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| A photo of Dad taking a photo |
So, after spending one
weekend in Washington, the DC variety, I went ahead and went to that other Washington, the state, to celebrate my father's birthday
with my sister and brother. It was the first time we'd all been together since
my Mother passed away; it's hard to co-ordinate California, the very PNW and South
Carolina into one place at the same time, but we did it.
And
it was nice to be all together again, laughing and joking and telling stories.
We made a birthday dinner for Dad of my Mom's tacos and my sister baked my
Dad's favorite birthday cake: Lemon cake with Lemon frosting.
Lovely
day.
We
also celebrated Dad's big day with a sunset cruise on Bellingham and Chuckanut
Bays. So, so beautiful, and spurs in me a deeper desire to live there. Mountains,
water, what else do I need. Well, they make some good wines and cheeses so
there's that, too. The bay ride was gorgeous, sunny, blue skies, sail
boats. Peaceful. The only thing missing was Carlos, who couldn't make the trip
since he just started his new job last June. But, we'd both visited the
Bellingham area last year and put it on our list of places we could live, so,
who knows, maybe......
And
my Dad took us to the Marine Life Center in Bellingham where he—Dad is a retired
science teacher--volunteers. Very cool place. One of its main goals is to raise
awareness of marine life and our impact on it, and to promote stewardship of that
marine life through interaction. They also "improve, restore and maintain
marine habitat for fish and invertebrates living in Bellingham Bay."
All
well and good, but, besides the fascinating exhibits and the touch pools and
the octopi, what I loved most was watching my Dad--on his day off--talk to very
young children about the MLC and what they do. I watched as he got as much joy
out of showing crabs and sea stars--once known as star fish, I learned the they
are not fish, but are invertebrates, so they are sea stars--to children as the
children did seeing, and touching, the marine life.
It's
very cool, at my age, to learn something new about your father by watching him
do something he loves. And he does love the chemistry and the sciences and the biology
and environmental issues.
I
missed the bus on most of those, sadly, but there’s always time for your Dad to
educate you, I guess.
Happy Birthday Dad. It was a
wonderful trip.
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| The Whatcom Museum in Bellingham |
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| Bayside silos. I dunno why..... |
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| Picturesque views. |
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| Bayside Victorian. |
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| Bayside modern. |
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| Bayside solitude. |
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| Bayside Must Have! |
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| What a way to spend a sunny afternoon, eh? |
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| Mt Baker from Bellingham Bay |
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| Amazing shoreline |
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| A quiet little inlet..... |
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| Usually my calamari is fired and served with marinara, but this is good, too. |
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| A beautiful birthday! |
