Sunday, June 22, 2008
Highlights of the Pacific Northwest
Coming back to the Pacific Northwest really feels like returning to my second home. Some highlights so far:
(1) Real, real mountains that are huge and still have snow on them.
(2) Expansive bays and oceans.
(3) Green evergreens, green deciduous trees, green grass, long green plant stems. Green!
(4) Tillamook cheese! The Pacific Northwest is worth visiting just for Tillamook cheese.
(5) Northwest Yearly Meeting. Connections. North Seattle Friends Church where I attended meeting for four hours this morning and felt like I knew everyone even though I had never been there before. Jan Wood and her excellent study and reflection of Exodus 32.
(6) Balmy summer weather - not too hot, not too cold.
(7) Friendly service culture. Everyone is amazingly helpful!
(8) Recycling. Before today I had never eaten with cornstarch knives and forks that I subsequently "composted." (The fork kind of melted in my dinner, but that was okay because it was only made of cornstarch.)
(9) Public transit. Clean, on schedule and prevalent.
(10) A relaxed and calmed pace. Walking the streets of Seattle is so different than walking the streets of New York City. Someone in Seattle may actually smile at you as you past them.