Since our daughter was already living in Seattle for her postgraduate studies, as soon as we learned our son had secured a summer internship with a prominent Seattle artist, we excitedly cobbled together temporary accommodations in the Emerald City.
Seattle is known for many things — Mt. Rainier, Puget Sound, and coffee to name a few. But, did you know the city is facing a terrible housing shortage? That being the case, we opened our minds and our laptops, and creatively stitched together short-term stays across the city. By the end of summer we had sampled life in four very different neighborhoods: West Seattle, southeast Othello, west central Wallingford, and east central Madison Park.
Admittedly, my favorite neighborhood was Wallingford for its proximity to: Green Lake, shops, eateries/food trucks (e.g., Frelard Tamales, Falafel Salam, Seattle Pops, and Molly Moon), light rail stations, and Hwy 99 (the ability to avoid the never-ending rush hour on Hwy I-5). I also cherished Wednesday evenings at Meridian Park sprawled out on a picnic blanket during the weekly Wallingford Farmers Market.
Our kids are one year out from completing their respective postgraduate studies on opposite US coasts. That is why it is always such a blessing when our family can be together. One of life’s greatest gifts is continuing to share as each of their new endeavors unfold.
Aaron spent this summer producing large-scale art pieces — including one that will be installed at Microsoft’s new headquarters. Alison filled the days educating residents via her public affairs position at the Seattle DOT while also working as a freelance editor — and in her spare time, writing her own novel.
And lucky for us, Grandma flew out to Seattle twice to share some summer fun together. We had barbeques, picnics, beach days, and on one lovely Saturday we spent the day touring Whidbey Island.
Olympic Peninsula
Another fun getaway was when Alison, Mick, Aaron, and Jan (Aaron’s classmate) spent one weekend on the northwest most point of Washington state camping on the dreamlike Shi Shi Beach (pronounced shy shy). They experienced hours of misty, foggy rainforest hiking and wave-crashing, crab-crawling beach walking. With tide map in hand, they pitched their tents at water’s edge. With bear canister in tow, they cooked their food on an open fire.
The vivid orange and pink hued backdrop provided by twilight* was most magical. As the sun tucked in behind the sea, just off the beach, the outcrop of jagged rocks comprising the Point of Arches became ominous silhouettes. Then, everyone’s gaze turned upward to the night sky where the Milky Way was in full view. An unforgettable experience.
*Not far from here was the setting for Twilight, the Stephenie Meyers’ YA vampire-themed romance series. Alison read the first book when she was in middle school. Then, the movies came out when she was in high school. The kids are all grown up now, but not too grown up to make a quick stop in Forks, Washington to see Bella Swan’s home.
The Stowaway
Everyone loves to hike! One of my favorite daytime outings was a 1700-ft trek up Tiger Mountain to Poo Poo Point (named for the whistle sound of the old time logging trains that used to reside in the area). There are multiple trails leading up — all leading to stunning views. And for me, no hike was complete without a Vietnamese banh mi lunch at the top while admiring the spectacular snow-capped 14,400-ft Mt. Rainier — win-win!
One of our outings, however, took a turn when Aaron picked up a stowaway — in his ear! We had just started our descent down the mountain. We were engaged in a deep discussion about the phenomenon of immersion and how we perceive the world around us when suddenly Aaron’s eyes turned as big as saucers and he stopped, bent over, tilted his head, and started shaking it. He said something had flown into his ear — he could feel it crawling and heard it buzzing. Panic struck. We tried flushing his ear with the remaining swallow of water we were carrying, but nothing came out. (Note to self: carry more water than we think we need.) Seeing Aaron’s distress, we ran down the remaining couple of miles to get him medical attention quickly.
We drove to the Swedish medical facility in Issaquah. We were welcomed by an excellent nurse who had a jovial bedside manner. Needing Aaron’s weight, he asked Aaron and his “buddy” to step on the scale. He joked that maybe Aaron would be lighter when he leaves.
The nurse took Aaron to a room and also took the first look inside Aaron’s ear with a scope. Try as he might, he could not see anything. He said the doctor would be in shortly for a deeper look. Deeper it was! With his high-powered magnifying glass and shiny instruments, the doctor announced that he saw a leg. And that’s exactly what he fished out the first time — one spindly bug leg. Sensing Aaron’s discomfort, the doctor stepped out of the room to give Aaron a moment to regroup. Upon the doctor’s return, success was had on his second extraction attempt. Voila! He pulled out an I-don’t-know-what! Guesses have included a golden stonefly or a brown lacewing. See for yourself below.
I asked the doctor if he does this sort of bug removal often. He said, “Yes, but bugs usually crawl into people’s ears while they are asleep.” Argh, maybe I shouldn’t have asked.
