Goin' on Vacation

In Lilly's final kindergarten class, the kids picked fortunes for their future careers. Not surprisingly, her fortune predicted, "You will make a movie."

After class I took Lilly out for sushi where she found a fortune cookie. Her second fortune-of-the-day read, "Now is the right time to go to the coast." Sure enough, we packed up our family wagon the next day and bee-lined for the Mason County coastline.

At the far southern end of the Hood Canal we found a fishermen's cabin with oodles of charm and kitsch, The Changing Tides. Within minutes of arriving, we stepped onto the rickety deck and witnessed a bald eagle dive into the estuary before us and snag a fish from the sparkling water with its massive talons. Moments later, that poor sucker went to heaven and was reincarnated into pure EAGLE matter. As if our journey couldn't get any better, Lilly then found a surprise swimming pool to complement the hot summer day!

To say, this land is "spiritual" is certainly an understatement. The estuary is literally filled with wildlife as the tides push and pull through its brackish waters. The Skokomish Native American Reservation is only a few steps away, and reading through a handbook of old stories from the Hood Canal, we learned of a traditional ancient Skokomish burial site on the far side of the estuary in Potlatch. This revelation touched us deeply as the ashes of Roger, Bunny's father, were spread at Potlatch 14 years ago. Jolly Roger's atoms now ciruclate throughout this sacred land. We ended the night soaking up the sunset and entering our vacation reverently.

The next day was cloudy but perfect for an adventure into the Olympic rainforest. We hiked up Staircase, where Roger would take his family 30 years ago to experience the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest.

The rest of the evening was filled with reflections on family set to the backdrop of the majestic Olympic Range.

On our next day of vacation, we hiked down into the Forest Theater where Bunny's family would watch plays in the 1980s. This outdoor theater, set in an ancient rhododendron and fir forest, has been operating continuously since the beginning of the last century. For their 2009 season, we caught 

Seussical The Musical - perfect timing since Lilly began reading and writing in kindergarten and recently picked up Dr. Seuss' rhyming tales. She wrote a letter to share with the cast, "Dr. Seuss, Thank You For Teaching Me How To Read. Love, Lilly Star."

Finally, on our last day, we bid farewell to the swarms of bald eagles and a way-cute but not-so-friendly little otter nestled beneath the deck.

And then stretched out the summer sun playing in Olympia, Bunny's hometown. How's that for a trip down the Mason Memory Lane!