After a rainy week, we've had a really nice weekend. Saturday started cloudy and looked like rain would come, but it stayed dry. The clouds became more patchy throughout the morning. By the late afternoon, it was sunny and pleasant. I had supper with some friends in West Seattle, and Drew had to turn the heat on for me on the way back to Ballard late last night.
Today I went to Mars Hill's 9:00 and 5:00 services. They have another at 11:15, but having just been to the one (and since each service is "the same," more or less), I thought it would be better to spend some time at home. What was I thinking? I certainly didn't want to do more online job hunting on Sunday! It was nice to be back in church, and they even played my favorite MH song, "The Glory of God."
The weather was fantastic all day long. Rainier was out in all its glory, shining proudly above the hills and city skyline as I drove toward downtown this morning. One friend told me that the Blue Angels were flying at Lake Washington today for Sea Fair, but I decided not to brave the traffic and parking. Instead, I took my old hike down into Carkeek Park to the beach. Along the route I raided several blackberry bushes but stopped my nibbling for a while when I saw the striped and wiggly end of a worm sticking out of one of my freshly picked berries. I walked on the beach for a while sat down on a white driftwood log with my face to the Sound and the Olympics. The wind was stong and cool from the northwest; even though the clouds had gone into hiding, the warmth of the sun couldn't keep up with the breeze. I closed my eyes and listened to the waves on the rocks and the wind in my ears.
I headed back along the forest path past Piper's Orchard and scavanged a few more blackberries along the route. However, my path home, different from the way I came in, had been closed toward its outlet due to a "possibly dangerous erosion" problem. The suggested (and only) detour left me a lot farther away than I had wanted but still let me pass the grocery store to pick up a newpaper once I had left the park.
After the evening service I went to Ivar's Salmon House with some friends. We ate on the deck overlooking Lake Union. I'd heard that Ivar's makes some of the best fish and chips in the area, but when I saw salmon and chips on the menu, I couldn't resist. They batter and fry it like the cod, and it was good. I don't normally innovate much with sauces on meat, particularly fish, but ketchup added an interesting flavor to the mix.
Mount Rainier. Mars Hill. Blackberries by the beach. And salmon for supper.
Talk about a pleasant Pacific Northwest day.
Posted by at August 8, 2004 10:04 PM