It’s harder than we expected to leave this area. But, it’s time to go, so we hug Caleb, load him down with some leftover perishables and agree that it’s not “goodbye”, but “see you later”.
Then we head into Snohomish and stop at Proper Joe Coffeehouse for a second cup of coffee and a pastry.
We walk down the street aways and then take a path along the river. I don’t take photos of shops, but can’t resist river and stairway photos. Stairways charm me with their silent invitation to explore someplace I’ve never been.
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It’s not a long drive to Seattle. As we approach, I snap a picture from the car window of the iconic Space Needle. It’s about the only thing I know about Seattle, except that my niece, Claire worked and lived there for a few years. And oh yeah, there’s a romantic comedy named Sleepless in Seattle which we watched a very long time ago. I’m not sure why this photograph taken with my iPhone looks like it was taken in the 1950’s.
Here are a few images from our visit to St. James Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Seattle. It has quite a history including the collapse of a dome caused by a record snowfall and the complete restructuring of the nave and sanctuary in keeping with the Bishop’s interpretation of Vatican II documents. The altar is now in the middle of the building. I tell Doug the mix of traditional and modern feels confusing to me. He says we’re in violent agreement. I’m not sure what that means. My favorite alcove is the one with Mary holding the infant Jesus and surrounded by candles.
We drive from the Cathedral to the Arboretum for a peaceful walk among the trees.
The first plant to draw my attention has the shiniest leaves!!!
Hanging amongst the trees is this surprising sculpture by artist John Grade, called UNION. It’s two giant nets with 6,500 molded resin pieces, in 27 different sizes. It’s made to imitate the cell structure of western red cedars.
The nets represent two cross-sections of a cedar’s growth rings that expand and multiply with the years. But instead of rings, the sculpture shows the cells, as if magnified.
The day before yesterday Doug and Caleb sawed a western red cedar into planks.
another inviting stairway . . . Don’t you want to see where it leads?
As we leave the arboretum, we notice wisteria wrapped around the supports of the ramada.
Before heading to the hotel we go to the internet to find tacos with good reviews. It turns out the Mexican Restaurant named Lico’s Tacos is an excellent taco truck in an industrial area of Seattle. It’s so fitting for our last meal of the trip.
I promised I’d tell you some new things we learned about each other on the trip.
I learned that:
1) Doug has always been fascinated by my blue eyes. I don’t remember him ever saying that before.
2) He also has to pee about three times as often as I do.
3) It’s smart to let him proofread my blog every time before hitting “Publish”.
Doug says he learned about me that:
1) I can navigate him really well.
2) and I’m completely amazed by God’s creation.
We both realize that a long road trip is not too much time together; we don’t tire of one another’s company. Maybe it’s because we naturally take little breaks to read and explore our own interests.
So, in the 50th year of marriage we are still revealing new aspects of who we are to each other.
What an amazing journey it’s been!
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?
– Romans 8:31b&32
Inundated with Love 