Thanks guys! Actually I enjoyed seeing these pictures again myself! :-) Seeing the pic of the bathroom at the lodge again made me laugh. Maybe you cant tell in the pic, but the toilet is up on a raised floor and the floor was slanted heavily to one side. I had to put my hand on the tub to keep myself from feeling like I was going to slide off the toliet...LOL! The pic of me at the lodge cracked me up too. I was so dog tired by the time we arrived there and I didnt want DH to take that pic of me. With the way I was feeling I could only imagine how I must look...LOL...but he insisted. I felt just like one of those bloodhounds in the cartoons. You know, the one where the dog is so tired (I think he was a deputy or something) that his partner used toothpicks to hold the bloodhounds eyes open...LOL! Thats just how I felt. Im glad you enjoyed the pics Mary. You are right....I was just thrilled about the sunny weather...we were so lucky! I use to be quite a hiker in my younger days, but havent done any serious hiking in years. This whirlwind tour was quite a challenge for me. The main reason we hiked soooo far into the Hoh rainforest was that I was hoping to make it to the glacial meadows, which was posted as 16 miles all the way around. We hiked about 7 miles and realized how long it took and decided we better head back before it got dark. By the time we were done that day I really understood the saying "going for the burn". Oh boy were my poor legs killing me. They *did* feel like they were on fire and it felt as if I had this huge knot in the middle of the back of both my thighs. I was a little concerned because I was also having a shooting pain, which radiated from my lower inner thigh all the way up to my groin, but that disappeared by the next day...thank goodness! The only thing that kept me hiking for the next three days was realizing that I may never get back here again and I wanted to explore as much of it as I could. LOL Deanne, I tried to take a picture of one of the customers trying to catch a fish, but I got hit with a bit of "fish ice"...yuck, and missed the shot. It really is a fun place. Northern California is on my list Deanne! I would love to see the redwood forests and a little bit of wine country too! :-) My sister lived in San Diego for awhile so Ive been to San Fran and San Diego a few times. California is a very beautiful state too. Thanks Cindy! Wow! I was surprised to hear that your visit to Illinois was your farthest trip west. I am sooo impressed that you would do that for the first time all by yourself and sooo tickled that you would do that for me & V, well and for all the Idylls of course...LOL! It was such a pleasure to meet you....it really was! Marian, looking at the pics now, it all almost seems like a dream to me. I have a hard time grasping what a wonderful time we had too. It *was* a very special trip and something I will never forget. Oh, BTW, yes that is a piece of driftwood in the Dungeness pic...do you believe the size of that? Anyway, Marian, as promised here are some more pics... I think I mentioned that we went on the Underground Tour? The tour guides and the history are what really make this tour. The underground itself was a little bit of a let down. Actually the underground areas really didnt look much different than the basement in the house I grew up in....LOL! But it was cool to think that the whole city was above us. In certain sections underground were ancient skylights made of a purple glass and that was cool cause you could actually see the people walking through the city up above us: Here is a little blurb on the history that I found for you on the internet (so it makes more sense to you): "With tongue-in-cheek sarcasm, guides describe where the perfect land to build a new city on Puget Sound was, and how the founding fathers missed it completely. In this way, Seattle came to be built on tidal flats which were regularly inundated with sea water. Building the city on these flats meant that the ground remained forever waterlogged and the streets were a menace. Horses would sink to their stomachs, and one unlucky schoolboy drowned crossing the street when he fell into a gargantuan pothole. Severe drainage problems in this part of the city, as well as bad plumbing, meant that early Seattle residents had to contend with what tour guides call "exploding toilet syndrome." Because the city was built so low, the incoming tide would send water and sewage back through the pipes in a reverse flush. So, along with the morning flush came the threat of a deluge of sea water exploding out of the toilet onto hapless victims. And remember, Puget Sound can be pretty cold in January! Some industrious characters tried to solve the problem by building their toilets on raised platforms ten to fifteen feet high, but these contraptions required the use of a ladder just to get to the toilet. Something clearly needed to be done. In order to remedy the city's severe drainage problems, and the unpleasant threat of exploding toilets, streets were raised a full storey. Ground level was now to be high enough that both the streets and the sewage could drain properly. Only the streets were raised initially, however, which meant that the sidewalks remained in their original location far below the new streets. Simply crossing the street meant that one had to climb up one ladder, walk to the other side, and then climb down another ladder to the level of local businesses. This could be dangerous, and several citizens died in accidents falling from the street to the sidewalk. Unfortunately, sidewalks were also below the horses that traveled on the streets above. So, having solved the problem of exploding toilets, Seattle residents now had to contend not just with ladders but also with horses walking around 10 feet above their heads. This wasn't a good combination, particularly on rainy days as you can imagine. Eventually the sidewalks were covered and enclosed. Lower-level tenants survived for a while with sidewalk stairway accesses, but eventually these were all sealed, and the underground labyrinth was forgotten and left to vagrants, bootleggers, and prostitutes. In the mid-1960s, local resident, journalist, and amateur historian Bill Speidel began to write about the passages, which still remained under Seattle's historic Pioneer Square area. Concerned about destruction not only of the tunnels, but also of the historic square, Speidel began offering tours to the public in 1965. While about 25 square blocks of Pioneer Square has hollow sidewalks, only a small part was made accessible to the public through tours. The publicity that Speidel and others brought to the area resulted in its designation four years later as a national historic district." If you want to read more about it...heres the link: http://www.mysoresamachar.com/seattle.htm Anyway, Pioneer Square is a lovely little section of Seattle, with gorgeous architecture and very old buildings. Lots of nice antique stores too. I understand this section of the city was pretty seedy at one time, but seemed perfectly safe to me. I loved this glass and iron structure...so charming! We also went to the space needle while we were in Seattle. Here are a couple of views from inside the needle: Heres a pic of the space needle during the day: And at night: Heres what I hope you were talking about Marian....We took a harbor boat across Puget Sound. We took the shorter, hour long harbor tour as we didnt have a lot of time. Here is a view of the city of Seattle as we are leaving the dock: Heres a view of the Space Needle from our boat: I was amazed at how much action goes on at a harbor. Funny, I guess I never really think about all the import and export. There were quite a few cruise ships...most of them were heading to Alaska: This is a dry dock, where they repair ships. These cranes lift the ships onto the dock....amazing! Check out this little bathing beauty...LOL! Thats a seal sleeping on top of the buoy! Isnt he/she the cutest?!? I asked the tour guide how the seal got up there and she said they jump into the air and then land on the platform!!! We all got such a kick out the seal, but he/she was completely bored with us...LOL! Lastly a couple of miscellaneous pics: OMIGOSH this is beautiful country! Here is Paul at the Hoh Rainforest....Will you look at those ferns? It really *is* like a lost world: Prehistoric really! I *loved* all the gnarled old trees, coated in lichens with moss dripping of the branches...and all the ferns... One more pic of Lake Quinault. Hubby looks a sight better than I did at this point....of course *hes* wearing sunglasses...LOL! Here is us just beginning our trek up Hurricane Ridge: This is a view from on top of Hurricane Ridge: Do you see the glaciers? How cool is that? To imagine that that snow never melts....its amazing. The pic is a little fuzzy cause I had to use the zoom and Im not very good at it also, unfortunately, I do not know which mountain that is. Crescent Lake again... Dungeness again. I loved this place! Well Marian, this should keep you busy for a little while! :-) Actually, I want to thank you for asking for these pictures, this was actually good therapy for me and reminds me to be grateful for all the blessings Ive been given...hope you enjoy it too! Ei

I just started leaving a Nikon zoom binocular (repaired for $20) in the car. On a really cold day I pulled them out of the glove compartment into the heated interior of the car and they fogged up. Is this a problem other people have? Does this mean the moisture will get inside and mess up the optics? I suppose it's the same as bringing warm binoculars out into the cold and then back into the warm..... I'm used to using my binoculars to look out the kitchen window so I have no idea how field glasses behave in the field. Claire

Berlin, I have a 20 year old insert. The box has forced air and is attractive still, and quite airtight, but it doesn't have a direct connect to the chimney. The "damper" on the insert does shut off the fire box from the chimney, save about a 1/8 inch gap alone its 12" length. This seems to be by design, possibly to allow a dying fire to vent some when the insert is shut down. The problem is the only seal is the flange that helps cover the fireplace opening. It overlaps the brick by at least 2 inches on all sides, and the installation, 20 years back, used simple fiberglass insulation stuffed in between the flange and the brick to provide a "seal". It did work, but not real well, and not at all now in preventing smell when the air is warm and humid. I understand this is not up to code, something the chimney sweep says every time he pulls it out to clean the chimney. Of course he sells Quadrafire and would like to put one of those in with a stainless steel pipe all the way to the top. I'm sure this would remove the odors and will give me excellent control of the fire in the firebox. I'm just not too "keen" on spending $4K on the fireplace. The existing insert doesn't have anyway, save some custom sheet metal work, to make a sealed connection to the chimney. I'm thinking its time for it to go, and as I said it isn't currently operational as I pulled it and cleaned it and the fireplace and reinstalled the fireplace damper. The odor is mostly gone, but then the weather has been cooler too.

sue36: "There is no such thing as "unlicensed practice" here because there are no licenses. If they are not supposed to obvious find safety and code violations, what exactly are they looking for?" If there is no code enforcement via licensing, Im not clear on how code violations are determined at allcan you provide a bit more info? That said, even if ones state does not license HIs, it is very easy to determine what is and is not included in a home inspection in accordance with the nationally accepted standards of practice of the HI professional organizations. One can easily review the SOPs (and the COEs) of all of the major organizations on line..or call them to obtain a copy. Otherwise, it is impossible for a buyer to know what to look for in a contract if they have no clue what a home inspection includesor does not include, as the case may be...and this is exactly what leads to these apparently rampant misconceptions. If one reviews the ASHI SOPs for instance, it clearly states that the compliance with regulatory requirements (codes, regulations, laws, ordinances, etc.) is an exclusion.and one would therefore not assume the HI will be performing an inspection inclusive of such. Home inspection and Code Inspection are two separate and distinct professions. This however does not preclude a buyer from searching for an HI who is also a Code Inspector.however, as each code discipline is separateelectrical, plumbing, etc they would have to hire someone who has a proven track record in all. Im not sure how one does that in a state that does not license code officialsbut one could check on how the state determines that a code official is competent enough for hireand go from there. In addition, such an inspection would cost much, much more and take far more time than a home inspection, as much more is involved...and, because of how involved such an inspection would be, most code officials I know who also have an HI license do not perform code inspections for the public. They do so only for municipalities. As far as safety is concerned, a home inspection does include citing safety issues. However, in your state, since the profession is not regulated, the HI can pretty much call his own shots. It is up to the buyer to request the pre-inspection agreement before they hire, and read over what the HI is including in the inspection for the price. If he is not including the items that they expect, keep looking.and of course, check references. Most if not all HI contracts that I have seen waive liability. However, I have also known more than enough HIs who have been sued nonethelessand, if it was a valid caseand not just a buyer looking for home improvement funding, the buyer has won. However, if a buyer signs an agreement which specifically does not include the inspection of certain itemsor the exclusion of certina things...they will be hard pressed on winning a case regarding those issues....especially in a state without regulation. Last but not least, without seeing the contract regarding what was agreed to, and without seeing the report to see what may have been obscured or inaccessible on the day of inspection, it sounds as if the inspection was indeed the typical $250.00 job.