My Kite Dream: July 2012

With all of the rain and the grey skies, we tend to forget that we live in an amazing place. There is a reason everything is a vibrant green and the air smells like trees. It's called rain. Lots and lots of it! And in the summer I am so thankful for it because everything looks so alive. No brown grass here, we get to lay in lush green grass as we watch the clouds roll by above us. In the winter we get pretty cynical around here, but this time of year hits and we all forget why we complained so much. One friend put it like this:

"We drink the sun Kool-Aid and we forget."

Yep.

We spent the day on Lake Whatcom with our friends last week. It was a much needed day of rest and fun. In fact, it was a hazy day, but we cared not. It was perfect. Havensong loved being in the kayak and Autumn and Chase had a blast learning how to paddle board.

It didn't matter that the sun wasn't shining. The water still felt refreshing and the fog rolling across the tops of the hills was pure beauty. It was a weekday and we were the only ones out there. The kids played with their friends all day and we had a wonderful dinner before heading out on the boat to go tubing.

The kids smiled the whole time. It was an amazing day! Thanks to our friends the Bargens!

We had a nice little two day vacation with friends. The Wildmons, from American Family Association came up to have meetings at Logos. They have known Scott for many years, but I had never met them before this week. Such a fun couple! They are from Mississippi and were thrilled over our weather. It felt good having someone actually like our weather. It was an odd feeling for sure!

We started out in Anacortes at the best ever Indian restaurant. We ate so much. I'm used to eating small meals throughout the day so when I eat a lot at once I'm miserable after. But the thing is, Indian food is worth it. After that we took them to Deception Pass. They were of course blown away by the view and the beauty of the PNW.
We caught a ferry the next morning to Victoria. I always love being on the water. I think it's the recipe for a perfect day. We checked into the hotel and then went over to the Empress to have High Tea. I can't tell you how much I enjoy having afternoon tea. Scott was asked to remove his hat, and we were a tad underdressed but they let us in. We were being a bit loud, and I had my rubber chicken purse so I'm pretty sure we stuck out. Most ladies had on dresses and white gloves and were whispering to each other across the tables. The men were trying to not look bored to tears. Our friend Tim kept asking our server when the Queen would be arriving. That may not sound very funny to you, but he has a Southern accent and so everything he said in that setting was hilarious. The couple next to us kept looking at us. They were the cutest little elderly couple. They looked so happy to be there. We kept apologizing for our rudeness as we kept busting out laughing.The food was so wonderful and so pretty. It is surprising how full you can get on tiny food.

After tea we walked all over Victoria and ended up where all good Washingtonians end up....Starbucks. We were sitting there enjoying the warm breeze and watching people walk by when suddenly the little couple from High Tea stopped to say hello to us. They recognized us from our laughter. We asked where they were visiting from. The man was from New York and the woman was from California. We said our pleasantries and chatted and waved goodbye. About ten minutes later we were all wondering why they were together, how they met and were they dating?? Did they meet on Match.com?
"GREAT," I said...now I'm going to wonder for the rest of my life. I wanted to know their story. They told us they were staying at the Queen Victoria and I was half tempted to go look them up.

We went into the soap store called, "Lush" so I could get some natural deodorant I had heard so much about. I got side tracked by some bath bombs covered in GOLD GLITTER. They were soooooo pretty! I wanted to buy the whole bin and bathe in it forever. I couldn't put it down. We went back to the hotel and ate our (first)dinner at the concierge lounge. We weren't even hungry. But it was free so we just did it anyway. After that we planned on resting up. But first, Tim told me to not touch my face, just go look straight in the mirror. I walked over to the buffet and laughed as I saw my face covered in golden glitter. But unevenly. I looked ridiculous. No wonder the waitress was staring at me. The chicken lady with the gold face. After a long nap, we walked to a steak house at 10 pm and had our second dinner. (Scott was not covered in glitter, so that proves we did in fact, sleep.) Dinner was amazing. I just had a salad, but it was great. Talking business, sipping wine, eating bread with the best butter in the world. When the server came to check on us, we just kept asking for more butter, hoping they didn't charge by the ball.

After a fitful nights sleep due to too many meals, we went to Butchart Gardens. It was breathtaking. I can't describe how beautiful it was. And so fragrant. We loved every second of it. Scott isn't a fan of flowers, but he enjoyed it so much more than he anticipated. He even put a petal in his nostril so he could walk around smelling the rose. As we were oooing and ahhhing over some pink roses called Sexy Rexy I noticed that SAME elderly man from High Tea and from the street in Victoria! I looked behind me and saw his lady friend chatting with our friend, Alison! I was so happy to hear Alison ask them how it was they were there together when they lived so far apart. See, it's that Southern accent again! If I had asked them personal questions, I'd just sound forward. When SHE asked it, she sounded endearing and thoughtful. It turns out, they were having a little reunion. They hadn't seen each other in twenty years, and had known each other for 65 years! Both of their spouses had passed away and so they were helping each other through the grief. They had all been friends at one time. Now they were sort of an item. I told them they were so darn cute. He said they were trying to figure out how to solve the problem of distance between them. I told him he should move to California. He didn't respond. Oh well... I am sure they will figure it all out.