Okay, I'm ready to talk about the Seattle trip.
I apologize for the delay, especially to those who, at dinner, said, "So.... We really have to wait until you blog about it to hear about your trip? You can't just... tell us? Really? Not even about the food?" I thought that was very funny. I actually was ill, so I wasn't doing a lot of talking, and that's the real reason why I didn't feel like talking about it, but even that was too much to explain. Sorry, Mike.
The PNW
The first half of the Washington State trip was great. We did the hiking we wanted to do, and hung out with the people we wanted to see, and went to the places we wanted to go. The last half of the trip was awful, due to my becoming horribly and violently ill, and some other factors. But we won't focus on that - we'll only focus on the good parts.
This was our fourth trip to Washington State and the PNW (Pacific Northwest) together. Over the years, Kate and I have had some crazy experiences in Washington. We've met a lot of cool people, some of whom we have kept in touch with over the years, and with whom we reconnect when we go back.
We've driven a lot of fun and crazy roads, but have never been lost. Everywhere our tires tread in Washington State is a destination. We have arrived, no matter where we are or what we are doing. We embrace the State - the air, the sun, the coffee, the clouds, the mist, the crepes, the water, the coffee, the rain, the trees, the dirt, the forests, the beach - and it all embraces us back. It calls to us.
Look at the magical steam coming off of the magical trees.
At home, we sit at our desks in climate controlled, coffee-fueled, fluorescent lighted offices, and we can feel the Washington air calling to us.
"Hello, I am with you," it reminds us. "Hello, I am here, I am waiting for you to come back to the forest, and climb up a tree branch to bask in the sun on the beach. Come to me, come back, come gaze upon the galaxy whilst snuggled up in your sweatshirt with friends around a beach fire, each of you taking turns singing your favorite songs to each other and to the sea. I am here, and I can't wait to have you again," it calls. We feel it in our bones.
Don't get me wrong - Maryland has a similar and equally
powerful chant. I love Washington and Maryland the same, they are just
different.
Those friends whom we have here in Maryland who are from the PNW (yes we do have support meetings together - "Meeting of the Pacific Northwestern-tears") know exactly what I am talking about. The PNW calls to them, too.
In years past, we've had the opportunity to experience amazing stories and scenery which I would just love to discuss with you over a beer. But look at my FB albums first. You'll see all of the Washington trips. Do it.
Trip Number Four
Upon arrival to SEA, this was the first thing I saw when we pulled up to the gate. Coincidence? I think not!
Ahh, Seatac
First things first: We always go to Pike's Market and eat crepes and get coffee and bunches of flowers before we head to the coast. It's a tourist requirement.
This lady was playing a bucket and string. A string attached to a bucket.
We were fortunate enough to catch the tail end of the Seafood festival.
Our main destination on these trips to the PNW is the coast. At low tide, tide pools are created in the few minutes that the water recedes far, far back. In these tide pools, magic happens.
This trip, we got to Second Beach well on time both days we were there, but the weather was so windy and rainy that the wind did not allow the water to recede, so we didn't get to walk out as far as the tide pools. To get to Second Beach, you have to walk through about a mile of Magical Forest, and then you'll be at the Magical Beach. Even though we didn't get to see the tide pools, we did get to see these things:
Logging
We also have a secret hook-up to go logging. Yes, logging. It is a fascinating operation that Washington has going on - and actually very well governed. They harvest and replant, harvest and replant, and it accounts for a large percentage of the commerce in Washington. I absolutely love going up the mountain with our friend, we'll call him Sam. It's wonderful.
Kate does not share the same sentiment. Sure she likes it when we arrive, but the climb up/down does not please her.
Kate may or may not scream basically the entire drive in the truck on the way up and the way down.
I mean, realistically, I can't blame her - she is probably the normal one. There is about 6 inches of give between the tires and literally the end of the earth.
Do you see this plummet? That's not an exaggeration.
So Kate is braced for her life, and I'm stepping wherever Sam is stepping. I trust him - and he goes up and down that mountain several times a day. He owns the logging equipment, so he knows what he is doing. And, when we reach the top, of course I want to do everything Sam does, while Kate and our dear friend, we'll call her Trish, wait close to the truck. They eventually made their way up to us.
I am always up for whatever opportunity presents itself. "Veronica, do you want to climb up on the giant machine and play with buttons?" Yes. Yes I do. When am I EVER going to be able to do this again? WHO GETS THESE OPPORTUNITIES? Simply put, you can't pay for these opportunities. There would be too much liability for a touring company or something to offer such a thing. We are extremely blessed.
Go ahead and try to imagine what this smells like.
Times like that, I think of my father. I think he is watching over me. My sister and I are always recounting stories of our father. "You know how Dad was. He knew everything about everything, and it never made sense why he would know these things. You could point to the most random thing, and he would know about it. You'd say, 'Dad, how do you know all of this?' And he would say, casually, 'Eh, I talked to a guy about it once.' "
And that's how I find myself - talking to a guy about it. There I was, talking to a guy all about the inner workings of the logging trade, the history of the mountain on which we were standing, and watching him work; experiencing the dangers of the job. These are the sorts of opportunities I like to think are a tribute to my dad - a way of him watching over me.
Me, talking to a guy about it, as my dad would say.
After a couple nights of hanging out at The bar (there is one),
and saying "till next time!" to our friends and the lovely town of Forks,
we headed back towards land.
We love Port Townsend, which is a lovely, picturesque, quaint old fishing town. We had a really fun day and night at Sirens pub in celebration of my birthday.
We had great food and drinks, and a Bob Ross-like man would not stop being creepy about drawing our picture. We heard him pull folks aside and say, "Have you ever seen two more beautiful people walk into this bar?" It was equal parts fun and creepy. We had a lot of fun that evening and met a couple of cool people.
And that's all I have to say about that. What happens in Washington stays in Washington.
Then, in what can only be considered a COST SAVING MEASURE, (YOU'RE WELCOME, KATE) I became pretty violently ill, which put a damper on things.
This, along with some other factors, made the trip not so great towards the end, but the good news is that we had no trouble getting home. Praise God for small blessings. No flights were delayed or anything.
So now, nearly two weeks later, I'm still feeling residual effects of my illness, but hopefully I'll be back to normal soon.
It was indeed a great way to spend my 30th birthday.
