Once or twice a year, C and her sweetheart H open their cozy Vashon Island home to the four stringed ukerati. They grill up some good grub, people bring treats to share, and we sit around the living room (or back deck, if it’s summer) strumming and singing and having a good time visiting with fellow humans afflicted with an irrational affection for the uke.
I love their place, it’s a big ramshackle lot with out-buildings and a little Airstream trailer and in summer, H’s garden is abundant with dahlias. Last time I was out there I told C that she should not be surprised if, one morning, she stumbled out in to the yard to find I’d moved myself in to a little campsite on a sunny patch of their grounds just out of view of the main house. She laughed and told me I was welcome any time.
The splendid thing about a day on Vashon is that you must arrive by ferry. It’s a short hop across the water from the dock near my house. This morning, the air was thick with fog and the island was just a fuzzy outline. And this evening, we had the good fortune to time our departure just as the sun was setting over the Olympics.
Often, when people find out I had the opportunity to live in Austria, they stare at me in slight exasperation. “But Austria is such a beautiful country!” they say. I have learned to spare them the long disillusioned expat speech. But the question of beauty, well.
I live here.
There are a few more Vashon photos here.
Gorgeous, gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
SOMEday everyone will finally get it and we won’t have explain any more. 🙂 First thing I’m going to do when we get to the West Coast is hop on a ferry to somewhere or other.
it’s ok, i get it. yes Austria is beautiful, but how in the world does a place like Vashon compare to the Steiermark? going to Vashon (again) is on my to do list for next summer, right after getting a decent latte at Zokka’s. and then i’m heading straight for the ostrich burger place, if it’s still there…
@Z: It’s not that it’s a beauty contest, really, it’s just that if the defining vote is based in aesthetics, there’s plenty to love right here.
That said, Steiermark does have a lot to offer by way of pretty, especially in the winter. I’ve always found the Ennstal (our home there) a beautiful place. [Pics]
But the beauty alone isn’t enough. And we gots plenty of beauty here, plus a lot of other things I need.