After picking up the 6 bags of stuff off the first carousel, then putting them back on another conveyor belt to the main terminal and getting them off again at the other end (fun!) we were ready for dinner at the cheesecake factory. Kira's friends were all there with Americana (a hat and flag for me), so I didn't think that was the best time to tell them I was there to reconquer, and instead sat down to a quart of stella and a burger the size of my head, followed by a cheesecake that seemed to have been made in the mould of a mid-size iron.
The next day was uneventful (getting over jetlag... going for a run.. honest I did!) then we went to point 1 on the moving over list - buy a car. Having never bought a car in the UK (nor driven one...) this was always going to be interesting, but when I looked at prices my reaction was to go into shock. Even with the dollar/pound conversion things seemed excessive - probably due to the size of cars which are uniformly much bigger. We drove a hard bargain though, and ended up with a decent deal on a Honda Civic Hybrid, which should apparently get us about 44 miles to the gallon. Nice! All that wheeler dealing left us tired and hungry so it was off to a BBQ that night, where I had a lovely steak and Kira had a garden burger (vegetarians... what are they thinking?!?!)
Saturday was the 4th of July. Again I chickened out on telling the yanks that I am the advance party (there were a lot of them) but I am slowly building up the courage. On their part they made an impressive show of force with their fireworks. I had never seen organised fireworks in the US, and they were amazing. They make our normal 5th November stuff look pitiful, and the millenium fireworks in London look like a backyard catherine wheel. Unreal.
Back down to earth on Sunday with house-hunting. Real estate in Seattle is very different to London style. The ones we saw had much older fixtures and fittings in kooky apartment buildings with very limited parking (in a city that depends on the car). Apparently it is normal to feel like this after only seeing a few properties, and some things are cosmetic and can be changed, but we feel a bit shortchanged on London style at the moment...
Before it sounds like I am on a complete downer I should say that all this is tempered by the fact that Seattle is beautiful. Heart stoppingly beautiful. The views are stunning and there is greenery everywhere on a scale that you just don't get in the UK. So come out and visit - just make sure you get travel insurance or you may never be able to leave!
We are thrilled to have Dave and Kira in Seattle. They are having wonderful weather which is a blessing and a great way to ease into the London type winter in November. Dave is learning to eat hamburgers American style (with your hands only) although I must confess that he sometimes has trouble getting hold of the whole bun and getting it into his mouth (we have somewhat larger portions here). Note to Dave: A photo would be good!
ReplyDeleteDave, in his enthusiasm to take back the "colony", apparently has forgotten that there are enough guns in this country for every one of the 300 million citizens, and that's before you include the army, the navy, the air force, the marines, the coast guard, the city, state and federal police. Anyone fancy his chances?
I am very much enjoying having them stay in my home. It's an easy going arrangement with few expectations on either side - so far so good. Given the prices of homes, they may be here for years, but who's counting? No, really, it's been great, especially knowing that they are not leaving to go "home" in a week or two. That is something I have not yet adjusted to. It still feels like one of their visits.
Anyway, I encourage friends, especially in the U.K., to post a comment on this blog.It keeps the contact going and, I hope, will engender a wonderfully lively exchange of outrageous musings that I think are less prevalent here.
Steve (Kira's dad)
Men of Harlech?....Rule Britania?....God Save the Queen?.....nope...now its
ReplyDeleteThe Star-Spangled Banner
O! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
(I think Dave should memorize this and there will be an exam next time I see him) We all miss Kira and Dave here in the UK, although I say this from Canada. (I think we are a global community anyway.)
Tears come to my eyes! Thank you for sharing your blog with us. I hope the heat wave ends soon. Although those long humid evenings sitting in a cafe can be rather memorable...at least in the middle of winter.
ReplyDelete