America 2015 - part 1

Finally we're home and after all the observations we made about America and how different it is, the first thing we noticed about Germany was how humid it is, and lush with neon green grass. Seattle was bloody hot when we were there, but so is Germany and the first thing I noticed on getting off the plane in Seattle and taking a breath, DRY!

As I type this I cannot see the trees across the field clearly because of the thickness of the air. Last night we had a spectacular summer storm with nonstop lightning and thunder, and a few drops of rain. Today I cannot even go outside (I prefer to drink my water), so I will blog.

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It was my husband's second 4th of July and will be the last one for a very long time, based on his school schedule. We were excited to repeat our first 4th together by participating in the parade in my parents' town. We wore fancy hats and had parasols against the burning sun. We each had a huge bag of tootsie rolls and it was just as much fun as last time, throwing candy at people. Mostly we would throw at people's feet to avoid hitting them, but it was fun to throw them directly into their outstretched hands. I suddenly had a case of pitcher's arm from my rapid burst throwing when there were large groups of children, because I wanted every child to have one. The people seem to really love tootsie rolls!


Waiting for the parade to start, with the top up on the convertible because of the burning hot black leather seats. 


This is my step dad's car, our parade car. It was cool when people would yell "Great car!" and "What year is it?" My first car was a 68 Pontiac so I really like this car. We laughed when we noticed the "oil change due" sticker that said 2013, or in 2,000 miles (whichever comes first). This car only comes out of its cocoon a few times per year.

At the end of the parade all the fancy cars park in a field by the waterfront where there is a band, games, and free food. This year, LOTS of free food. Not only all you can eat hot dogs and ice cream, but popcorn, lemonade, and shave ice.

Perhaps the strangest moment of the trip occurred at the hot dog stand. I approached with J, and asked the tall blond lady working there for a blackened hot dog. Without hesitation the lady reached down to get me one, and said in German, "A black one." For a split second I didn't notice anything and then it hit me - she spoke German to us even though we hadn't spoken any. My mouth fell open and I took my hot dog and backed away from her in confusion. My husband wasn't as fazed by it, he just got his hot dog too. I went quite a ways away to ponder it. Finally my mom came over and said, "Did you see our neighbor who's German?" OH, that's her neighbor! She convinced me to go back and the lady asked me to speak German, and later her speech sounded a little odd to me and  my husband admitted she made some grammar mistakes. I see: she's been in America too long. Just like I will freeze in the middle of sentences, trying to find words in my brain like "glove box" and "shutters."

We had to get home before too long because my parents were hosting a 4th party. There was a lot of wonderful food but best of all, a big kiddie pool that we could play in. My nephew and I had a blast in there and there was a lot of different kinds of fancy wine to sample - in the pool. My St Louis cousin showed up - I hadn't seen him in at least 10 years - and he brought me some wonderful gifts. Since my beloved aunt had died last year, I'd asked for something special from his mother. A horse sculpture that she always had on her TV, that had a light behind it. I was overwhelmed when he gave it to me. He also brought me a collectable horse plate, something the entire family has collected over the years. It turns out my plate was passed down from my aunt's grandmother to her, and is the most valuable in the collection. I started tearing up and had to leave - I can't stand to think about the fact that she's gone, after I lived with her for 4 years and she loved me and J as her own children. In fact, I completely wimped out on visiting her home, and her grave, I only went briefly to Alki when necessary. It's strange, when you lose people but live far away, part of your mind tells you when you go back, they'll still be there.

We went to the cove and the tide was out so far it looked like you could walk to Vashon Island. I was crunching my way out with J, all the way to the water, over a seascape of little critters. I counted 5 types of crustacean, and the little crabs would raise their claws at me like, "Don't you dare!" 

We watched the fireworks and felt the powerful pride that Americans have that doesn't exist here.

I started taking lots of photos of things I never before found interesting, I am truly a tourist now. I enjoyed the smell of salt water, the native birds, moss, the overwhelming friendliness of everyone you meet, it felt felt so good - home!

 
First of many pictures of Birds I Took For Granted Before. This is a Downy woodpecker spotted from my parent's hot tub, where we did most of our birdwatching.

It was a great start to our trip.

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Next: Beautiful Harstine Island on the Olympic Peninsula