Well, it's my last night in Seattle, and it's been a great three days. I got to meet dozens and dozens of cousins, only a handful of whom I had met before, and it was a bit overwhelming. My Aunt Betty (Boop) celebrated her 90th birthday with a family reunion that was a brilliant success thanks to the hard work of (mostly) her children, along with a hilarious toast by son Joe, and a great slide-show of her life afterwords.
I stayed with cousins Leslie & Bill, and roomed with Chuckie, who helped me conspire to sneak their sweet but sexually confused fluff-ball of a dog Rascal into our (sort of) forbidden room, where she (yes, she) proceeded to, well-- engage in inappropriate romantic behavior for a female dog. In other words, my leg sure got lucky those nights. I have it on video, if anyone wants to see it.
I also went to a wonderful brunch with some people who were on my Rick Steves Europe tour last fall, hosted by Judy Harris in her house with an incredible view of Puget Sound. I also continued my Tradition of Forgetting Something by leaving my camera in another tour-mate Becky's car.
Today, my last day here, Chuck was supposed to take a slow train home to San Francisco, but (lucky for me) it was cancelled due to a mudslide somewhere on the tracks, and he stayed an extra day and gave me a great tour of downtown Seattle, later joined by Leslie & kids. Pike's Market was my favorite, with its fantastic assortment of fish stalls, fruit vendors, bric-a-brac stores, etc. One store consisted almost entirely of thousands of vintage salt & pepper shakers!
While here I've heard so many stories of my late brother John I feel like I've gotten to know him all over again. He was obviously much loved by all who knew him. I wish he were still here; it's a poorer world without him, and he is still sorely missed. Yet I think his spirit lives on in this beautiful city he loved.
So tomorrow it's on to Portland where I was lucky enough to be invited by Becky & husband John, to stay with them (and retrieve my camera).
I only hope I don't forget anything else.
I stayed with cousins Leslie & Bill, and roomed with Chuckie, who helped me conspire to sneak their sweet but sexually confused fluff-ball of a dog Rascal into our (sort of) forbidden room, where she (yes, she) proceeded to, well-- engage in inappropriate romantic behavior for a female dog. In other words, my leg sure got lucky those nights. I have it on video, if anyone wants to see it.
I also went to a wonderful brunch with some people who were on my Rick Steves Europe tour last fall, hosted by Judy Harris in her house with an incredible view of Puget Sound. I also continued my Tradition of Forgetting Something by leaving my camera in another tour-mate Becky's car.
Today, my last day here, Chuck was supposed to take a slow train home to San Francisco, but (lucky for me) it was cancelled due to a mudslide somewhere on the tracks, and he stayed an extra day and gave me a great tour of downtown Seattle, later joined by Leslie & kids. Pike's Market was my favorite, with its fantastic assortment of fish stalls, fruit vendors, bric-a-brac stores, etc. One store consisted almost entirely of thousands of vintage salt & pepper shakers!
While here I've heard so many stories of my late brother John I feel like I've gotten to know him all over again. He was obviously much loved by all who knew him. I wish he were still here; it's a poorer world without him, and he is still sorely missed. Yet I think his spirit lives on in this beautiful city he loved.
So tomorrow it's on to Portland where I was lucky enough to be invited by Becky & husband John, to stay with them (and retrieve my camera).
I only hope I don't forget anything else.
1 comment:
We'd love to see pics, too, of the family reunion in Seattle!
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