Cinderella and Chihuly

Saturday, September 22, was filled with beauty.  We spent the day in Seattle --first to see the ballet Cinderella at McCaw Hall and then to the Chihuly Glass Garden at Seattle Center at the base of the Space Needle.  We started out early and the weather was perfect.  The trip was uneventful until we got a block from the parking lot.  The cars inched around the corner, one or two cars per green light, obviously waiting a turn to turn into the parking garage.  We finally got parked, into the building and into the restaurant for a quick lunch.  The menu was one of those fancy ones where one doesn't have a clue what is being offered but I ordered what I thought was crab and cauliflower soup.  It was.  Hobart ordered the stuffed French toast, which he later described as "poison--five different ways to get sugar into my body".  My soup was delicious.  (All five spoonfuls of it.)  We ate, went into the theater and found our seats which were wonderfully close and almost in the center.  The lights went down and the orchestra began.  Gorgeous music.  I looked over at Hobart, who had his eyes closed.  He was smiling as he absorbed the beauty of the moment and the music. The curtain rose and we spent the next three hours enjoying the ballet.  

When the ballet was over, we walked to the Chihuly exhibit which was a short distance away.  What an incredible experience that was.  I am always in awe of what that man could create in glass, but the display exceeded my expectations.  Enjoy the following pictures.  

Persian ceiling

We ended our day in Seattle at the Collections restaurant which is right by the Chihuly exhibit.  The restaurant displays various collections under glass at each table--pocket knives, shaving brushes, tin toys, etc.  The walls are decorated with other collections--old radios and hundreds of church keys.  We ordered and devoured the wild salmon on a bed of corn and mushrooms--the salmon was on a bed of corn and mushrooms. =) Delicious!  After dinner we stopped at Starbucks for a cup of coffee.  (How can you go to Seattle, home of Starbucks, without drinking a Starbucks coffee?)  We decided to go home on the ferry, reasoning that at 8:00 on a Saturday night, few people would be trying to get to Whidbey Island.  Wrong!  The line for the ferry started many blocks before the entrance so we turned around and took the long way home, over the bridge, visiting all the way to Oak Harbor.  

Good day.   

Unforgettable experience. 

Many blessings. 

Great life.

A Trip to the Mountains

Notice I did not say "A Day in the Mountains" which was the original plan.  Hobart said, "Let's leave early tomorrow, have breakfast in this wonderful little restaurant in Sedro Woolley, and then follow Highway 20 up into the mountains."  Although we meant to start earlier, we didn't feel too badly when we pulled out of the driveway at 10:00.  The trip began to lose momentum when we pulled back into the driveway five minutes later to get the maps we had left in the garage.  But then we were on our way and the day was gorgeous.  Hobart was driving and I was sitting in my favorite passenger position, feet on dash.  

On the outskirts of Burlington, Hobart mentioned that his new sunglasses didn't feel quite right, and if we had more time, he'd like to stop at the mall to exchange them for the bigger size.  How long could that take?  We were right there, so we decided to take the time to make the exchange.  Done.  Back in the car I mentioned that I had forgotten to get coffee at Costco the day before and since we were only a block away, I could run in and get it.  Hobart circled the parking lot while I ran through Costco, found the coffee, paid, and jumped back into the car.  Mountains, here we come!

We arrived in Sedro Woolley at noon, a little late for breakfast, but just in time for lunch.  Hobart drove straight to his favorite restaurant.  Oh, no.  The building now housed a combination pet grooming/nail salon.  Plan B.  We headed downtown and happened to pass a house which was sure to win the prize for the most dramatic yard art.  Turn around.  Another delay to take pictures.

The downtown was quaint and inviting.  We parked the car, crossed the street and walked into a diner which looked like it would be the locals' favorite hangout. It was.  We sat in a booth opposite a table of grinny, chubby, tattooed men, wearing t-shirts and blue jeans.  They were chatting and laughing and enjoying their meals and each other's company.  Hobart and I had just as much fun watching them.  One of them caught my eye.....well, his tattoos did....so I asked him about them--he said Snoopy had been his hero for a long time--and got his permission to take pictures.  Larry the Cable Guy would have loved his Git-R-Done cap.  

The meal was over, so we checked out the town.  Evidently--Hobart googled it when we got home--there is a chain-saw carving competition in Sedro Woolley every year, and the winning sculptures are kept and displayed all around town.  They were spectacular!  

We were about to get back in the car to head for the mountains when Hobart called my attention to a store that looked interesting.  Hobart has been looking for a shirt to replace the ragged (I'm being kind by calling it ragged--it's truly horrible.) tan, lined, corduroy shirt he wears ALL the time around the house.  We have checked stores and catalogs and browsed on-line and found nothing that was satisfactory as a replacement.  So we wandered into the store, started looking, and were approached by a wonderful clerk who said he had just what Hobart was looking for.....and it was the only one like it in the store....and it was his size...and it was on sale.  And...it was orange.  I was sure Hobart would instantly reject it, but, no!  No!  Hobart fell in love!  With that shirt!  Instantly in love and wanted, not only to buy it, but to wear it out of the store!  Like a little kid with a new pair of shoes, Hobart had our new best friend cut off the tags so he wouldn't even have to take it off.  Goodbye, raggedy shirt!  Hello, Orange Shirt!  Here is Hobart in his new shirt and my hero, the clerk.  

By then it was mid-afternoon and we knew we weren't going to make it to the mountains, but we decided we weren't through exploring yet, so we got back onto Hwy. 20 and headed east again.  

We ran into concrete.....I mean, Concrete.  Yep!  There is a town named Concrete and it once had a cement factory.  They made cement in Concrete.  They currently have a wonderful community garden that is outlined by a handsome fence and birdhouses.  Also, notice the mountains--which someday we will get to--in the background.  

This is a concrete building they are planning to restore and beside it, in concrete, a monument, listing all the years the cement factory had a perfect safety record.  (When you are with Hobart, you stop to read EVERYTHING!) 

The police station/fire department had this map of the region and we could trace the highways and roads we will take someday to go to the mountains.  

Leaving Concrete, we crossed the river and drove home on the other side.  It was a gorgeous drive with scenes like this one.  Maybe there's just as much value in looking at the mountains as there is in being in them.  

Cemetery

I love cemeteries.  They are always peaceful, interesting, often beautiful, and always a reminder to appreciate life and the meaningful moments we find if we are paying attention.  Wednesday morning Nelda and I took a walk in the cemetery overlooking the prairie at Ebey's Landing on Whidbey Island.  The cemetery is one of my favorites.  The walk was wonderful, and we were delighted with our discoveries, which you will see in the pictures below. 

Terry Toms left messages on both sides of his bench--see below.  I think I would have liked him.

This didn't have a name or date...just a message!

We had to dig through the flowers to find the name, but isn't this delightful?

This was my favorite.  On this side, he rewrote the Serenity Prayer to make it his own.

And it even looks like this may have been his own printing.  

Here's the front of his stone.  Take the time to read his message below.  Wow!

Don't you wish you knew this guy?

This was touching.  

A Moment on a Log

(or Log Blog!)

Paul and LouAnn and their kids came to Whidbey Island for Labor Day weekend.  Saturday we showed them the local sights, mainly Deception Pass and the beaches close by.  We spent time on four beaches, examining tide pools, climbing rocks, gathering rocks, building sand castles and forts, picnicking, and enjoying the gorgeous weather and beautiful scenery.  The highlight of the day came when the kids found a huge log, balanced to form a natural seesaw.  The next hour was spent climbing, balancing, hanging from, walking on, and eventually  falling from (Ellis) that magnificent log.