!!) and borrowed some books from friends.

Persuasion by Jane Austin It has taken me three months to get through this book. I pick it up and put it down to read other things...constantly. It never really gripped me, but I finally finished the thing. 

Sweet Water Ranch by Geoffrey Norman mystery set in Florida Panhandle similar style to the Travis McGee novels from John D MacDonald, I liked it enough to try and find more of these

Alki Point by Henry Walton Fun murder mystery by someone who used to live in West Seattle, now lives in Minnesota. 

Drunken Forest by Gerald Durrell I really enjoyed this story of a trip to South America by Gerald Durrell collecting animals for UK Zoos. It was the 1950's so suspend your environmental concerns a bit and enjoy what it was like in the 50's 

The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton In the same vein as Gone Girl or You. A scorned girlfriend becomes a stalker and vows to get her man back. Lots of twists and the hook for me, she is a flight attendant (the better to stalk her pilot ex) 

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen a young Jewish girl is swept back in time and experiences the Holocaust. And she knows what is happening. It helps her understand her grandparents and others who did actually live through it. Very good

Friend Request by Laura Marshall thriller about a woman who gets a friend request from a high school friend who committed suicide (or was she murdered?) years ago....right at the eve of the high school reunion. it was okay

The Film Club by David Gilmour book about a father and son. The father lets his son drop out of high school, only if he will watch movies with him 3 times a week. So it is about their relationship and the things he tries to teach him through movies. I enjoyed it. 

River of Darkness by Rennie Airth UK murder mystery set in a 1920's post WWI era. (Diane and John check these out if you have not read them already) 

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy I enjoyed this one about a heavy girl who decides to enter a beauty pageant. I will have to watch the movie now. 

Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner a memoir about living in Germany when the Nazis came to power. How what came before (the first world war) shaped the psyche of the German people where they were ripe for change in any form. 

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann Fun to reread this one again. I still enjoy it. 

Love and Death Among the Cheetahs by Rhys Bowen a fun mystery in the Royal Spyness series. They go to Africa for this one.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories for Late at Night collection of short stories from the Alfred Hitchcock magazine very good

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (audiobook) Good to revisit this with BLM on my mind. 

Searching for John Hughes by Jason Diamond memoir of an author struggling to write a book and his obsession with John Hughes movies. 

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware It was okay,  A group of school friends are brought back together to face the lies that they told years ago. 

Garbology by Edward Humes Our biggest export is trash? Americans produce more trash than any other country in the world. A very interesting look at our consumerism from the end result. 

First Cases Volume 2 Edited by Robert J. Randisi short stories introducing many classic detectives from Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr to Margaret Maron's Deborah Knott. Many of my favorites, so I enjoyed very much. 

Getting in Shape for Hike-a-thon

Well, Covid has had me sitting at home and not exercising as much as I would have normally if I was working a full schedule. So this past week has been me, committing again to walking at least 10,000 steps a day (which is about 5 miles a day for me) 

On the PCT at Hart's Pass

First up was pretty exciting because I drove Ryan up to Hart's Pass so he could take the PCT back to the Pacific NORTHWEST trail, so that he could continue his Thru-hike, which has now become a section hike of the Pacific Northwest Trail (Or PNT)  He will hike about 13 or so miles from Hart's Pass to connect again and continue his quest to reach the Pacific Ocean. 

So I got in a lot of hiking for 2 days in the North Cascades. And figured out that I was severely out of shape!! LOL The trails were not in horrible shape, but the fact that many WTA work parties have been cancelled because of Covid has taken it's toll. Please think about donating to help You can click on this link to go to my WTA fundraiser page

https://give.wta.org/fundraiser/2808889

A wide spot in the road coming down from Hart's Pass

And did I mention the scary scary drive up to Hart's Pass on Forest Service Road 5400. It is the highest point in the state of Washington that you can drive to!! over 6000 feet in elevation. (I think you top out at about 7100 near Slate Peak) The road was built in 1893 for access to gold and silver mines in the area.  The narrow road hangs along a cliff wall and is pretty much a single lane for 9-10 miles. So if you meet a car, someone has to back up to a wide spot in the road. The road is maintained for low clearance vehicles like the family car

Part of the history of the road is that in the 1890's a string of pack horses were loaded with supplies and heading up to Hart's Pass and one of the last horses pulled back, not wanting to continue, since all the horses were tied together, the other horses lost their footing and the whole string went over the edge. This narrow stretch of the road is called Dead Horse Point and is the worst part of the drive to this day. 

Ryan was with me on the uphill drive, but the next day I had to drive down alone. I was gripping that steering wheel, white-knuckled the entire way. I still have a cramp in my hand. 

One of my hikes was on the East Creek Trail and a bridge washed out derailed that hike. another example of why we need the Washington Trails Association to help do maintenance on these trails. 

Bridge Out

Thanks to 

for their donations! 

Please consider making a donation to my WTA hike-a-thon. Any amount from $1 to $100 is welcome.
You can click on this link to go to my WTA fundraiser page

https://give.wta.org/fundraiser/2808889

or you can send me a check (made out to WTA (Washington Trails Association) or just a dollar in the mail would be very welcome.

to: Amanda Arkebauer PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA  98116

Postcards 2020 Wrightsville Beach: Generic Surf

Both of these cards could be generic surf pictures from any beach from Maine to Florida. One had Wrightsville Beach written on the front and the other was mailed and postmarked from Wrightsville Beach. But they are pretty generic images of surf.


A reminder to folks who are fans of my postcard posts. Coming in 2021, I will be highlighting the cards that you guys send to me. So send me a postcard! And you will see it on the blog in 2021.  Amanda Arkebauer PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA  98116

My Neighborhood has lots of Great Hikes

One of the rules for Hike-a-thon that is relaxed this year is that you have to hike on a named trail. I am lucky that my neighborhood in West Seattle already has some great trails....Like Alki Beach Trail, Longfellow Creek Trail and Trails at Lincoln Park. What helps this year is that I can now add hiking at  Schmitz Park and Camp Long, I can hike the Chinese Gardens and Fauntleroy Park. 

Thanks to Barb and the Hadas for your donations!

I hope I can count on all of you guys again this year for support. Any amount from $1 to $100 is welcome.
You can click on this link to go to my WTA fundraiser page

https://give.wta.org/fundraiser/2808889

or you can send me a check (made out to WTA (Washington Trails Association) or just a dollar in the mail would be very welcome. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported this cause in the past and hopefully again this year!

to: Amanda Arkebauer PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA  98116

Postcards 2020 Wrightsville Beach Generic Scenes

Neither of these cards were ever mailed, so I do not have any stories about them. They are pretty much generic scenes that could apply to almost any beach along the East Coast of the USA

I want to thank everyone who has sent postcards to me so far this summer, even though you have not been able to travel that much.  I hope to have lots of postcards to display from everyone in 2021

Literary Cookbooks!

I am sure everyone knows I have a Nancy Drew cookbook. I recently went to my bookshelves to look at meatloaf recipes (I did not search online, I was going old school) and I was amazed at the number of "literary" cookbooks that I actually have, Here is the list:

The Nancy Drew Cookbook (2 different editions)

The Beany Malone Cookbook,

The Pooh Cookbook,

The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook

Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook

Writers in the Kitchen

The Great Canadian Literary Cookbook

Charles Adams Half-baked Cookbook

I didn't even realize I had a "collection" I guess I should look for more when I am out and about.

Don't forget I am counting on all of you guys again this year for support for WTA Hikeathon. Any amount from $1 to $100 is welcome.
You can click on this link to go to my WTA fundraiser page

https://give.wta.org/fundraiser/2808889

or you can send me a check (made out to WTA (Washington Trails Association) or just a dollar in the mail would be very welcome. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported this cause in the past and hopefully again this year!

to: Amanda Arkebauer PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA  98116

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mysteries: Royal Revenge and Target for Terror

Royal Revenge and Target for Terror 

I read these books because I want to like them. I actually hate being disappointed in a Super Mystery.   Royal Revenge (1997) certainly had a lot of action. The Hardy Boys engage in a rooftop chase and Nancy Drew and the Hardys have an action packed fight out with the bad guys at the end of the book. Also, I have to say that Nancy Drew was portrayed in a positive light for most of the book. The book is set in River Heights and Chief McGinnis does make an appearance and of course he trusts Nancy's intuition and her detecting skills. 

However, the author/ghost writer does use some really negative stereotypes to portray the villains. Spoiler alert, if someone has "twisted lips" they are a bad guy. The worst were the two henchmen of one of the villains, they were described as having "piggy eyes" and a  "zit face".  Making the villain of a preteen/young adult book all about his zits did not make me very happy. Much like the racial stereotypes of the 1930's books. I wonder if the bullying and stereotypes based on weight and appearance would be eradicated by revisions in the 21st century?

Brenda Carlton, Girl Reporter and nemesis of Nancy Drew makes an appearance in the book as well. The ghostwriter did use a lot of information from the Nancy Drew "Bible".   George says that her name is short for  Georgia.  We learn the names of Bess' parents:  Anna and Howard Marvin.  We learn that Nancy's favorite detective outfit is jeans and a hand knit white Aran Island sweater. 

Much of the mystery, that we have seen before in the super mystery books is that Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys have different ideas about who is guilty. In this book, the Hardy Boys see Bess' boyfriend as the prime suspect. Nancy Drew wants to trust Bess and believe that her boyfriend is innocent. So it puts the two detecting teams at odds. On the plus side, of course all of Nancy's theories prove to be true. 

Target for Terror (1995) takes place in San Francisco and the author/ghost writer gives us lots of Bay Area flavor, from Fisherman's Wharf to Chinatown with cable cars and a misty fog and foghorns thrown in for mysterious atmosphere.  An earthquake even hits the city at one crucial cliffhanger.  Both Royal Revenge and Target for Terror concern fake countries....Royal Revenge has Panaslava in Eastern Europe and Target for Terror has Philonesia, a small island nation in the Indian Ocean. 

Nancy and George are protecting Soong An, the niece of the president of Philonesia. Frank and Joe are in town to find out who is responsible for sabotage committed by an animal rights organization. Of course, both mysteries merge together by the end of the book.  The reason I did not enjoy this book was that there was a lot of romance. And this time it is Frank who is losing his head over the exotic Soong An.  "Nancy ... couldn't help wishing right then that Frank would pay more attention to her and less to Soong." UGH

There is a lot of action with Nancy and George fighting it out with the bad guys just as much as Frank and Joe. Frank even makes a comment about how he cannot keep up with George! Joe gets knocked unconscious. Nancy uses karate moves and George uses her kickboxing skills.  A nod to 1990's technology. Nancy uses *69 on a phone to find out who is calling with threats to Soong An. 

So this supermystery also gets an A+ for action and having the girls just as athletic as the boys. However, it gets minus points for too much romance and unsympathetic characters (Soong An is a spoiled brat)  These super mysteries  were not super, however, they were not the worst ones I have read either. 

Getting Excited about Hike-a-thon!

I was in Jordan for 2 days in March before the Covid shut down forced me to come home. I did get in one hike at the Ajloun Forest Preserve in the pouring rain!! The next day we were supposed to visit the Dead Sea, but that evening, they announced that the borders were closing and we had to evacuate out of the country.  Since I have been home, we have been quarantined at home in the Seattle area. The only things open have been grocery, drug stores, hardware stores and some restaurants for take out.  Even trails were closed for a while. Now that we can hike the trails again, I am excited to get out and get in some mileage for the Washington Trails Association Hike-a-thon.

I hope I can count on all of you guys again this year for support. Any amount from $1 to $100 is welcome.
You can click on this link to go to my WTA fundraiser page

https://give.wta.org/fundraiser/2808889

or you can send me a check (made out to WTA (Washington Trails Association) or just a dollar in the mail would be very welcome. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported this cause in the past and hopefully again this year!

to: Amanda Arkebauer PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA  98116

Postcards 2020 Wrightsville Beach Mira Mar Fishing Pier

View from the Mira Mar Pier postmarked 1947

Luna Fishing Pier postmarked 1953

Mira Mar Fishing Pier with a bowling alley, restaurant and tackle shop was constructed over the shipwreck of the Fanny and Jenny. The wreckage created a natural reef, making for good fishing. It was later renamed Luna Fishing Pier and then Crystal Fishing Pier. Currently it is called Oceanic Restaurant and Pier.

 For more about the wreck of the Fanny and Jenny click on this link: 
http://www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com/article.asp?aid=986&iid=125

Thanks to my Hike-a-thon supporters!!

I want to thank Diane and John and Michael Merino for contributing to my Hike-a-thon campaign! The WTA has loosened the rules for hike-a-thon this year because of covid and any mileage you do no matter where it is will be counted. So when we do an Alki Walk here in Seattle, we used to just count the 4 miles or so that we hiked on the Alki Trail, now we can count the two miles that it takes us to get there and back from our house!!  This works well for me, because I would often be on a layover in a city somewhere with no named trail to hike. Now I can do 5 miles walking around downtown Los Angeles and have it count for hike-a-thon. 

I hope I can count on all of you guys again this year for support. Any amount from $1 to $100 is welcome.
You can click on this link to go to my WTA fundraiser page

https://give.wta.org/fundraiser/2808889

or you can send me a check (made out to WTA (Washington Trails Association) or just a dollar in the mail would be very welcome. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported this cause in the past and hopefully again this year!

to: Amanda Arkebauer PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA  98116

Postcards 2020 Wrightsville Beach ME Golden

Mary Ellen Golden is a North Carolina artist who owns a gallery in Wilmington, NC. If you owned a beach house at Wrightsville Beach and did not have a piece of her art on your walls, it was very rare. This postcard is also rare. It is from a pencil sketch of the Lumina Pavilion (built in 1904) by Mary Ellen Golden. Visit The Golden Gallery (either in person in Wilmington, NC or online) and enjoy the artwork! https://www.thegoldengallery.com/

Hike-a-thon 2020 Hiking ALONE

It's that time of year again for the Washington Trails Association! Now more than ever the trails need your help. Work crews have been suspended all spring and the trails are in poor condition.  Hiking is an easy way to social distance in these trying times. 

I will be participating in the WTA Hike-a-thon during the entire month of August. Ryan will be continuing his hike of the Pacific Northwest Trail that he had to stop last year when he got sick. He will be hiking from Hart's Pass in the Cascade Range all the way to the Pacific Ocean on the Olympic Peninsula and I will be joining him for a few days and also doing day hikes around Seattle on layovers. 

I hope I can count on all of you guys again this year for support. Any amount from $1 to $100 is welcome.
You can click on this link to go to my WTA fundraiser page

https://give.wta.org/fundraiser/2808889

or you can send me a check (made out to WTA (Washington Trails Association) or just a dollar in the mail would be very welcome. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported this cause in the past and hopefully again this year!

to: Amanda Arkebauer PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA  98116