We'll begin our second summer of nomad life right back the Pacific Northwest, but this time in Cle Elum for a week; tha's daughter Meghan's neck of the woods.  Great chance to spend time with her awesome clan with plenty of hours hanging out on their 10 country acres east of town.  We'll be staying at the Elk Heights Ranch AirBnB.

From there we'll shift 3 hours east to Spokane for 2 weeks, promarily to visit with niece Gaby in Couer d'Alene and her visiting mom Sandy, Nancy's big sister.  Our Gonzaga-area AirBnB is a 20-minute walk from No-Li Brewing and the Spokane River waterfront. The number of wineries and breweries is endless.

Our final dozen PNW days will bring us home to Redmond, and visits to old haunts and a few new eateries/drinkeries on our to-do list. And of course there's always Seafair Festival Weekend.

We've visited daughter Kylene and family in Mt Lebanon a couple of times previous, but only for quick 2-3 day pop-ins, with not much time to explore.  With two full weeks we hope to dig a lot deeper.  We'll be challenging ourselves sans rental car and relying on city's rail and bus systems - and an occassional Uber, we expect. Ky, Cory, and Henry advise us they've got a million things planned!

A red eye from Pittsburgh via JFK and into Charles de Gaulle, then a quick train to this German border city and the beckon of its renowned Grande Île and historic La Petite France district.  The list of must-sees for 2.5 days is a bit intimidating - museums, , but when in Alsace . . . .  Tarte flambée anyone?

Five hours by train with a transfer in Stuttgart brings us to this German beer hub, and its historic Big Six breweries. We will surely visit them all. And a few cathedrals and castles and palaces and parks. We're two weeks early for Oktoberfest, but are confident that mood will be festive.

A quick two rail hours and we're in the Alpine realm of the Von Trapp's and Rogers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music.  Excited for the medieval/Baroque architecture and the Hohensalzburg Fortress. A relaxed morning of kaffee and kuchen, and a half dozen Mozartkugeln.

We chose this capital of Slovakia as a quirky alternative to neighboring tourist-centric Vienna. We're intrigued by its clash of futuristic and Soviet-era brutalist architecture, and its underground culture of bomb shelter cafes, funky independent bars, and cozy underground wine cellars tucked beneath medieval buildings. 3 days probably won't be long enough!

Budapest has been in the works for almost 3 years, initially for its hosting of the 2023 World Athletics Championships - a trip we disappointedly had to cancel, but resurrected with this year's inaugural Ultimate Championships, the best eight track & filed athletes on the planet in a dozen different events packed into 3 days of excellence. I'm chomping at the bit! Nancy spent several work weeks here and paints a spectacular picture. 

Interesting story.  When we told our chef friend brothers Zarek & Yasser Yussif we were visiting Spain, they each made us promise to visit a favorite restaurant - one in Barcelona (Barceloneta) and one in Madrid (Casa Lucio). So, we'll be doing that, and not much more. Two nights and one full day. We'll do it longer and better next time. (And yes, we'll visit the Basilica of the Sagrada Família. )

Eight days in Portugal, at this point a bit wobbly on the specifics, but likely spend most of our time in Porto's Old Town area with explorations of the cuture and cuisine of the city - and the remaining days a quick bus journey south to the beach town of Espinho. Finishing up our travels with sunbeds, umbrellas, and a Portonico spritz or three works wonderfully for us.

Our AirBnB puts us a quick 10-minute walk to the Casa Lucio restaurant and right in the heart of the Embajadores distict, regularly described as one of the world's coolest neighborhoods:, an animated corner of the Spanish capital, home to much of the city's diverse population, the flavors, aromas and traditions of the world blended together in a crazy, colorful mish-mash.

A dozen blocks from the train hub - both arriving from Stansted and departing to Heathrow - we'll spend two nights and a day in the heart of London's East End, the Shoreditch neighborhood, described as trendy, hipster (that's so us!), with the promise of vintage shops, quirky cocktail bars, fantastic eats, and contemporary street art. 

A 3-minute drive to the majestic Snoqualmie Falls, and an hour-ish to home soccer matches for granddaughters Ava & Cora (senior captain & freshman). We'll enjoy 8-10 games over 6 weeks, and surely mix in some gatherings with family and friends. Oh, and then there's that 4-day flyer to Phoenix and Tucson for the grand opening of friend Brock's new Lucky Penny BBQ restaurant. Great close to our Nomad Life travels.