I'm back in Grenada after my month-long trip to the States! These next two posts will likely be big photo dumps with little captions. I've already recorded the trip in my journal, so I kind of just want to get the pictures out there so I can start blogging more current happenings.
My trip was wonderful, but the flight there was . . . traumatizing. I've already told the story several times and it gets more dramatic with each telling, so I'll just give it to you straight. Halfway through my flight from Grenada to Miami, the plane all of a sudden hit a wall of unexpected turbulence. Not like "oh, I guess I'll stop practicing my signature for a few seconds" turbulence. More like "feels like a car crash in the sky" turbulence. The plane free-fell for a couple seconds (talk about freaky), and I literally choked on the peanuts I had just put in my mouth. Everyone's drinks flew up and hit the ceiling, so it was dripping with juice when the ordeal was over. The people who didn't have seatbelts on flew up and hit the ceiling as well. Many of them started bleeding, and five were taken to the hospital when we landed in Miami and were met by a team of paramedics. Scariest to me was when I heard two flight attendants discussing that some bags in the carryon compartment had hit the ceiling so hard that the inner shell of the plane had cracked in a few places. The lady who was sitting next to me grabbed my hand when we started free-falling, and several people (myself included) screamed out loud. It even made the national news! Check it out:
This all after I had expressed my fear of flying to Jared that morning and he told me, "Oh, you'll be fine. Just relax and know that if your plane crashes and everyone dies, there's nothing you'd be able to do about it anyway! Plus, it's more dangerous to walk down the sidewalk than it is to fly in a plane." Thanks for that Jared. Never going to you for a motivational pep talk again. The worst was when I was stuck in the Miami airport for my 8-hour layover and couldn't even call anyone to tell them about the experience. I don't have an American phone, and I left my laptop in Grenada because I didn't want to risk having it heavily taxed when I came back into the country (#thirdworldproblems). I had enough cash to make exactly two calls on a payphone, but neither of them were answered. I had just enough money on my pay-as-you-go Grenada cell phone to send one overly dramatic text message to Jared. He received it and replied and was probably very concerned when he never heard from me again because I had no money left.
I couldn't help but laugh at my life in the moment. Who else in modern America spends all day traveling across the country with no possible way to communicate or connect to the outside world at all? It's like this big leap of faith. "Ok in-laws, I leave Grenada at 7:00 in the morning, and I'll meet you at the Seattle airport at 11:00 at night. I won't be able to call you if there are any issues or I arrive late or early or anything, but I guess just show up around then and we'll probably find each other!" Amazingly it all worked out, as it almost always does. Okay, on to the pictures!
^^Jared's dad would take me and Jared's brother Will on beautiful country drives each Sunday afternoon. This time we drove across this bridge and walked down to the river.
^^It was the end of the salmon run. Apparently after the salmon lay their eggs, they just kind of die. There were hundreds of lovely dead fish on the river's shore.
^^I spent hours combing through shoeboxes and hard drives containing pictures of Jared as a child and teen. How cute is tiny 90's Jared with his sisters??
^^Most mornings I took their dog, Elsie, for a walk on the pipeline trail by their house. This part of Washington is full of beautiful trees and trails. It's my favorite!
^^My in-laws' neighboorhood lake. The fall colors were just starting to peak while I was there! I'm so grateful that I didn't have to miss autumn this year like I did last year. Nothing beats the indirect sunlight, crip air, and colorful leaves of this time of year in the northwest.
^^My in-laws have a forest in their backyard, and I saw several deer walk through it.
^^We drove into Seattle one night to go to a fancy Greek restaurant as part of a convention going on for my father-in-law's work. Will and I felt a bit out of place being so young, but Becky (middle) was so nice and took us under her wing all night and told us stories about her kids. She even took pictures of us and e-mailed them to me. A little kindness goes a long way!
^^My father-in-law and Becky's mom. I wish I had gotten to talk to her more. She's one of those people who you can just tell has an amazing life story and lots of wisdom to share. Plus, she wore one of the very best sweaters I've ever seen, and I mean that!
^^On another Sunday drive, we snuck into a gated community that is made up of houses surrounding a private lake! There was a long foresty drive just to get to the gated community, and then it was just like this peaceful little neighborhood in the forest with their own lovely lake. This is the way to live.
^^A view on one of my many walks in the watershed preserve. It's so peaceful. One of the hardest things for me in Grenada is not having lots of beautiful trails that I feel comfortable walking on my own. Hiking does so much good for me and has a calming effect. There is one nearby trail in Grenada, but I can't walk it alone anymore because an American recently got attacked on it.
^^Papa L took Will and I to go for a ferry ride one Saturday afternoon, just for the heck of it! We literally hopped on the ferry, rode 20 minutes to the other side of the Sound, walked around for 5 minutes, and then got back on and rode back and got some lunch at a local diner. So fun!
^^Will, in intense concentration as he crossed the road. Haha
^^The town on the other side of the ferry ride. Check out those colors! I love quaint little towns like this.
For those wondering what I was doing in Washington without Jared, I went to hang out with Will and keep him fed and get him where he needed to go while Mama L did a bike tour of Italy (which, by the way, looked awesome and is at the top of mine and Jared's list of things to do some day). Papa L was around and did a lot with us, but he had to work a lot of early mornings and late nights, and I was more than glad to play with Will and gorge myself on American food and walk around in lovely temperatures. The shift from driving to the left side of the street to the right, and then adjusting back again, was a bit rocky. But it was worth it a hundred times over to be able to drive over Lake Washington and to places like Anthropologie and Costco and beautiful parks.
I'd write more about all my philosophical thoughts about America and traveling and autumn, but Jared and I are about to make a hot date of Christmas list writing, probably with a cartoon or two thrown in there. Peace out Internet world!