Since my last post I have flown to Seattle, drove to Portland, drove to Skamania Lodge, back to Portland, and then finally back up to Seattle! At one point I had been in four states in a 48 hour period. Phew. I am enjoying pretty much doing nothing in Seattle with my sister and brother-in-law!
Last weekend I was at Skamania Lodge, which is a beautiful lodge on the Columbia River Gorge on the border of Washington and Oregon. My brother-in-law's family have a reunion there once a year and this was my first time going. Again, another beautiful place. Trees, the river, the lodge with all it's wooden features, sculptures and big stone fireplaces. It was a shame that the weather wasn't great. Rain, rain, a bit of sun, then some more rain. It didn't matter too much though. There was a lot to do inside like swimming, relaxing in the hot tub, going to the gym, and with 20 other people in your group, always someone to talk to or play board games with! We all spent a lot of time in the indoor pool; at one point we had pretty much taken it over with the majority of our party playing piggy in the middle and of course, having competitions like who can travel the furthest on a single breath. Why is it that when families get together, there is always some level of competition? Not that I mind of course! We all know how competitive I can get. We did introduce the newest member of the family to swimming. Now this cute 2 month old will surely be a great swimmer when she get's older. She was already kicking her little legs and blowing bubbles in her adorable pink swimsuit!
The first night we were there, after spending the afternoon in the pool, we all gorged ourselves at the dinner buffet. In fact, I am reluctant to use the word 'buffet'. It makes it sound like it was just one big table with cocktail sausages an potato salad. No, this does not describe it well enough. Perhaps the words 'culinary experience' would be more appropriate. There was everything you could possibly want from all kinds of hand carved meats, sushi, pastas, fresh fish, I could go on and on. We won't even touch the dessert table. Buffet's are dangerous. Really, really dangerous. It is not often that you find yourself walking out thinking "I only had four plates worth, it could have been worse"! I'm glad we spent a lot of time in the pool and the gym! Oh my word the smoked salmon was to die for. Sunday brunch was the same type of thing, and my brother-in-law summed it up perfectly when, at the end of the meal, pushing his plate away, he said "You know you have overdone the buffet when you dunk your last piece of french toast into the creme brulee!" The following evening was thankfully just the average three course meal. This came after photo-shoot time outside with a whole array of different combinations of people; "Ok now the sisters, now the brother with mom, now grandma you jump in and mom you jump out, now just those with dark hair, smile! Now James Bond style". There was no professional photographer, just members of the family who had been coordinating this for the past ten years.
Another great activity that we took part in was the Bird's of Prey talk and exhibit. We saw the end of the show that took place just outside the lodge on the lawn, on the Friday evening, but when we came to watch it on the Saturday, it had been moved to inside the lobby which was a much more cozy setting. I have never been so close to a giant Bald Eagle who was happily decapitating a chick! The photos are of the same birds just on the Friday showing.
Came back to Seattle on the Sunday night and haven't done much since! Well, I got my nails done, something I have been wanting to do for ages after forcing myself to leave them alone. Now I feel all girly! The bro-in-law and I did check out the Experience Music Project which is this giant museum downtown where they have all these cool exhibits about Nirvana, the music in horror movies, and sound labs where you can play all these different instruments. You should have heard us rapping in the vocal booth! Actually, i'm glad you didn't. I'll stick to my piano. Speaking of which, that is one of the first things I am going to do when I get home on Thursday. I can't believe I only have a few days left. I love Seattle, and I love being with my family here, but now that I have left Santa Cruz and California, I feel like I am in a weird limbo. Everyone has been telling me how much of a shock it will be going back home and i'm not sure how to prepare for that. Coming back from a three week holiday to America get's me all confused with the cars on the other side of the road, and the money etc! It feels weird that I will be seeing my friends and family in just a few days, and this sounds strange, but I feel nervous about it! Oh of course I am excited too, I just know it will be strange to begin with. I think I am going to open with "LOOK AT MY TAN!" Or what is left of it...damn Seattle and the rain. It is starting to fade. Is it weird to take pictures of your own back as evidence? That may just get awkward.
I will leave you with both the notion that this is the last post that I will make while in America. I want to do another one when I am at home so I doubt this is the last! I am also mentally preparing myself for the epic journey from here to home, via Iceland of course.
Finally, my bro-in-law and sus gafas de sol. Sadly he did not have them on while we were rapping.
