Springtime Rapture In Seattle

“And the birds sang their songs of love. And the flowers serenaded with their sublime fragrances. And the whole world fell in love in spring!” (Avijeet Das)

Ruth and I increasingly find Air B&B to be an ideal way to find suitable lodging on our road trips. We typically look for one bedroom, studio apartments in outlying areas of a city near public transit lines. In Seattle, we hit a “bullseye” with our latest booking of a reasonably priced “flat” in suburban Columbia City.

Bearing semblance to Frank Lloyd Wright design, the unit blends organically with surrounding foliage on a steep hill overlooking a grassy descent leading to picturesque Lake Washington. From our bedroom window, we gazed easterly on this clear morning at the snowy peaks of the Cascade Mountain range in the distance. In the spacious interior, we could regain a sense of home as a temporary cure from the “cabin fever” of being cooped up in a car for so many days on this road trip.

In a city that rains over 150 days a year, we had been fortunate to begin our week in Seattle with clear weather. Enticed by the profusion of springtime blooms of colorful rhododendrons and cherry blossoms surrounding us, we impulsively decided to hike down to Lake Washington on foot to relax along the glassy waters. No rush to move on to more serious matters as we became soon immersed our minds into the meditative silence of these calming waters.

To the north of us lies the busy life of downtown Seattle, where in past visits to this dense core, we have chosen to restlessly play tourist. Perhaps Pioneer Square or the Space Needle will be on our agenda tomorrow. But today we had been content to make simpler times happen beyond such urban frenzy. I noticed the contentment of a keen sensed canine smell the cool, fresh air to become free from his car confinement. In experiencing a similar springtime rapture today, we knew we had joined him.