If you ever need a stellar travel partner, you will find none other than my mom. I might consider letting you borrow her for a trip but don't take the opportunity lightly. You will be hitting up the town with a woman that, by the time you get to the destination, will be able to give a dissertation on all local customs, history and etiquette, and be able to throw in an essay or two on what not to wear. When she gets the idea of going to a city where she has never been before, while that idea is still just a kernel of a possibility, she will begin making a library of every book that could possibly help her get a foothold on the in-the-know. (She went to Italy once and we still have the two full bookshelves of research materials as evidence.)
As side-wheel to this traveler, its pretty much a vacation dream. I go on auto-pilot and let her call the shots and find myself eating some of the best gosh-dang food of my life and see shows that I never would have thought to check out in the first place and come back from a trip and am able to answer "Yes, I did" to any question that involves "Did you see...?" And, as a loving mother, she has mercy on me. For each of the afternoons I took my own siesta (did I mention I love naps?) back at the hotel, regained my energy and rejoined her conquests for the evening.
So mark up Seattle as another successful venture, adding it to the list of NYC and Chicago, and if I have my druthers, to the future visit of Santa Fe.
What makes me especially grateful for my mom's companionship is that I've entered the Pacific Northwest region in a bit of a funk. This area feels so heavy. Its the best way that I can describe it. I have to say, when I entered the Rocky Mountain area of the states, I went through a period of adjustment. I felt out-of-place and a bit lonely. Mother Nature wasn't really opening her arms to me, with all of those jagged ravines and stand-offish pine trees. Now, I have hit the Pacific Ocean and I'm getting that feeling again. It feels very alienating and, although everything is so lush and green, it kind-of makes me feel like the earth and ocean and rain just want to swallow me up. The good news is that I eventually got used to the mountains and started to feel at home and, most likely, the same will happen here.
And this area of the states makes me have the same feeling that I get when its the Autumn season in Pittsburgh. I love this season. I love the air getting cooler and the sky getting darker. It makes me listen to more Elliott Smith and Leonard Cohen and makes me want to take more long walks but it gives me this sweet melancholy feeling that is not good for my moods but I just can't help sinking into it. I've never been able to figure out its pull. And the heavy Northwest makes the mood even more irresistible. We'll see how this goes.
Quickly, on to the specifics of my travels: After Seattle, I spent two days on the San Juan Islands. Those are the little chunks of land that are floating off the coast where it looks like someone has taken a bite out of the state of Washington. (Who says I don't have a knack for travel descriptions?) I had to become fluent in reading ferry schedules in order to get on/off/between the islands. I have surprised myself that I managed to make it back to the mainland. I spent a night on the main island at a hostel (at a place where I never even saw the owners, I just picked up my keys, left my money and then spent the night in a house with two other people that were guests. Bizarre experience.) Yesterday I went to Orcas Island to the Moran State Park and did a three mile hike around Cascade Lake. I felt comfortable to do the hike on my own because: a) no bears or moose have managed to ferry themselves across to those islands and any other critter that I would've run into would have been little challenge for me and my pepper spray and b) if I hike around a lake, I can just hug the coast and trust that I will eventually end up where I started. Famous last words.
I'm back on the mainland in Mt. Vernon, Washington. Its a reorganizing day before I do a week and a half tour of the Olympic Peninsula and then end up in Portland. Oh, and a heads-up, I'll be back in the 'burgh November 1st through the 6th. Although, if you would like to hang out, you'll have to cart my butt around being that my car will still be parked on the west coast.
View of the San Juan Islands from the top of Mt. Constitution (Orcas Island):
Hiking around Cascade Lake, Moran State Park:
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