Escaping the Heat

As strange as it might sound coming from someone who lives almost year round in Southern California, I have to say it: Seattle is HOT! I’d forgotten how obscenely humid and hot Seattle gets in late August, and here I was looking forward to nice crisp 70-degree days.

To escape the heat (and get in some long-overdue family time) Mom, Stepdaddy Peter and I have escaped to Ocean Shores, land of my mother’s brother and sister and their dogs. It’s been gorgeous down here. Yesterday I ran 10 miles, which was incredible but left my legs aching. Still, my new running shoes make all the difference between cutting out at 8 miles and making it to 10.

That’s really all the news that’s fit to print. I love Ocean Shores for the peace and quiet (not to mention the reduced temperature) but it gives Andy’s Salt Lake City experiences a run for their money on the boredom scale.

18 days ’till Claremont.

Goodbye, New York

It’s been a wonderful trip. I’m just packing up all my things and getting ready for another long day of flying all the way back to the West Coast. The next stop is Seattle, where I’ll be for the next three weeks until I return to Claremont for the beginning of Senior year. It’s a nomadic existence travelling this way, and it’s really hard to keep saying goodbye to people, especially Andy.

I hate these long gaps in our lives where we both go home to sit and wait for everything to begin again. I love my time with my family, but I always go around anticipating that I’ll be missing Andy like hell. It’s never really as bad as I think it will be, but as I get on an airplane after kissing him for the last time, I always feel this sense of loss. I guess it’s only natural.

Plans for Seattle include getting my hair colored (RED!), visiting the familia in Ocean Shores, getting some black and white photos taken, and possibly going up to Canada with Dad and the Squeakers for a few days.

21 days until Claremont.

Exhausted, Elated, and Looking to the Future

I am so tired! Last night in NYC was incredible, but I definitely did not get enough sleep, which means that I’m feeling the burn. I’ll get into the details of my Manhattan adventure when I’m feeling a little bit more chipper, but for now suffice it to say that NYC looks like a definite post-graduate habitat option for yours truly.

I am elated for more than just this small personal reason. Big and important things are going on in the world, and in my state. Yesterday the King County Superior court found Washington’s Defense of Marriage law to be unconstitutional under the Washington State Constitution. Although the case will be taken to the State Supreme Court, I feel confident that the grounds of the ruling will hold up to scrutiny and that the Washington State Supreme Court will regard it as a scholarly and highly fair-minded decision. While I’m no longer a registered Washington voter, I am proud of my home state for this important legal milestone.

And with that, I put myself into a reclined position and go to dreamland.

The City

So I’m just a few minutes away from leaving for a night in the Big Apple. I’m soooo excited! Gonna go meet up with Chris and Suzy and Matty Lubs!

We’ll be back tomorrow with a full report.

The Un-Hamptons

I’m having a marvelous time up here! The air is humid and warm, and my skin has never been happier. I don’t even have to moisturize! Hooray! They call this place the Un-Hamptons because it was THE vacation spot for wealthy New Yorkers before the Hamptons became what they are today, and it’s slowly becoming the trendy new spot to come back to now because of the overcrowding in the Hamptons (and because it’s closer to the city). Also, people here have a laid-back attitude that simply isn’t found further North. I like it a lot up here, maybe even enough to live in this area eventually. We shall see I suppose…

We went to Smith Point again today and it was absolutely perfect. There was a consistent wind coming off the water that drove away all the little green horseflies that have been tormenting me the past couple of days. The Hurricane that has recently blown over in North Carolina has been driving WILD surf up the Eastern Seaboard, sending us crushing breakers. Nancy (Andy’s mom) and I spent a while standing in the shallow water and watching the surfers attempt to stay vertical atop the crushing waves.

GTG now, have to help get dinner ready!

Bellport

Today was my first full day in Bellport with Andy and the family and despite the numerous insects and the humidity, I really like it up here. Smith point is gorgeous, especially when it’s grey outside and there’s a good stiff breeze coming in off the ocean. It reminds me of Seattle, and yet it’s so distinctly not Seattle.

We spent most of the day at the beach and then had a pasta dinner at Andy’s grandmother’s house. Now Andy is off playing poker with his uncle and father and we don’t expect them home until midnight or 12:30 our time. I feel like a poker widow.

Andy’s mom, sister, aunt and I watched a fantastic documentary about McNamara and the Vietnam War called Fog of War. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get a glimpse into the inner workings of an administration as they try to manage a conflict. I think that hearing about the Vietnam situation from the Secretary of Defense at the time can give us new perspective into what is going on within the current administration as they try to manage our involvement in Iraq.

Anyway, our plans for the week include a trip into The City because I haven’t been there in 12 years and want to get a feel for it again. I’m not terribly frightened by the “terrorist alert level” since I think that all of that bullshit is basically politically motivated as opposed to any kind of real tangible threat. Besides, I don’t know when I’m going to be in NY again, so I might as well take advantage of it, terrorists be damned!

New York! New York!

So I’m headed off to NY with Andy from August 1 until the 9th. We’ll be staying with his family on Long Island! I’m so excited.

I’ll put the blog on hiatus until I get back to Seattle on the 9th. All kinds of love to everyone!

::singing:: I’m in a New York state of mind!