I had a really nice holiday. I returned on Friday (July 2) to Camas, Washington, home of Jay and Kris Murray and their two kids, Aiden and Cassidy. Jay is a pilot, and wasn't back in town from working until Saturday, so I had Friday night with Kris and the kids, which was really great.
On Saturday morning, I received the highest compliment possible: I was awakened at 6:40am by Cassidy, staring right in my face. When I woke up, Aiden came into my room, as well. We played in the room for a little while, then went outside and jumped on the trampoline for a while. At some point, Kris joined us and provided me with some much-needed coffee (those of you who know me, know that I am NOT a morning person).
Jay arrived around lunchtime, and we all went out to lunch and then to buy fireworks! Washington state allows fireworks, and so there are lots of little fireworks stores which sprang up between my last visit one week before and this second visit. We bought all kinds of things: things that pop, smoke, crackle, fly into the air, make noise, sparkle, and flash. We did not buy any heavy artillery, though -- that we left for some of the people who'd be attending the party the following day.
That evening, I made cake balls with Aiden and Cassidy. Cake balls are a specialty taught to me by my niece, Gillian, so I figured they'd be good for the kids....and I was right. We had a great time. Aiden and Cassidy definitely liked the licking of the beaters, spatula, bowl, and their fingers best, and Aiden suggested that chocolate cake balls might be better than the vanilla ones we made....too funny.
On the actual holiday, I was awakened early once again, by both Aiden and Cassidy this time. They came into my room, poked me in the back, and asked "Aren't you going to wake up?" So I did, and we played child-friendly truth or dare until Jay and Kris woke up.
That evening was the July 4th party, and it was really, really fun. I got to meet lots of the neighbors, along with seeing Josh and Erin again, and meeting a cousin of Jay's. The company was great, and the food and drink was great, but the best part for me was definitely the fireworks. I've never seen an actual large-scale firework set off! But there were lots and lots of them that night, with the funniest names: purple and green peony, blue chrysanthemum with crackle, shagadellic mojo, etc. (BTW, shagadellic mojo was really cool. I totally expected it to overpromise and underdeliver, but it exceeded my expectations.)
At one point, Jay drove me over to his parents' house....they live up on a hill, and from the deck, we looked down over the valley, and saw literally HUNDREDS of fireworks going off all over the place! Turns out, everyone in Washington buys fireworks and sets them off. From where we stood, it looked like little multicolored puffs and sparkles going off all around us. Really, really cool.
I initially planned to leave for Canada yesterday, but decided against it at the last moment, choosing instead a day to relax after going to bed late on the 4th of July. And it was a good day. I played with the kids again in the morning, and Jay and I had a long talk, which was really nice. That afternoon, Jay and Aiden taught me how to play Mario Cart on the Wii....turns out I'm not nearly as good at that game as I was at Tiger Woods Golf. Oh, well. Jay told me it only takes several hundred hours of practice for me to become good. Yippee -- there's hope for me yet!
Kris had invited me to go with some of her girlfriends to see Twilight Eclipse last night, but I hadn't seen or read the first two chapters, so she summarized the first and had me watch the second movie, in order to get me up to speed. And then I went with Kris, Erin, and two other women to see the movie last night. It was fun, but I'm not sure I'm a "Twihard" just yet.
This morning, for the first time since I arrived in Washington, the weather was clear and cloudless. Unfortunately, there's no time to go back and see Rainier....instead, I packed up and left Jay and Kris's house to begin my Alaska travel adventure. I can't believe it's finally here! I arrived in Vancouver tonight, and it's kind of strange here: on the one hand, it looks just like any big city in the USA, especially with its profusion of big box stores, strip shopping, and restaurants. But my cell phone is roaming, the ATM gave me Canadian dollars, and the scenery and architecture is lovely.
So that's it! I'm officially in Canada, and I leave Vancouver tomorrow for the "West Access Route" to the Alaska Highway. In the meantime, I had a wonderful stay with Jay and Kris, and I'll miss them. Jay's the same thoughtful, quick-witted, super-athletic guy I remember from high school, just all grown up and responsible now, and getting to know Kris and their kids was really special for me. I took a picture of them this morning. Unfortunately, Cassidy was not home at the time, and so she's not in the photo.
As a final note, I've been doing a little thinking as I leave the USA for the next portion of the trip. As I've traveled, I've had lots of emotions: some days have been sad, some fun, some really exciting, some incredibly lonely, and some just plain boring. But the one emotion which has been noticeably absent from my repertoire on this trip is....anger. Yep. I haven't been angry, infuriated, frustrated, or peeved even once on this trip. (Now, I've been slightly annoyed, like when I was stuck in a 90 minute traffic jam after I crossed into British Columbia, but even then, I just turned the car off and listened to some music.) And that is saying something. In my real life, I'm ticked off almost every day. So the absence of anger is remarkable.
So why is that? Is it just because I have some time right now, and am not always running in 14 different directions? Is it because I'm not working? Is it because I'm simply doing things I enjoy doing? Is it because I've spent so much time with people who are important to me? Or is it some combination? Regardless of the reason, I just feel so much better than I have in a long, long time.
And -- I suppose have plenty of time to contemplate the reasons, since I'll be driving over 2200 miles in the next 6-7 days.
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