That was probably the best vacation I've ever had. It was definitely well needed and well deserved.
I'm going to attempt to put it into words. But words cant begin to describe it.
So I flew out Thursday afternoon. Lauren had taken me to the airport. I got there way too early so I sat in the row of seats facing the window and watched the planes take off and land. I was quickly joined by this 7 year old boy and his grandmother. The little kid was simply adorable...unil he said "I wonder how old people are...I bet you're 44". Damn kid. Not even close. He almost didnt live to see his 8th birthday.
Anyhoo, my plane finally landed at about 10:30 in Seattle. It was dark, so I didnt really get to see much. It was about an hour and a half drive back to my aunt's house. By the time we got there, at a litle after midnight, I had just enough strength to take a shower and drag my ass to bed.
Friday we went to Semiahmoo. It was this little spa resort kinda place. We sat out along the water and had brunch. The weather was perfect. There was even someone getting married, so we got to watch that from a short distance.
After we left there we went to Lake Samish to see if we could find my cousin. This place was gorgeous. Its a lake that formed from a volcanic eruption a long, long time ago. The water in the lake is 130 feet deep. At the very beginning of the street was a house that belongs to Ryan Stiles (the tall blonde guy from Drew Carey, Whose Line is it Anyway). Huge house. So we finally found my cousin. The beauty of our relationship is that we can go years (7 this time) without seeing each other but when we do, its just as if we never skipped a beat. He's just awesome like that.
Saturday we went to Canada. It was the cutest little town. White Rock. It was a long strip of cute little shops along the water. We grabbed iced vanilla lattes and headed to the shops. Again, the weather was perfect.
On the way home, my aunt had to stop by and see a friend. It was a 70-something year old guy, Ken, whose wife was out of town in Alaska visiting their daughter. He had a stroke not too long ago so his wife had asked my aunt to stop in from time to time to check up on him. This was actually the best part of my trip. Ken was telling me how he and his wife built this house from the ground up. They didnt have much money, so they had to take it in small steps. He was telling me about when they poured the foundation and it was raining and they had to sleep under tarps to stay dry and keep warm. This house was amazing. The detail in every inch of the house just blew me away. The outside trim of the house was this ornately carved wood. The wood floors upstairs were individually cut one by one in almost a puzzle fashion. Every corner in the house was rounded. He said, "A home should be a comfortable place, they shouldnt be sharp." This man amazed me. Since he had the stroke, he had to stop working on the house because it just became too much for him. So there lies a genuine diamond in the rough...litterally. This house is on 5 acres of beautiful land. But this house, so full of wonderful talent and beautiful dreams, may never be completed. It saddened me to no end that this wonderful, gentle man may never see his lifelong dream be fullfilled. So we stayed with him for hours. Listening to old records of Dean Martin and Barbara Sreisand. It was so much fun. I really enjoyed his company.
Later that night we went and played "Pull tabs". I had no idea what this was and I still can barely explain it. Its a form of gambling where you pull the tabs on these little peices of paper, hence the name, and if your paper has three of a kind you win. You would match up your tab to a list of matches to find out how much money you win. Needless to say, $40 later we werent winning and bailed out to go home.
Sunday we spent a few hours over at her friend's house on Birch Bay. She was an older English woman that owns a house there that she lives in during the summer and a house in California that she lives in during the winter. Incredibly nice lady. So we sat on her patio drinking coffee and eating almond poppyseed cake. It was beautiful there on the water.
Monday, 4rh of July, we went to my aunt's husband's parent's house. Boy that was a mouthful. So yeah, they had a barbeque for the family. I got to meet everyone from his family. His mother is this old Italian lady with a strong accent that kept barking at me "You eat! You eat more". I tried to appease her, but she kept saying it anyway and I was gonna pop if I ate any more. After that we drove through Blaine to get home. Blaine is the very last coastal city before you hit the Canadian border. After the drive we went home and watched the firewoks from her backyard. It was so relaxing. I just soaked everything in. I knew that tomorrow the party was gonna be over...I'd have to head back to California.
Tuesday, Doomsday as I like to call it, was the day I left. It was so hard to leave. There was just so much beauty and love around me that I didnt want to say goodbye to it. So we made the hour and a half trip back down to Seattle to catch my plane. It was very hard to say goodbye to her and a place that was just so welcoming and warm and friendly.
At the airport I sat talking to an older lady and her husband. They had been up in Snohomish visiting their daughter. We had alot of time so we kinda talked in depth about alot of things. I sat with her on the plan as well. She got off at Oakland and I was going on to Orange County. She said goodbye and that she wished me well in everything I do. That it seems like I have a good head on my shoulders and know what I want in life. I wish that were true.
The captain finally came over the intercom to announce our final descent into Orange County. The entire flight we flew along the coast. But we were so high up it just looked like a blur. As we got closer, I just put my head against the window and started thinking of how badly I just didnt want to go back. This had now become the most ugliest place to me. There was really noone to go home to. Its a lonely, loveless place to me. I remember thinking how at that vey moment I wouldnt have been scared if the plane just fell and crashed into the water. I know that is an incredibly morbid thought. So I think that's my que. Rather than wish any harm to myself, and oh about a hundred other passangers, I should go back to Califrnia and get my affairs in order...and get the hell out of here. So my aunt is going to send my their newspapers every week and I'm going to at least send out a few resumes...and see what happens.
I am so over the whole California experience. I think it makes sense. The weather there is more of what I need. And I have wonderful family.
So yeah...Ducks...get your asses in a row!