National Robertson's Family Vacation
On the nightstand: The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard. Can't recommend this one enough.Coming through the speakers: A bit of a Seattle mix for the guests. Nirvana. Pearl Jam. Hendrix. The Shins.
Family time!Finally(!), Mom, Dad, AND Lindsay made a trip up to the Pacific Northwest. Sun and beer and UBER welcomed them to Seattle.The siren call of Whidbey Island called out on our first day. Packed in a Zipcar, we crossed the Sound onto the pristine wilderness. The town of Langley afforded more entertainment than anticipated, with their glassblowing factories and beergardens and eats and treats. Further down the road, Coupeville treated us to ice cream on the pier. Deception Pass awarded us with perfectly weathered rocks to skip across the strait of water. The local fishermen however, were unimpressed.
Seattle greeted us the next day: Sun and the Sound and Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill. It felt good showing them around. The Seattle Underground Tour entertained as always, even if we booked the wrong tour. The University of Washington campus impressed, as did that faint glimmer of Mount Rainier from the campus vista. Seeing people's first reactions at the sight of the volcano is something that will never get old. A free concert in the Seattle Center distracted us long enough to allow us to visit Chihuly Gardens during both the day and the night.
They stayed in a mansion just a few blocks away, which meant I got to introduce them to the neighborhood, this shabby-chic apartment, and the new life I try to call "home." The pace was relaxed, the kind of afternoons that include cornhole and a drink whenever the thirst arrives. It was just about perfect.
On our last evening, Mom, Dad, and I dined in the rooftop restaurant of the Columbia tower. While trying to not be distracted by Russell Wilson’s stunt double, who was sitting in the booth behind us, I tried to explain the current state of life as I understood it: girls and work and school and those funny jokes we call plans. It wasn’t enough time. It’s never enough time. It’s just how it is though. That said, it was a beautiful weekend.