America, end

One final blog entry about our Easter America trip!

     
Geocaching West Seattle, this was one of the most difficult caches I'd attempted, because we had to follow a trail that almost wasn't there along a bluff above the water. One of those slopes you need both your hands and your feet or you'll fall off into a salt watery grave. In fact the description said, "If you attempt this at night, you will die." From time to time there were hand rails but they were decrepit and didn't really help much, if you took hold of them, they'd come right out of the ground.



     
I *heart* West Seattle too: ) Ah, Americans and their car sticker statements.



     
A tardis, really!



     
We cached a pocket park with a bunny rabbit hopping around, and then I saw this car. I cracked up laughing (It's a German plate).



     
Both in Fremont, Queen Anne, and West Seattle we saw amazing MASSIVE rosemary plants in bloom, smelling up the place. I have tried repeatedly to grow rosemary here, even in my greenhouse, but apparently Seattle has the perfect climate for it. The bushes were larger than me!



     
Such trees they do not have here.



     
Schmitz park in West Seattle, so many childhood memories. And then the one where I rode Baasha here!



     
I suggested a shortcut we regretted. We had to wade through the creek, and then there was this log too large to climb over, impossible to go around, and next thing I knew J was on his belly crawling under it in the clay slime. I followed, but I was too soon, and the slime was impossible to get purchase in, so he slid down the hill directly into me, with me under the log. We were both stuck, there was nothing to grab, and our hiking boots had no grip. Eventually we made it out, but I'm sure it resembled childbirth if anyone had been observing us. We were coated in grey slime, and were expected for lunch in 10 minutes.



     
Oh, there are a couple of things odd here. 1. People take after the Germans and hang plastic eggs from bushes? 2. Christmas lights for Easter? This was the third time I'd seen Christmas lights at Eastertime (always on bushes, not homes). And one more thing - are those ridiculous plastic birds wearing rabbit ears? So much to ponder in this photo.



     
Tulip tree, called Magnolie in German (and a tiny bit of a ferry).


     
Whatever this plant is, it put off such a fragrance when the sun hit it.



     
My uncle invited us to lunch at Pegasus Pizza on Alki beach. He asked me what kind of wine I'd like and I said, "The one that tastes like leather."



     
Finally back at Pegasus Pizza. See, it was our first date, in 2006, J's first day in America, our first restaurant. I'll never forget it. We took our seats and soon were given large glasses full of ice water. My newly met German friend was shocked, "Oh no, we didn't order this!"

"HUH?"

"This water!"

"You don't have to order it."

Now, 12 years later, happily married, we ordered the very same pizza, a Greek (sausage, feta, and sunflower seeds). And it was just as wonderful as the first time. The crust is especially good at Pegasus, not thin, not thick, just right. I indulged and had a little crust, for the first time in years. They also gave us a free order of their feta bread with balsamic and olive oil, when they heard it was our 10 year anniversary.



     
My uncle, the last of us to remain in West Seattle, using the swipe feature on his paper "smartphone." I have a similar little book I've used for years to take notes on all my trips to America.



     
J and me, covered in mud happy to be back at Pegasus.



     




     
Me and my uncle and my niece. Right out the window is the sandy beach I played on as a toddler.

My uncle is dating a lady from Germany (who took these photos) and since he really enjoyed his two visits to Germany (one for my wedding, one to meet her family), he suggested that we swap houses. They would come to Germany and live in our house and we'd live...where?

My uncle, "I live on a boat. Nothing better than life on a boat."

OK..a boat maybe? (Or we could stay at his gf's home.)



     
The view from the restaurant. These are the Olympics. The Cascades did not come out much on our trip.



     




     
Back at my mom's house, our final evening in America, the same bird from the Olympic peninsula, my dad's house, showed up here in Normandy Park, my mom's house. Are you following me, little bird?



     
Again playing the amazing game Concept with my immediate family this time, our last evening. This game is the best. I left it with my mom, cuz she hosts gatherings, and I do not, in Germany.



     
My mom and stepdad. They're doing so well, and I had been so worried. It had been 3 years and I wasn't sure I'd see my stepdad again, but he's fine. We had such fun in their hot tub, just like old times. They have these waterproof notepads that you can take notes under water, and they'd been taking notes before our arrival to discuss when I was there. I took one home to Germany with me, full of hilarious quotes. My mom laughed at me when I said the water was "so hot" because I used to like it much hotter, but now I must be a wimp. Just like my spicy food tolerance has changed, for the worse.



     
Our last morning together, I finally got J to try lobster. My mom fried up some lobster tails because I was desperate for J to try lobster for the first time in his life, telling him it's the epitome of seafood.

He said it was OK. I said, "OK I get the rest of it then!" My mom and I savored every bite.

As you can see I had my root beer, and some leftover Pegasus pizza and thick (THICK!) American bacon to take on the plane home. We are never so well prepared, food-wise, on our way to America, as we are on the way home, when we "truly dine" on the scrubby stinky airport chairs. HATE flying.

***

On the day we flew home, I was sent on a mission from J to go back to the grocery store (Fred Meyer) and get him as much half-price Easter MnMs as I could, of a specific type he loves (you read about this before here, I'm sure).

This time, each grocery store was outfitted with an armed security guard! OK then. I went up and talked to the officer, asking him where the Easter candy was, and he helped me, even though that is not his job.

It's controversial, armed guards in grocery stores. My brother works at one, and the entire crew hates the guy, just cuz he's there, making their store seem dangerous.

And truly, I felt I must be in a more dangerous situation simply because he was there. *shrug* He helped me, and after I made my half-price-for-Easter_MnMs! purchase,  thanked him.

J ended up coming home with 8 bags of MnMs, one of which he gifted to a colleague as a baby shower present yesterday, May 1st. I think it's generous of him, if I'd been allowed to take A&W root beer into Germany, I would not be giving it to anyone. (OK not that they'd take it - apparently root beer tastes like a childhood medicine in Germany.

I have to ask, "Next time I am ill, please give me this particular medicine!"



     
I grabbed the newspaper for this photo before we went to the airport. The shock was real - living in King County has become impossible to afford for normal people. Probably because everyone else in the world sees the welcoming natural beauty/welcoming tech industries. But how sad, that if and when I eventually make it home, it won't be possible to live anywhere near My Home, even if I didn't want to keep horses.



     
In Amsterdam on the way home, I saw a baby with a smartphone. !!! Helps probably, with lines that go on for hours, as they do when you have to cross borders.

Remember, it took 27.5 hours, door to door, for our flight to America. That's about what it would take to drive a Prius to the moon. That's twice as long as it should take.

However, on our way home, everything went smoothly, and we made it in 14 hours.

When we arrived, J's mom she looked at me and said, "Are you OK?" I said, "Oh yes, I'm just out-of-my-mind exhausted from the horrible experience that traveling is. No worries."

My parents have told me they will never again fly to Germany, it's just too miserable an experience.

I totally understand, I hate it with the fire of a thousand suns.

Til 2021.