Haboo! Seattle Trip

Octopus lady

We left on Friday at exactly 6:00 am.  It was dark, snowy, icy, windy, and freezing!  Hannah drove first and it took a little bit for her to feel comfortable behind the wheel of old Optimus again but after a few wiggles (which were because of the wind and the bizarre striations of the road) she did beautifully about half the way to Seattle.  We stopped here and there for stretching and pottying, but other than that we rocked out to dark wave music and talked about stories and other various things that popped into our minds.

Pretty soon, I took over and while Hannah napped I put in Ziggy Stardust and sang so hard I could feel my vocal nodes saying hello again.  Two passes down (and I might I add that both passes were dry and pleasant) we finally came upon Issaquah, which is one of the most picturesque cities I've ever seen.  The residential streets remind me of San Francisco while the surrounding area reminded Hannah of Estes Park, Colorado.  It was gorgeous!  We met up with my Aunt Bunny and had lunch with her, her daughter-in-law, and her two adorable grandsons.  After lunch we took the 405 to the 522 and made our way to Monroe.  I just want to say right now that I rocked the driving on this trip - a few years ago I would have been lost, afraid, hiding in a corner, rocking back and forth saying 'I am pretty, I am pretty' when faced with Seattle Metropolitan driving.  But this weekend, I rocked it.

We spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with my good friend and poet from the MFA program, Mama V.  Friday night was Denny's and chill night, while Saturday was filled with wedding dresses (Mama V.'s best friend had a final try on at David's Bridal and she looked just gorgeous in her dress!), Old Spaghetti Factory Mizithra cheese is my new obsession), a few fun stores here and there and then an evening in Redmond listening to a wonderful Native American storyteller, Paul.  He told traditional tales, played songs on his flute, sang for us, drummed for us, and imparted the wisdom of the Elders unto us.   His mother was there too and she told us some stories from her life.  One of my favorite stories was the Octopus Lady and Crow - click here to see Johnny Moses tell the story.  During the storytelling, Paul would use the word 'haboo' as a way to keep the audience engaged and make sure that they were still listening.  He'd pause and lift a hand to his ear and we had to say 'haboo' to get him going again.  I thought it was fantastic.

Something else that was fantastic about that night: we gathered in a small cabin house in the park and Paul stood there before a large window, playing music, telling us stories, using every part of his body to bring the characters and the music to life and behind him, through the glass, it was snowing.  It was a beautiful scene.  And it kept snowing and snowing until we were unable to go to church the next morning.  Mama V is a UU and Hannah and I were both very excited to check out a service that is not only non-denominational but also accepting of non-Christian forms of spirituality as well.  That didn't work out this time but there is always next time and there is a UU in Coeurd'Alene, so we might get brave and go on our own some time.  The rest of Sunday was spent being lazy at the house (by lazy I mean we stayed in comfy clothes and huddled up inside) doing homework, brainstorming, talking, and drinking tea.

We headed back into Seattle the next morning (we were going to head up to Granite Falls to see the Tsubaki Grand Shrine but the snow and slush sort of dissuaded us) and I rocked at the driving once again!  I got us to Uwijamaya after only looking at the directions on the computer and then flying blind, oh and we didn't even have to pay for parking because we purchased enough inside to validate the parking stub.  It was pretty sweet.  Uwijamaya is sort of like a conglomeration of several stores in one huge building in the International District of Seattle and Hannah and I have wanted to go there ever since one of our friends told us how much she had enjoyed it while she had lived in Seattle for school.  We went, we saw, we bought, we conquered!  And then we went in search of the Space Needle.  I kept calm and fought the one-way streets and bizarre intersections and then, just as we gave up trying to find our way to the Needle, we glimpsed it through a break in the buildings of the Seattle skyline.  The glimpse was all we needed and so we made our way back to the I-90 (the only option at this point being East since we were literally as West as we could be!) and returned to my Aunt's house in Issaquah.

From there, plans changed.  Snoqualmie Pass was unpassable: there was snow, slush, freezing rain, a temperature below freezing, and chains required on all vehicles without four-wheel-drive.  Well, needless to say, my Aunt and everyone decided that we should stay the night.  We did.  I had to call work and tell them that I wouldn't make it in the next day - I think that is the third time in over a year I've had an absence.  I feel bad about it but I figure Gina would rather find someone to cover me than have to find a dress to wear to my funeral.  Anyway, with that decision made and all the necessary parties made aware, my cousin (my Aunt's son) took us out to a wonderful dinner at Olive Garden.  Hannah and I felt so spoiled.  And my little cousin's (my Aunt's grandsons) were just too adorable for words!

The next morning, after a little breakfast and after giving the sun time to rise and help the pass be a bit more amiable, Hannah and I got on the old I-90 again and started for home.  We made great time and excellent gas mileage (about 27 mpg in a decade old car).  Now that we've made the trip, just the two of us, I'm excited for making the trip again in future.  There's so much to do, so many groups to get involved with, wonderful culture, and very dear people in West Washington that I just can't imagine staying away for long.