It’s no wonder Mick and Alison decided to return to Seattle. It’s like the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN) — surrounded by water, outdoor recreation spaces, and diverse culture — with two notable exceptions. Unlike Minneapolis, Seattle has an oceanic, warm-summer Mediterranean climate which means it feels like spring year-round. And, if it’s snow you crave, one of Washington’s snow-capped mountains is never too far away.
Tulip Festival
Every year, in March-April, the Skagit (SKAJ-it) Valley in northwestern Washington hosts the largest tulip festival in the United States. During one of Manohar’s quarterly trips to India, Alison and Mick invited me on their tulip viewing trip. The one-way drive took us 1 hour and 18 minutes — exactly the time needed to listen to the new Beyoncé “Cowboy Carter” album. Talk about a lovely Sunday! The icing on the cake was our detour through the storybook harbor town of La Conner for ice cream on our way home.
Cherry Blossoms
This stay in Seattle was in the home of Scott and Eleanor Dills. Our consummate hosts have been renting out rooms to folks from around the world for more than 30 years. A springtime bonus, we were delighted to discover our street came alive for 2 weeks when the cherry blossom trees were in full bloom. Dressed in their best, social media influencers, those newly engaged and those newly wed, all came to our street to take photographs. Our front yard turned into a scene from Alice in Wonderland.
Greater Good
It’s nice to have a community even if it’s borrowed. Manohar and I frequented the local Seattle YMCA where he took swimming lessons and I attended classes on women’s health and mindful menopause. I also participated in workshops and observed classes on childbirth education at Parent Trust. Additionally, our inclusive hosts included us on several luncheons and dinners with folks belonging to Wider Horizons. And, of course, we had to get our puppy fix by doing some dog and house-sitting via Trusted Housesitters. After years of traveling and feeling like a spectator, being “plugged in” to our environment was wonderful.
Showing us how it’s done, on this day (below), Alison and Mick volunteered to collect data to monitor the types of sea crabs near their home. You can read Alison’s Washington Sea Grant article explaining the effort, here.
The Great Outdoors
Most fun of all, of course, was spending time with our kiddos! We loved exploring parks, museums, hiking trails, coffee shops, and restaurants – together. ❤
Maybe someday we can plant roots here too.
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