Goodbye, Northwest

Every now and again I start to panic because...  We leave in less than two weeks!  I can't stop myself from thinking, 'This might be the last time I ever do this.'  Which is absurd, as I will be back here again.  As Jamie has expressed it, I feel like I'm in limbo -- waiting.  I feel antsy and I am ready to move.  It's this waiting that's frustrating.  Especially the waiting in Seattle where I'm unemployed with too much time on my hands but uninterested in cleaning/sorting/packing.  It's much better when I'm adventuring and taking in my last breaths of the Northwest summer.  Jamie and I just took a short camping/hiking trip to Mt. Rainier and visited the meadows at Spray Park to see the wildflowers blooming.  It was stunning (looking beyond the mosquitoes). 

I love that mountain.  I grew up with a magnificent view half a block away from my parent's house in Olympia.  I took it for granted until I moved to Extremadura where there is nothing of the sort.  Pennsylvania?  I don't know, but I think not.

I keep thinking of things I want to do before I leave.  I found out that Jamie had never been to the San Juan Islands...!  Then my mind goes off, planning a bike trip around San Juan, Lopez, and Orcas Island.  And I'm not sure there's time, especially if we go to the Olympic Coast for a few days.  

I'm sad to leave my friends and my family.  I've spent my entire life here (minus traveling and Spain adventure) which, of course, means it's time to leave.  I'm so excited to explore somewhere new and make that place my home for awhile.  We're already talking about what we should do for Labor Day weekend, we've been researching vegan/vegetarian restaurants in Pittsburgh, locating the REI, finding hiking nearby.  But as I'm leaving, I'm liking Seattle more and more.  Why?!  Oh, right, it's summer and I don't work on the weekends so I can go explore with my friends.  Right.  I think I'm also letting the city in and appreciating it for what it is instead of wanting it to be different.  And the beauty?  I'm not sure I can find this elsewhere.  That's what I'm about to find out.

Three weeks ago or so I got this tattoo.  Goodbye, Northwest, for now.