The Day Our Kid Karma Ran Out

So far Seattle to me is the beauty of San Francisco, the hospitality of the midwest, and the energy of Boston. I like it.

We said goodbye to Portland with a leisurely breakfast, a disappointing latte from Stumptown (I made the mistake of ordering a tall which meant the same amount of espresso and 2x the milk…not nearly as delicious that way), and a leisurely stroll through Chinatown. We all thoroughly enjoyed the Chinese gardens, so much so that the girls didn’t even break the “inside voices” rule for the entire hour we were there! Of course it helped that giant koi patrol the ponds, mesmerizing Zach and Diane who apparently shares her father’s fascination with the almost dragon-like fish. How long can I really deny Zach the backyard koi sanctuary of his dreams without permanently damaging our marriage? I think the brown-eyed girl may be the key to his victory on this front.
 
So we successfully made it onto our train and watched in awe of the scenery for the 4.5 hour trip to Seattle. The girls played peacefully and Diane lulled herself into a refreshing nap while the other passengers marveled at her angelic demeanor. Oh wait, that last sentence is a GIGANTIC lie. But I’m sure you don’t want to hear how Diane spit food all over the seat and my lap and then screamed herself into a possessed-by-the-devil, foaming at the mouth, flailing and writhing tantrum so I’ll just pretend like it never happened and skip to the part where she slept peacefully on my shoulder for the last hour of the trip. So that is how we arrived in Seattle.

But the wonder of traveling with kids for me is that the whole family gets a kind of selective amnesia, so all was good once we were on the bus on our way to our apartment rental in this unexpectedly hilly city. Our bus driver was so sweet and helpful in getting us to our destination that I thought he must be new at the job. Then again so many others helped us along our way that I may just be too used to the brusque east coast style, even after my years in C-ville.

All day, Melina was looking forward to seeing Juan so naturally I fully expected her to freeze up and put on the “shy” act when we saw him, but she surprised us all by giving his leg a huge eyes-closed hug that lasted for at least a few minutes, and then stared up at him with smitten teenager googly eyes for the rest of the evening. Even D gave him some smiles, and then the two girls played with the doggies on Juan’s apartment roof deck while we caught up with Juan and learned the lay of the land from the top of Capital Hill. There is no map better than that view.  The evening ended at our apartment with the girls fast asleep and us big kids playing Carcassonne in true game night style. Another wonderful day.