West Coast Retreat

Now that my summer has "officially begun" (I turned in my final paper for my last online class this afternoon), I have the opportunity to write about returning to the West Coast after a 5-year hiatus.  Actually, I am in Seattle visiting Seth, and I have never been to this part of the country before.  After hearing so many wonderful things about Seattle I didn't think it could possibly live up to its reputation.  Well you know what?  I have been pleasantly surprised that it really is how I imagined it would be!  Progressive, grungy, a strong vegan/vegetarian presence, and ultra green in more than one way.  

Seth has been spending his days mostly in one of the libraries at the University of Washington--the library famous for its high vaulted, stained-glass "Harry Potter" reading room.  I have been joining him there to work on my class assignments, and I must say that the big university environment makes me nostalgic for UNC...  We are even staying in a small apartment  just on the edge of the university, amongst the rowdy frat houses.  Every other night or so one of the houses lights off fireworks by our window. It is lovely.

Another aspect I appreciate is being close to some family and friends who live in the area -- my cousins, Que and Phuong (sisters), and several friends and colleagues of Seth.  It makes the world seem just a little bit smaller.

En route from the airport.  I just thought this sign was funny.

Seattle is super environmentally conscious.  The library cafeteria at UW has bins for all types of waste, including compost. 

The plasticware, coffee cups, plates, napkins, etc can all go into the compost!  Even bathrooms compost the paper towels!  This is how it should be, no? 

The UW campus is incredibly beautiful

On sunny days the mountain (Mt. Rainier) comes out

I like the university's cute Husky theme :o)

The Saturday morning Farmer's Market in University District

A neighborhood butcher that sells meat I have never seen being sold:  Python? Camel?  LLAMA?  :o(  

Seth's morning past-time: Windexing and mopping a ballet studio so that he can take free classes.  After a long break, it is great he can get back into practice!

Wild blackberries seem to grow EVERWHERE in our neighborhood, particularly along the bike path we take during our morning run (the Burke-Gilman Trail).  Seth has six 32oz containers of frozen berries in the freezer which we are now using to make blackberry cobblers, and we gather more every day.