I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to the students at Quincy Valley private school on Tuesday morning.  This is where Mary takes Oliver for the Reading With Rover program.........However, Oliver had that day off, as I'm afraid he got "bumped"  in order for me to speak to all the classes.  But as you'll see in the photo below, Mary was warmly greeted by the students, many of whom asked how Oliver was.

No, I don't write children's books.........but I spoke to the children about writing in general, and I have to say I was quite impressed with the intelligent questions asked by these young students.  And by the looks of it, I think I managed to hold their attention.

I spoke to three different classes of students, from the youngest to the oldest and I have to say all of them were extremely delightful and certainly made me feel very welcome!

I was surprised to meet Jacquiline in this class...........she's the niece of Camille and Tom, where we stayed in Quincy.

Sending out a huge thank you to all of the students and teachers at this wonderful school!  You certainly made me feel very welcome and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to visit.

From there, we headed to Wenatchee.  This is where Candace's husband, Wally, has his VA Clinic.  And being an RN, I was very interested to visit here.  What a beautiful facility, with a superb staff, to serve our military!  The community should be very proud to have this available.

Wally explained about the Quilts of Valor........these are made by local women and given to each returning vet.  What a wonderful and worthwhile program!

When we left the clinic, we drove to a nearby area which is now like a park and a trail for walkers, joggers, bikers, etc.  But here's a photo of the beautiful Wenatchee view I captured from the car.............

There's an interesting story to this trail.........which might not have been, had it not been for the determination and work done by Mary, her husband Cliff and others.  This area was slated to be turned into a four-lane highway.  Another ruination of our wonderful environment........but due to Mary, Cliff and the other environmentalists, this did not happen!  It was a long struggle and not always a pleasant one.....but they persisted, stood by their convictions and MADE it happen!  Again, MY kind of people!  Here's Mary beside the sign and the beautiful area we can now all enjoy.  I especially love the older couple strolling slowly along, enjoying the beauty that nature has provided.................

It had been a great day, but it wasn't over yet! (Now I do fully understand the term "working holiday!) Wally joined us for dinner and then Alice, Mary, Candace and I headed to the Wenatchee Public Library for my speaking engagement at 7 PM.  Mary introduced me and it was another fun event............So thank you to everyone that made this happen, especially Paula, the librarian.

The ten days were zipping by and Wednesday was another great, event-packed day when I visited Big Bend Community College, followed by a wonderful lunch at the home of college official, Bob Mohrbach and his lovely wife, Liz.  And of course the creme de la creme was my huge surprise of the flight over the area.  So join me tomorrow when I'll share all of that with you..............