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I'm sorry I had to leave this space for a few weeks. When work piles up and you are pressed for time, the first thing to go is the thing you most want to write.
I want to quietly return to mystery prize monday with my favorite prompt, the one I'll always choose when I haven't spoken with you for a little while: how are things going? It should be spring now- I know up North it's not really, but it should be. How is it going so far?
In honor of my recent trip to the Pacific Northwest I've chosen a salt water inspired prize for you this week. It's not taffy or chocolate.
Of course, I have plenty of photos to share from the trip. We were treated to classic Seattle weather, heavy and overcast, and I could not get over how David's red hair smoldered against the gray pearl sky. We hunted for handfuls of sea glass at Golden Gardens, woke up to the little stomping steps of Audrey, Steph and Ammen's one year old daughter, and the shrieks of Ella, who is nearly four.
There was a parade and David dressed up like a banana and spent hours in the hammock tossing Ella up into the air.
We were able to disappear out to Doe Bay on Orcas Island, where I sank into the waters of their luminous soaking tubs and didn't emerge for three days. We went sea kayaking and clamored around our own island for an afternoon, and on the way home a furious squall nearly blew the boats off of our makeshift racks and onto the Tulip Fields as we crawled past at 35 miles an hour.
David didn't get the gum wall downtown, neither did I. But I made him pose for a photo in front of it nevertheless, something I never did when I lived there. He's looking back at the camera with a big, open mouthed smile, his eyebrows knit in confusion, long strings of gum melting in the background.
Today I wanted to share just a few of my photos from the Washington State Ferries that took us out to the islands. They were my favorite part of the trip because when I stand at the rail and look down at the water, when the conditions are just right and the boat is rocking back and forth- and it takes a gail to really rock a ferry boat- I feel like my body evaporates and all I can sense is cold wind, salt spray and speed. Something is always hurting in my body, usually my eyes or my stomach or my head, so it's nice to go without a body for a few minutes.
So to answer my own prompt, here's how I am doing: dazzled a little bit to be back, relieved that another plane ride has come and gone without incident, slightly concerned about a chemistry test coming up involving the hydrolysis of Esters, and wondering if I should be giving my wedding a little more attention. Also, drinking a glass of water and looking over photos, thinking to myself what a city! So many blues and evergreens. What a splendid city.
Here are the photos from the ferries. I used to belong inside this landscape but I erased myself from it two years ago. It's always feels a little funny to be back.
