I arrived at SeaTac airport just as my family arrived, so there wasn’t much waiting on either side. Thankfully, they all seemed fairly happy to see me (it’d be problematic if they weren’t). My time with them was slower-paced than my time with friends in NYC, but considering how long the respective visits were, one would hope so. It’d be difficult to remain high energy for 14 days!
Anyways, one of the first things my family did was go fishing. Back in 1998 or 1999, my dad bought a small orange fishing boat since my older brothers loved to go fishing. I, on the other hand, was never that into fishing, but I always went along to cast out a line with my family and eat the snacks my mom would pack. Ironically, my sister, who can’t stand eating or touching fish, actually enjoys fishing.
I make a point of this because my dad took me, my brother and my sister onto American Lake (it’s a big lake next to Joint Base Lewis-McChord) in his fishing boat three times. The first time was a simple trip around the lake in order to scout out possible fishing locations. The other two times, we fished.
And when I say ‘we fished,’ I mean my dad, my brother and my sister fished. Although I went with them, I simply took a book with me and basked under the warm sun. The only ‘fishing’ I did was when my sister caught a fish, I had to take it off the hook. And my sister caught a LOT of fish (mostly small rock bass and the occasional small perch). Moreover, when she wanted to change lures, I was the one who would untie her current lure and tie a knot for her next one. Additionally, I helped my dad push the boat into the water and pull it back out when it was time to go home.
One evening we spent with my visit my grand-uncle in Bremerton, next to the naval base located there. We had dinner at Famous Dave's, and afterwards, we chatted outside his home as the sun set. I had a perfect view of Mt. Rainier as well.
A couple days later, my sister, my dad and I visited the historic part of Port Townsend. We went inside some of the shops, and I even bought some ground hickory and ground mesquite to bring back with me to Russia. Next to the spice shop, there was an oil and vinegar store that sold different flavors of oil and vinegar. For example, there was chipotle-infused olive oil and basil-infused vinegar. I mention these two stores because the three of us found them the most interesting. Before returning home, we had a pleasant lunch on the docks.
Speaking of spices, that was one small task I had. I’m helping out some acquaintances at the Museum of Spice in St. Petersburg so I actually went to some different stores around my parents’ house to buy samples of typical American and Caribbean spices (i.e. Jerk seasoning, Applewood BBQ rub, etc.). I’d like to think I mostly succeeded.
But most importantly, I was able to attend some sports games. My dad took us to a Mariners game (the Mariners beat the Tigers 6-5 in extra innings) and a Sounders game (unfortunately, the Sounders lost 1-0 to the Rapids).
What was really cool about the Sounders game was that my dad and I were sitting in the supporters section of the stadium, so I spent all 94 minutes of game-time yelling and clapping and singing. After watching several Zenit games and seeing how much fun it was in the fan zone, I was dying to try it out. I just happened to get lucky that I got to do it with the Emerald City Supporters during the match. We even participated in the pre-game ‘March to the Match’ and watched the Sounders band play.
