A DAY'S TREAT ... except

I had one of my special times... one I nearly always fit into my schedule when out in the Northwest.

I went to Seattle -- not on the I-state and into the busy, trafficy downtown, but drove about 30 miles to Bremerton to take a ferry.

I am always "flooded" with joy as I watch the water and the islands and see the Olympic mountains. The ride is about an hour -- one Lovely Hour -- before reaching Seattle's waterfront, one of my favorite places.

Did my normal touristy Seattle stuff for about 3 hours. Flitting through stores, wandering through the Pike Place Market... even saw one of the LARGE fish being tossed at the famous fish shop, those "tossings" famous and shown on TV.

Have been to the Market so often there's rarely a stall I've not known.

Headed back to Bremerton on the ferry. A couple of "goods": 1) now that I turned 65 my fare round-trip total was only $3.45. Whoppee!! [A few years ago Dave said it was going to be interesting to watch the struggle between my vanity and my pocketbook as a I age ... so far the pocketbook is winning!]

2) Played one of my favorite "games" -- tossing fries to seagulls. Could do that for hours and hours and simply have a blast!

Then it went bad: I turned and the wind caught my hat -- my wonderful sparkled-gem purple hat -- and blew it into the Sound. I saw it hit the water... if someone ever happens to see a seagull "dressed" in a royal purple, they can think of me.

History: Seattle was the place for my first official job; I was 18. I was there when the 1964 Anchorage earthquake hit, was downtown on a bus on the way to my office and saw the skyscrapers swaying and windows buckling and the streets bouncing. -- Saw a major hydroplane race-- fun, scary, dangerous. -- Many other good and bad "firsts" happened there during a couple of years. I have often wished I could live there, be closer to the water, see the mountains. Not where God has had me, however, since I was 20 ... except for these occasional lovely momentary visits.

I reached Tacoma later on Wednesday, my heart and spirit floating and flooded with blessings. And always desiring more and more....