seattle
Posted on | July 29, 2008 | No Comments
after a 3 hour delay in narita and the immensely frustrating experience of boarding, stowing luggage, sitting on the ground for 90 minutes and then being herded off the plane again….we finally arrived in seattle.
to be quite frank, the entire customs and immigration process, with finger-printing and mugshots, passed in a sort of tired blur and we emerged unchallenged onto US soil….noting only in passing that we seemed to be the only people for miles not carrying a gun.
hilariously, the first person we ran into on the other side, was our fabulous hostess, who was actually there to collect a soapmaker from texas.
it was either years of shared photos via the internet or just a general smart-alecky soaper vibe, but we recognised each other almost simultaneously, or so it seemed to my exhausted brain.
kia went on to collect amber and we went on to the hotel (kindly organised by VGK)….the idea was to sleep and regroup before the hectic socialising of the weekend.
the next morning, kia came and gathered us under her wing and swept us off to her treehouse crammed to the rafters with soapmaking friends. (i am envious of the amazing huge evergreens surrounding her home).
this is where it gets extraordinary.
srsly.
i’ve been chatting with these girls online for going on 8 years.
it all started with swapping information and opinions about soap.
eventually, inevitably, talk turned to the weather….to our cats….kids…..husbands…..work….homes….parents….religion…politics (o how we talked politics!) and all the other little threads that make up the fabric of our lives.
somewhere along the way, i found a peer group for the first time in my life.
meeting them all in the flesh was a mere formality….we were all already great friends.
they are warm, funny, generous, smart, gorgeous women and i am privileged to have spent time with them all.
we took in a lyle lovett concert at a vineyard….a mob of us on a sea of picnic rugs, with free-flowing wine and music, on a mid-summer’s evening…..well it was something to behold.
and who knew lyle lovett and his big band was so fabulous? who knew? have i been living under a rock?
on monday morning, kia drove us back to the airport….we saw the U of W and the amazon.com building along the way (amazon.com is a HUGE old re-purposed building, built entirely from my personal one-click purchases).
o and we drove into the zipper! two bits of freeway joining up just like a giant zipper….we were on the y-front part i suppose.
we flew out of seattle, on a smallish twin-prop, appropriately clutching starbucks coffees…..i sat by the window and looked out at the beautiful puget sound and wept my sentimental heart out to leave my friends behind.
and so, on to vancouver.
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