For six days (8/11-8/17) I felt like I was in an episode of the Amazing Race. I was in a whirl-wind of travel from Cincinnati, to Dallas, Richland (WA), Seattle, Rainier, and back. First stop, Dallas, Texas – to meet my brother and my new sister-in-law. Then off to Richland, Washington – to visit an old friend who lives in the desert of Tri-Cities. Next, we took a 3 hour drive to Seattle, Washington to witness the fish toss at Pike Street Market. Finally, we took a detour to ascend one of the tallest mountains in the US– Mt. Rainier.
Since I already shared my last misadventure in Dallas, I’ll move straight to Washington. The travel was excruciatingly long (14 hours, 4 airports, 2 layovers, 1 dinner with my brother & his wife in Dallas, and a half a dozen diapers). Along with me was Holli (my wife), Isabel, and Marge & Wayne (two close friends). We all came to Washington to visit our good friend Gareth and his girlfriend Andrea.
Gareth & the Fellowship of the Bink
Gareth’s a tall lanky guy of 26 years, with premature lines around his eyes reflecting experiences only a 46 year-old should have. He grew up in South Africa during apartheid, lived on a Kibbutz, went to school in Jerusalem, and then somehow ended up in Richland Washington. Somewhere in between all that he did a six month stint in Cincinnati. That’s when I met Gareth, back in the Fall of 2002. Immediately, we became instant friends. He speaks with a thick South African James Bond-like accent, the kind that women feign over and guys try to imitate. He greets others with a gritty, “Hey, how you going?” along with a mischievous smile that hints at some elaborate scheme he’s cooking up. And like me, he always seems to find trouble. In fact, the first time we hung out, we almost got arrested, because we were driving in the ghetto in a borrowed car, without a license, and he was dressed in a long leather drug dealer-like trench coat.
Part of the Fellowship
We finally met his girlfriend Andrea, who seems like his perfect foil: Challenging, outdoorsy, adventurous, and “street-smart” as Gareth says. He elaborates, “I like the little things about her, like when she opens the window despite having the A/C on in the car, all because she wants a bit of fresh air, while staying cool.” It seems like Andreas's a bit of fresh air for Gareth, but the jury is still out as to whether Gareth’s cool. :-) This trip was also Isabel’s first chance to meet Gareth. Izzy’s my daughter. She’s six months, inquisitive, smiley, loves her binky and her favorite word is “dah-dah”. She giggles like a little baby girl who just learned how to laugh, flails her arms in a highly uncoordinated drum-like motion, and drools like a leaky faucet that hasn’t been turned off completely. The cool thing is that she loves to travel as much as her dad. So both Holli & I brought her along for the ride.
Izzy & the One Bink
The West is the Best
I’ve been out west at least a dozen times now. Personally, I love the west coast, I always feel like Superman as my body makes the three hour time-change. I stay up deceptively late, party all day & night, and get up extremely early to start the day just to do it all over again. All without the need for Red Bull, although being in Washington you cannot escape Starbucks. The only problem I discovered is that Izzy does the same thing. It was brutal! Izzy did not sleep despite being tired, bringing a whole new meaning to Sleepless in Seattle. It quickly became sleepless in Richland, sleepless in Seattle, sleepless in Mt. Rainier, and sleepless for three days after we came home, because her little bio-clock was thrown off, and there was no snooze button. And when Izzy doesn’t sleep, Holli & Marvin don’t sleep. Dude, she was like a gremlin that had been fed after midnight. I wish she had a care-tag so I knew: Beware - Do not travel more than two time-zones away. Do not ride on an airplane if this thing has gas. Do not expect to sleep for 1 week after traveling. Do not take long car rides or it will turn into the killer rabbit from the Monty Python. Despite not sleeping, we enjoyed Washington.
Richland & the Columbia River
The beauty of Washington is captured in the dramatic range of its topography & climate: desert, mountains, rainforests, volcanoes & glacial peaks. Our base-camp was Richland, WA located in the south central part of the state, near the juncture of the Columbia & Snake Rivers. Richland is a desert city that has no lack of the sun, with temperatures nearing the 100’s, it turns cars into saunas. The landscape consists of earth tones, clear skies, rusty sands, sagebrush, fiery sunsets, and dusty days. The Columbia River flows alongside of the town and has clear slow moving waters that have a sedating effect on the town. I took it upon myself to take an early morning run along the river’s edge, only to overheat, because of the punishing sun. To cool off, Holli and I would wade in the waters, sorting through the smooth rocks of granite & polka-dotted feldspar as they dug into our feet.
Holli Exploring the Columbia
Seattle's Pike Street
Seattle differed in sharp contrast. We drove three hours through the gap in the Cascade mountain range past the town of Yakima to get there. The arid desert lands with scattered patches of sagebrush converted instantaneously into a forest of sky towering pines and lush green meadows. As we approached the city, temperatures dropped to a cool 70 degrees and the urbanites walked relentlessly around Seattle with jackets and long pants. Since we were dressed for the sauna of Richland, we were a bit chilly as we climbed the steps towards the famous Pike Street Market.
We were welcomed into the street level by the malodorous scent of fresh cod staring at us from their icy displays alongside the greasy butchers that sold them. Further down were the rainbow assortments of flowers, fresh peppers, trinket jewelry, artwork, and cheap Seattle t-shirts that seemed endlessly in supply. Up the street, flower boxes lined the windows where trendy over-priced restaurants hoped to beckon the would-be pedestrians. On the corner was a magician standing on top of a car like a preacher preaching his magic to the bewildered and awestruck.
Seattle's Pike Street Market
Despite all the chaos, the swarming crowds of people were drawn towards a different location where the sounds of Pachelbal echoed in the air. Like people enchanted by the call of the Sirens, they lined up at the storefront of the original Starbuck’s coffee shop. Here a group of four not-so starving musicians filled the air with music as their violin cases converted into money buckets filled up with loose change and small bills. A friend of mine once said that you can gauge how great a city is by the talent of its street musicians. Well if this is true, Seattle must be one of the greatest cities ever.
Mt. Rainier
Mt. Rainier & the Lake
After lunch on the pier overlooking Puget Sound, and a vanilla latte-to-go, we drove two hours south towards Mt. Rainier. We were a bit zombie-like at that point, and were awoken from our daze when “The Mountain” as locals call it, finally came into full view. It was dream-like at first, requiring a double-take to make sure we were seeing it for real. After all, it has a 14,410 ft. tall snow-capped summit that creates its own weather pattern, and stands at least 8,000 ft. above its neighboring peaks. It contains an active volcano, with 23 some odd glaciers, a dozen small lakes, and is surrounded by 1,000 year old pine tree groves. We were wide-eyed with jaws open as we drove around the mountain to chase the view as a shroud of mist cloaked the peak, revealing its contents only on occasion.
Reflection Lake
We stopped at a lake appropriately named Reflection Lake, where the black waters, meadow flowers, and surrounding pines all stood still deep in thought. This was the edge of the world, where the dank mysterious fog eerily surrounded us, as the faint sun disappeared in its mouth. Time stood still here and gave us a chance to reflect back on the day’s journey, and internalize all that we saw. We drove back to Richland through the pitch black night as the lines on the road blurred from my weary-eyes, causing me to be a bit panicky at each mountain-side turn. I pondered as Izzy finally fell asleep, and the sound of Damien Rice quietly played in the background. This is what good times are made of: friends and follies, extraordinary moments, and timeless adventures. It really was like the Amazing race, sleepless, and exhausting, but it was all well worth it. All very well worth it.
- Marvin A.
