Return to Seattle
Snippets of conversations, details of cherished friends and family’s lives, NW scenes of misty forests and islands set like green jewels in the grey sound are filling my sluggish jet-lagged mind. Over the past couple of days I have been returning to these memories, storing them away, retelling them to Jon and the girls, holding them tight. I am overflowing with these swirling memories and emotions from our two weeks in Seattle. It was a whirlwind of a trip, connecting with as many friends and family as possible, returning to favourite Seattle places and exploring new locations. I wish we could have seen everyone.
We slipped easily into Seattle life, not much had changed, even the garden of our lovely old home was exactly as we had left it. Traffic was just as infuriating as always. The donuts at Mighty O’s just as delicious. But the hippos, Lupe and Lily, had vanished from the zoo. We had always enjoyed watching them float in their pool. We shared a lakeside cabin with friends for a couple of nights, tucked away in the moist forest on the Kitsap Peninsula. The Dads prepared delicious meals with plenty of laughter, A and her buddy played continual nerf gun war and L and I paddled around the lake in the canoe watching swallows swoop and skim the surface of the water. One morning, awake before everyone, I tiptoed down the spiral staircase to soak in the wooden hot tub. Fat snowflakes drifted down and a curious robin flitted from tree to tree. The outside shower was equally blissful.
With other dear friends we visited the long finger of Camano Island, spending two nights beside a driftwood strewn beach, reuniting our four children who have spent many fun weekends together sharing adventures on the wild beaches of Puget Sound. We were visited by a migrating gray whale, which ventured into the shallow water to feed on the shrimp living in the silt. In the high tide of the evenings and mornings, we watched, amazed, as the whale tipped onto its side, flipper protruding from the water, churning the water and silt to dislodge the tiny crustaceans. It was so close we could hear the forceful exhalation of air as it spouted from its blow hole. One evening a bald eagle soared across the water above the whale. An incredible Pacific Northwest scene to treasure along with all the conversations shared with our wonderful family and friends.
