Rachel came to visit during my last week off, over memorial day weekend. We had good weather for the most part during her visit which made enjoying the Folklife Festival much easier. We took in three out of four days of contra dancing and a baseball game.

First the contra dancing. There certainly were plenty of people to sweat and work up a thirst with. When I wasn't dancing with Rachel I ran into ladies from Seattle, Olympia, Portland, San Diego, and Colorado just to name a few. It was fun. There was quite a variety of skill levels which makes it easier for folks like me.

While they didn't have formal instructions beforehand, if only due to the logistics of getting 5 lines of 25-40 couples each to get "hands four" and so on, the folklife version of contra dancing lent itself to novices being able to jump in and give it a try. I really didn't mind so much, it was less stuffy that way. Still, somehow when you watched from the sides everything seemed quite synchronous--even if it didn't always feel that way in the more crowded parts in the middle.

There was also lots of music. It wasn't Sasquatch, but it was closer and I slept in my own bed every night :) Then there were crazy folksy types singing about not having kids to save the planet or about relationships ruining your political convictions and good stuff like that.

As for the baseball game, well, we lost. I will say that we put up an excellent fight against the reigning champs. I should have mentioned to Rachel that the Mariners always do well against the Red Sox. They went on to win that series, only losing the game we went to by two runs. It had been tied up until the 8th inning and Felix had been pitching very well, but he started getting banged around and the managers kept him in the game too long and things got out of hand. The team tried to rally in the 9th, but it was too little too late. Oh well. It isn't as if we're in the Pennant chase anymore!

There were other activities, but the week was finally over and we said our goodbyes and I went back to work, yet another crazy week of work! So now our thoughts are shifting further out into the summer and planning a trip to Wisconsin. Speaking of which, can you believe the Brewers this year? Who knew?

More to follow. See also my photoblog. I'll be adding a picture of the eagles nest on my way to work. I might go back on a nicer day, the pictures turned out really well, but it was overcast and the color is less than desirable. I'd like to catch it when the sun is higher in the sky too, maybe the baby eagle will be easier to spot in the nest that way.

Peace,

b

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Tristan Prettyman