Kansas & the Seattle Summer

Sorry, the time between my blogs gets longer and longer. You know why? It's finally SUMMER here in Seattle. Yes, it's August. Yes, summer's already 2/3 over in most of the country. But here in Seattle, summer arrived just a couple weeks ago. I'm now wearing skirts and flip flops daily and complaining nonstop about how hot my condo gets. Summer is short lived here but makes living here all worth it. I even got sunburnt a couple days ago when I was out at Whidbey Island on a team outing---sunburn! in Seattle? Anyway, on to what's been happenin' in the last few weeks....

As you can see from my last post, I went back to Kansas for my 10 year high school reunion which was actually a ton of fun. Matt got to meet my parents and I got to see many people that I haven't seen in, well, ten years. And it was indeed ridiculously hot there--110+ everyday and it was unbearable. I'd forgotten the feeling of preferring to walk inside an air-conditioned mall rather than strolling out in the sun on the Plaza. The reunion itself was much fun and I loved seeing people and hearing their stories. For the most part, people were the same (except for Mark Wertzberger who shocked me with his current profession as a pro-wrestler living in Hollywood---talk about being far from Kansas). We all shared some fun stories, had some drinks, gave each other hugs...what you would expect at a reunion.

The rest of the trip was also really enjoyable, with Matt getting along and bonding with my parents and exploring Kansas together. The first day, Matt and I strolled around downtown Lawrence, which I personally haven't done in a very long time...especially on a hot summer day. In recent years, my trips home have mainly been in the winter for the holidays...so it felt great to go into Penny Annie's and get a sherbert freeze and then smell the candles at Waxman Candles and then get some caffeine at the Java Break...and end the day with a beer at Free State Brewery. We had a wonderful meal with the Krauses Friday night and then introduced Matt to the Chinese dim sum culture of Kansas City which was quite funny to Matt when he realized he was the only white guy in a restaurant in the middle of Kansas. (we later realized that all the white patrons were sitting in a separate room near the front--what a hoot!) After Matt and my father played golf on Sunday, we headed to Kansas City to check out Cabela's, which is like the REI of the Midwest and Great Plains...but specializes in hunting. To give you a sense of this place, the first sign we saw upon walking in said "Attention - For you and your family's safety, please check all firewarms at greeter's desk before entry. Thank you" There was more stuffed game in that place than I had ever seen in my life -- deer, moose, goat, turkey, you name it. It was insane.

The weekend had to end with drama as our flight back to Seattle via Phoenix (we flew America West) was delayed by more than 2 hours because the tarmac in Phoenix was more than 120 degrees and our plane was stuck because the air was too thin for liftoff! I hadn't ever heard of it being too hot to fly. As a result, Matt and I got stuck in Phoenix overnight and couldn't get back to work until afternoon the next day.

Anyway, the weekend has ended and I'm praying for the night to cool a bit. It's been a wonderful Seattle Summer weekend with Whidbey Island on Friday, boating around Lake Union & Lake Washington with friends yesterday, and the Gary's Seafair party today to check out the Blue Angels and Hydroplane Races. Ciao.