Postponing the Crazies

Okay, I'm sitting here gazing out the window and snowflakes are softly falling from the sky, drifting past the blossoming cherry tree and the bright yellow daffodils in my back yard, Bach's cello 1st cello suite plays endlessly in the background (not because I have a CD in but because my son is practicing cello) and I once again curse the weather. If you've never heard Bach's 1st cello suite you really should - it is the essence of melancholy and is the perfect soundtrack for this tableau of suburban sorrow.

I will not be camping this weekend. When I took the dogs out last night to fertilize the lawn I realized that crazy or not I would be miserable sleeping outside in this weather. Earlier in the evening I had actually begged my awestruck husband (I'm always bitching about being cold) to camp out on the windy and snowy bluffs of Whidbey Island and called him a wimp for not being willing to consider it. But last night in the snow with the dog crap steaming in a pile of snow at my feet, I finally accepted my lot. The weekend trip to the island would have to be postponed. All that planning - the lists, the maps, the perfect campsite, the printed out driving and walking tours - now sit in a forlorn pile on the coffee table.

So now we are hoping to camp next weekend, our last open weekend before school gets out and we fly to the east coast. I might actually crack if we have another sunny week that ends in snow and rain. I NEED a day of blue skies. Even just one day would do me, but I swear I'll go psychotic if I don't get out for some camping and hiking soon.

A last minute day trip has been planned, a sad replacement for the weekend I had planned, but it will still be fun if I can let go of the bitterness. We'll be driving down to Centralia, Washington (named for its location halway between Seattle and Portland) and then taking Old Highway 99 north, visit a sculpture park along the way, and end up in Olympia for a late lunch at the Spar Cafe, maybe some time at the Olympia Farmers Market, and a quick stop at Wagner's European Bakery for some goodies to eat tonight while we watch a movie. We'll be hitting a couple roadside attractions along the way, some beautiful old historic architecture, and waymarking some great vintage neon which I'm sure will console me a bit.

The photo above was taken last weekend at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. It is an example of Western Washingtonians thinking that the blueish tint to the overcast sky is actually sunshine and heading to the beach. You see, it's been so long since we've seen true sunlight that we forget what it looks like. Of course they are still wearing Goretex ski coats. Any Washingtonian worthy of the title knows that you can't put away your Goretex until the 4th of July.