Birth Days...

Picking peas my hands mingle in the tangles of tendrils sprawled across hanging fishing nets. I seek out the slim green crescent pods, some the length of my middle finger, sometimes longer sometimes shorter. While picking I spy the fairies of the pea patch. Their tiny wings fluttering like those of hummingbirds stationed at a feeder, their heads crowned with the purplish blue hues of the flowering pea, giggling among the rounded leaves hiding my harvest from me. Behind me the Reds cluck and churkle as they scratch the ground for groceries. In the morning there will be an egg or two for breakfast.

Dave is in Blaine Washington working on the new Peace Arch, between the Canadian/US border. This is his second week up there- tarring, roofing, building through the sun and rain. I have stayed behind in Port Townsend catching up with friends I would not have been able to see except for Dave's exodus. His work is an unexpected blessing for both our friends and our coffers.

It is hard to believe we have only been traveling for 14 days, having left Bend on the 23rd of June, it feels longer. Having stored our past in boxes and chosen the minimum for our future life has become uncomplicated, back to the basics, and fun. It feels natural as if this has always been our lifestyle. I am reminded of Henry David Thoreau and the simplicity of his life at Walden. He once said,

"As you simlify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude; poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness."

Dave and I spent our July 4th weekend with my mother at her timeshare in Discovery Bay, Washington. Originally the three of us were to be together all week (June 28 - July 5) celebrating Mom's 75th birthday and the Nation's 233rd, but as plans go life got in the way and Dave left for the border as I stayed with Mom and the trailer. It was the longest we had ever been apart and yet, with modern technology, we were able to text and talk every morning and each evening before bed, sharing our days adventures with each other. I have always been a person that desires solitude, my "me time", and now I had been given five days of it. After always being around each other in the trailer Dave was gone. I used my time, but always he was tugging at my thoughts, and what I realized was it wasn't my solitude I craved, I got that even when he was around. I missed the together time, the walking- talking- holding hands times when he wanted to know what kind of bird he just saw or the identity of a plant we passed, snuggling while watching movies, or just being in the same space with him even if we're doing our own things. I never understood how much a person could be a part of me until now.

This of course made his return and the holiday weekend so much better! By lunch on Friday we were doing errands in Sequim and then took off for Port Angeles for a "Twilight Tour". Parts of Stephanie Meyer's book takes place in this port town and we visited each location sending photos back to Tyler. We even tried to eat at the same restaurant Bella and Edward had their first date in, Bella Italia, sadly it wasn't open. On our way back to Discovery Bay we blew a tire...more like an EXPOSION! We limped to an open area off the road and with the assistance from an officer and a park ranger we were able to get the spare on and head back to Sequim for a new pair of front traction tires. Better now than on the road hooked to the trailer.

Saturday saw us up early watching the otters play in the bay over breakfast, caught the women's Wimbletdon Championships Williams vs. Williams, and then head into Port Townsend for a historical walking tour and a letterbox! Fiddle Tunes were in full jam at Fort Worden as we walked through the forest toward North Beach. We even checked out the farmers market making our way home with the taste of fresh Washington strawberries in our mouths and the sounds of summer ringing in our ears. The rest of this glorious day was spent on Indian Island searching for treasure and exploring the beaches. Absolutely beautiful, and the hottest Independence Day in 31 years to boot. We would never have discovered this lovely area had it not been for letterboxing :) That evening we laid in bed listening to the BOOMs of the fireworks as they rained down over the bay. I got up and stood on the balcony watching red, silver, blue and green sparkles fall like stars from the sky, while below on the docks little voices mingled with big voices caught up in the ageless excitement of the night.