Last Thursday Mom and I had a great visit to Vashon and Maury islands. They're actually connected by a land bridge that we drove over, but on the map they're two separate islands (go figure!). We only had to take one ferry from the mainland.
Here's me and Mom posing in front of Point Robinson Light. After that, I tried my first mouthful of sand. Mmmm, not bad but a little crunchy. I blew lots of spit bubbles for a while after that experience.
Papaw tried to amuse me by flying a kite on the beach, but there really wasn't enough wind. Looks like a fun activity for future, though.
Best of all was the chewable driftwood, which I discovered has a slightly salty taste. Yum!
The other part of our Vashon day was visiting relatives. First, my Great-Grandpa Gerry and my Great-Omi Karin (who is turning 91 in about a week -- wow!).
And then I was introduced to my Great-Grand Uncle & Aunt (?) Ken and Phyllis. Just a moment before the camera clicked, I wasn't crying, really. Speaking of kites, Ken is an architect and has built box kites as a hobby. He told us the story of how he tried to impress Phyllis when they first met by building a box kite in her basement, and when it was finished, he discovered he'd built it too big to get it out the door! Great first impression. Well, it all worked out in the end anyway.
Lastly, we visited with my "cousins" who were vacationing on Vashon: Elijah and Ezra from Portland, Ore., and Jilian (the blondie, like me) from Vancouver, B.C.
Best of all was the pet cockatiel that Elijah had brought with him. Jilian's mom Daniella is holding me here, as I stare entranced at this funny little feathered guy. I'd never seen a bird this close up before. Hmm, if Mom and Dad won't let me have a dog, maybe they'll consider a bird...
Erin go braugh! I celebrated my first St. Patrick's day in proper fashion, listening to my dad play bodhran (Irish drum) in a band. I've been practicing the bodhran, too (I have a mini one I'm allowed to pound on to my heart's content), and was showing Daddy's bandmates my technique in the photo above.
And here's my dad playing that very same drum, above with a group of fiddle students and below with a trio consisting of fiddle, guitar and mandolin. He played for a total of three hours and said afterward that his arm felt like it was going to fall off. Yikes.
I got to stay up past my bedtime, and wear my onesie with the green frogs on it, and my mom walked me all over the restaurant (it is called The Upstage and it's the coolest music venue in town). We knew a lot of people to talk to, and one point I took a little nap in my carseat up in the balcony, where the music wasn't so loud. This is the view looking down at the fiddle students. They were still learning the Irish session tunes, but they were pretty good, and Mom said their presence made The Upstage feel like a real Irish pub -- and she should know, because she and dad went on their honeymoon to Ireland!
I even got to waltz with Mom while Dad was waltzing the fiddler's wife to a tune written in her honor. (Her husband would have danced with her, but he was playing the fiddle at the time.)
Oh, did I mention the music was awesome?!!! Traditional tunes with lilting melodies and driving beats, my favorite kind of music. Toward the end of the evening, other people were dancing in the aisles -- stepdancing to the jigs and all that. And it was so crowded, people without reservations were turned away at the door. I felt lucky my dad was one of the musicians, so we had a spot right up front. And I feel lucky to be part Irish -- my dad's great-great-grandfather was a Clancy -- born in the Emerald Isle, don't you know?
Wow, I can't believe it! Last weekend I got to go to Outer Space via the "Space Needle," and I didn't even have to wear an astronaut suit. There was plenty of air to breathe up there, and gravity, too -- despite what the pictures of people on the moon make you think.
The food in Outer Space is really good. I would know because we met my Grannie and Papaw for brunch in the Space Needle restaurant. I was a bit distracted by the rotating view of the city of Seattle far, far below us. The windows stayed still, but the ring of floor that our table, and all the other tables, were sitting on, spun slowly like a record on a turntable. Or like my exersaucer, now that I think of it.
The special occasion was my Grannie's birthday! I don't know how old she is, but the waitress only put one candle on her slice of birthday dessert.
Here we three are on the ferry earlier that morning, approaching the Needle that took us into Outer Space. You can see how it's higher than anything else.
And here's a final look at downtown Seattle from Space. The ferry boat on Elliott Bay was no bigger than a cork. Looking down on it all made me realize what a small world we really live on. Maybe one day I'll get to take a rocket so far into Space that I'll be able to see the whole Earth as a ball. Until then, I'll practice by visiting the Space Needle.
There's a new baby in my neighborhood named Jonah and I bet we are going to be friends.
Well, actually I wasn't, because Jonah weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces at birth and I weighed 8 pounds. But even if our heads were roughly the same size, look how much mine has grown in just six months!!!
But if I can go over and play with Fella, that will be almost as good. Hey, Jonah, isn't that what friends are for?
