Seattle was nice. It felt good to drive the same roads I had driven so many times, something so familiar in my brain yet distant and vague. Seeing some of the guys I first served with was a unique experience. The military has a way of creating "chapters" in your life, and my chapter at Fort Lewis was a specific one.
I did get to go to Safeco field and watch the mariners play, I saw a lot of old friends though I did not get to see everyone I wanted to see. I came to the realization that I have never been to a mariners game, and the field I used to park at was Qwest field, now renamed to century link field (though I always thought I parked at safeco field). The more I think of it the more I have forgotten.
I was able to go to Tacoma and thanks to Garlic (stayed local, bartended) I was able to see a lot of the old nightlife. We drove down in the university areas and the downtown area where our hotel was. We went to the mall I used to work in, what a trip down memory lane. Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, all as pretty as I remembered.
The reunion was amazing. There is some kind of warmth in a room full of people who went to Iraq together... Very hard to explain but so easy to understand.
A general timeline went something like this...
Thursday I flew in to Seattle, I got to my sisters house, we had dinner at a sweet local little place (really great food) and went to bed super early. I really agree with my sisters taste, the places she took me to were awesome, every single one of them.
Friday I slept in and went for a run. Got back just in time to head to pick up my mom at the airport with my sister. We had a nice family dinner and afterwards I picked up my first army friend Mike who was also going to the reunion. Mike and I went to downtown Seattle as we did so many times before and checked out the night life. We met up with a friend of mine from Fremont and had a really good evening. I remember one thing really clearly, there was a really pretty girl at a really cool pub we found she was very attractive to my eye. She and her friend asked if we could take a picture of them, but then changed her mind and asked if she could take a picture with me, she kissed me on the cheek in what I would later say as the best kiss on the cheek I've ever had, and we had a brief conversation. I was pretty upfront with her about the fact that I am working overseas and she asked a bunch of questions, eventually deciding that she would rather prefer someone more local and we went our separate ways. Understandable, traveling isn't where you meet someone to be in a relationship with and I plan on being single for a while.
Saturday I had to wake up early and get to the memorial. Thank goodness we made it. I was 18 when I joined this unit, 19 when we went to war. We've all seen and done a lot since last we talked, and as I was probably one of the youngest, it may be safe to say I grew up quite a bit in that time. Arriving at the memorial, the tribute to those that gave their lives... Sharing it with some of my best friends who went through the same deployment, and having all those memories come back was something I'll never forget.
Sunday we made it to brunch on the bay at the edgewater. A place Meg picked out. Meg is the person I took to the "coming home" dance/ball in oct 2005. It was good to see her again, she lives in San Diego so it was rather random she was back in town and able to make it. This memory, this beautiful, genuinely good memory would not happen without traveling - Meg was the only one originally from the area and she is not living there now. I tried taking pictures to capture the moment but with the bay in the background being so bright and the inside being so dark, the flash was not adequate enough. I always wish my eyesight was like an iphone so I could just take screenshots and upload them as I see them... No such luck. How are our eyes so good and when are cameras going to catch up? After the brunch farah mike and I watched football at nice little sports bar Farah took us to, thanks Farah! Sunday night I spent with my fam again. I dropped off mike and met my mom and sister for some of the leftover pizza they had at their hole in the wall little beer garden. It's good to be with family... They understand me in ways no one else does, they know me better than anyone else, I've missed them more than I knew.
Monday was another early wake up, I think I woke up at 5 am. I was running late... even though I woke up so early... traffic was horrible and tee time was set for 11 am. I didn't make it until 1120am, not sure how long it took to drive, maybe four hours from Everett to Vancouver WA. I don't think I like many things more than golfing with Eric. There is a reason we get along so well, I don't know the reason, but we just do. Either he's just easy to get along with, or we are just meant to be friends, because I don't know of anything I'd rather do than grow old and golf with that guy, and no I don't mean that in a 2013 trendy homosexual way. I really get along with his wife and love his kids, I agree with his decisions in life and put him on my highest tier of friendship. I was supposed to be his best man, and missed it due to someone killing themselves in special forces training... Long story short, yeah life doesn't always work out the way you want but we drive on. It's always good to see Eric and Sam, and now the little ones. We watched monday night football, I won my fantasy game, and we crashed out.
Tuesday was awesome waking up with the kids so full of energy. Love his kids. I helped them make their bed, played duck duck goose with dakota, and they asked me to play with them. I picked one up and swung her around and then the other one said "do that to me!!!" all excited. Sam cooks amazingly, wow I have the best food there, I don't often compare cooking to moms cookin, but if I did, Sam would be the first one. So good. I drove up to Seattle and packed my stuff. I met Tim for a beer and said my good byes to my sister. My sister recently put down her cat, and now had to put down her dog. The date was set for tomorrow (wednesday). I hugged that dog and cried for the first time in a long time. I always give my cousins beagles the most love I can because I know one day they will die and I don't want to feel like I did anything but give them the best I could. My sisters dog "Karma" was really good to me, such a friend and companion on all my visits and when I lived with my sister for a month. I got fully packed and headed to the Mariners game to meet some friends. It was a good day to go to the stadium and I flew out to vegas bright and early... My flight is coming up fast and I need to log off. Heading to Vancouver BC, my favorite place in the world (or used to be anyway we'll see..). More trips down memory lane. Next blog will be about vegas if I get around to it... no promises.
I did get to go to Safeco field and watch the mariners play, I saw a lot of old friends though I did not get to see everyone I wanted to see. I came to the realization that I have never been to a mariners game, and the field I used to park at was Qwest field, now renamed to century link field (though I always thought I parked at safeco field). The more I think of it the more I have forgotten.
I was able to go to Tacoma and thanks to Garlic (stayed local, bartended) I was able to see a lot of the old nightlife. We drove down in the university areas and the downtown area where our hotel was. We went to the mall I used to work in, what a trip down memory lane. Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, all as pretty as I remembered.
The reunion was amazing. There is some kind of warmth in a room full of people who went to Iraq together... Very hard to explain but so easy to understand.
A general timeline went something like this...
Thursday I flew in to Seattle, I got to my sisters house, we had dinner at a sweet local little place (really great food) and went to bed super early. I really agree with my sisters taste, the places she took me to were awesome, every single one of them.
Friday I slept in and went for a run. Got back just in time to head to pick up my mom at the airport with my sister. We had a nice family dinner and afterwards I picked up my first army friend Mike who was also going to the reunion. Mike and I went to downtown Seattle as we did so many times before and checked out the night life. We met up with a friend of mine from Fremont and had a really good evening. I remember one thing really clearly, there was a really pretty girl at a really cool pub we found she was very attractive to my eye. She and her friend asked if we could take a picture of them, but then changed her mind and asked if she could take a picture with me, she kissed me on the cheek in what I would later say as the best kiss on the cheek I've ever had, and we had a brief conversation. I was pretty upfront with her about the fact that I am working overseas and she asked a bunch of questions, eventually deciding that she would rather prefer someone more local and we went our separate ways. Understandable, traveling isn't where you meet someone to be in a relationship with and I plan on being single for a while.
Saturday I had to wake up early and get to the memorial. Thank goodness we made it. I was 18 when I joined this unit, 19 when we went to war. We've all seen and done a lot since last we talked, and as I was probably one of the youngest, it may be safe to say I grew up quite a bit in that time. Arriving at the memorial, the tribute to those that gave their lives... Sharing it with some of my best friends who went through the same deployment, and having all those memories come back was something I'll never forget.
Sunday we made it to brunch on the bay at the edgewater. A place Meg picked out. Meg is the person I took to the "coming home" dance/ball in oct 2005. It was good to see her again, she lives in San Diego so it was rather random she was back in town and able to make it. This memory, this beautiful, genuinely good memory would not happen without traveling - Meg was the only one originally from the area and she is not living there now. I tried taking pictures to capture the moment but with the bay in the background being so bright and the inside being so dark, the flash was not adequate enough. I always wish my eyesight was like an iphone so I could just take screenshots and upload them as I see them... No such luck. How are our eyes so good and when are cameras going to catch up? After the brunch farah mike and I watched football at nice little sports bar Farah took us to, thanks Farah! Sunday night I spent with my fam again. I dropped off mike and met my mom and sister for some of the leftover pizza they had at their hole in the wall little beer garden. It's good to be with family... They understand me in ways no one else does, they know me better than anyone else, I've missed them more than I knew.
Monday was another early wake up, I think I woke up at 5 am. I was running late... even though I woke up so early... traffic was horrible and tee time was set for 11 am. I didn't make it until 1120am, not sure how long it took to drive, maybe four hours from Everett to Vancouver WA. I don't think I like many things more than golfing with Eric. There is a reason we get along so well, I don't know the reason, but we just do. Either he's just easy to get along with, or we are just meant to be friends, because I don't know of anything I'd rather do than grow old and golf with that guy, and no I don't mean that in a 2013 trendy homosexual way. I really get along with his wife and love his kids, I agree with his decisions in life and put him on my highest tier of friendship. I was supposed to be his best man, and missed it due to someone killing themselves in special forces training... Long story short, yeah life doesn't always work out the way you want but we drive on. It's always good to see Eric and Sam, and now the little ones. We watched monday night football, I won my fantasy game, and we crashed out.
Tuesday was awesome waking up with the kids so full of energy. Love his kids. I helped them make their bed, played duck duck goose with dakota, and they asked me to play with them. I picked one up and swung her around and then the other one said "do that to me!!!" all excited. Sam cooks amazingly, wow I have the best food there, I don't often compare cooking to moms cookin, but if I did, Sam would be the first one. So good. I drove up to Seattle and packed my stuff. I met Tim for a beer and said my good byes to my sister. My sister recently put down her cat, and now had to put down her dog. The date was set for tomorrow (wednesday). I hugged that dog and cried for the first time in a long time. I always give my cousins beagles the most love I can because I know one day they will die and I don't want to feel like I did anything but give them the best I could. My sisters dog "Karma" was really good to me, such a friend and companion on all my visits and when I lived with my sister for a month. I got fully packed and headed to the Mariners game to meet some friends. It was a good day to go to the stadium and I flew out to vegas bright and early... My flight is coming up fast and I need to log off. Heading to Vancouver BC, my favorite place in the world (or used to be anyway we'll see..). More trips down memory lane. Next blog will be about vegas if I get around to it... no promises.
