Exploring
In which Mike introduces the kids to the wonders of a Norwegian village
Suquamish, WA - 2024
My daughter, Christin and her youngest son, Shaun are here for a visit from the far lands of Florida. They arrived late last night after an arduous day of travel cross country to our little nest in the PacNW. We want to keep them entertained, but not run them into the ground so today we took them on a walking tour of a nearby town of Poulsbo.
The weather was perfect for the journey: warm and sunny with a light breeze off the bay. My wife, Doris who is acclimated to cooler temps felt it was hot and oppressive. I found it ideal since my acclimation has flip-flopped from the New England states to more desert climes. The kids were in heaven. No humidity and lots of heat.
To capture thoughts, moments of note and things I want to remember I grabbed a pencil, pocket notebook and compact pocket camera. Christin wanted to capture memories down to the micron and brought her mirrorless DSLR camera with an assortment of lenses. We were off on safari.
I am not one to wander shops so I would hangout on the sidewalk while Doris, Christin and Shaun explored the shelves of the local merchants. I was more interested in bookshops and art displays. I found a couple of books I wouldn't mind reading: The Princess Bride by William Goldman, which I have already read, but is worth another go round, and On Writing by Charles Bukowski. I'm on the fence about Bukowski, but I do tend to like beat poetry as long as it is real and not presented by some hack trying to look cool like a beatnik Daddy-o. I digress.
My daughter likes to explore and saw the Lutheran steeple poking up in the background. I told her it would be a good location to explore and that they have a centuries old cemetery. That's all she needed to know and we headed off in that direction. Thanks to my lineage, she was able to get into the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) and is always on the lookout for things that may be connected. We are a good way off the beaten path from the East Coast so there weren't too many possibilities of a connection. Still, she enjoyed the cemetery and got some photos for later memory keepsakes. I gave her a few tips on using her foreground to frame the subject in the distance to give the image movement. I also gave her some tips on street photography and shooting from the hip. I saw a little kid in heart shaped sunglasses telling a rather exciting tale to who I presumed an older sister. It caught my interest and I took a stealthy shot.
My grandson is a tea aficionado so I took him to a boutique tea shop. Most of the stuff is made from non caffeinated herbs and fruit. Some had interesting aromas and some smelled like a bowl of sugar. My wife is a regular here and gets one with dragon fruit. I found one I was compelled to buy just because of the name.
Tomorrow we will head off to Seattle. So much to do there and all accessible on foot. Stay tuned for the next exciting adventure in which Mike drags his relatives all over creation.
Keep on truckin'
-Mike