Sweet Seattle

I drove to Seattle this past week.

I experienced heart palpitations upon first sight of that lovely city.

The Space Needle — contributing to such a distinctive skyline. Countless shops and restaurants along a wonderful waterfront. Snow-capped mountains, including the biggest most beautiful mountain in the country — excluding that one in Alaska, which we all know isn’t really in this country. Hills — crazy hills in the heart of the city. Monstrous buildings somehow standing upon these crazy hills. Gorgeous parks and neighborhoods overlooking the city. The world’s first Starbucks.

I mean, really: what else do you need in a city?

But this trip wasn’t just about sweet Seattle. I encountered many people and experienced numerous unforgettable moments along this 3,000-mile journey. Some thoughts:

+ The beauty of Earth. Alluring mountains. Rushing rivers. Massive redwoods. Daring cliffs. Haunting fog. Mighty ocean. Adorable sea lions. Subtle sunrises. Spectacular sunsets. I saw just about every geographical feature imaginable on this trip; the entire Pacific coast screams God’s handiwork.

+ The ugliness of Earth. I guess pigeons and crows and roadkill are all a result of the fall.

+ The vastness of humanity. I’ve written about my affinity for people-watching. “Observer,” is one-sixth of my being, after all. You just never know when you’re gonna cross paths with an unforgettable character. California’s a huge, intriguing state. It took us two days to escape its borders, and along the way we passed people in the city and people in the absolute sticks — stickier sticks than from my Georgian homeland. Accents and all. Stretching beyond this large state to the entire country and world, we’re all so very different and yet bizarrely the same, all in desperate need of purpose, community, belonging. Love.

+ The kindness of humanity. God bless my grandfather who will go to all lengths to secure even an ounce of good will for his family. In the weeks leading up to this epic trip, he called his grand-niece in Olympia — a woman he’d never even met face-to-face — and told them we’d be driving through her city. And then this woman who is somehow related to me joyfully treated me and my traveling companions to a fantastic meal and showed us around Washington’s illustrious capital. I want to do something similarly random for a first cousin thrice removed who I’ve never met before.

+ The depravity of humanity. Walking along a downtown Seattle street, a man on a bike spewed vulgarities at me and my traveling companions. Not sure if he was drunk, high, wrong in the head, or some/all of the above. There was also the homeless man sitting in the middle of the sidewalk in San Francisco, and countless other homeless people in Portland and Seattle. Will I ever fully reach the point when I consider myself blessed?

+ The joy of humanity. The woman behind the desk at our hotel in Portland held such a thrill for her job, it was contagious. She welcomed us to Portland, told us what to do there, helped us figure out how to turn on the hot tub’s jets, and never stopped smiling throughout. Some people are good at unending smiles, but they smack of fakeness. Not Mindy.

+ The hope for humanity. Sure, Seattle is beautiful. And San Fransisco, and the redwood forests, and all the other places I visited last week. But as beautiful as this planet is, my 3,000-mile journey reminded me that thankfully, this isn’t it. There’s something far more beautiful and tantalizing beyond that mountain-laced horizon. A place more stunning and breathtaking than I could ever fathom.

How I more desperately await that day.

I’m looking forward to sharing some Wandering Wednesday video footage with y’all in the weeks to come. Until then, I leave you with this shot:

Gorgeous.