Zest for Life: Seattle, Dad in Town, Patriotic Concert

Fun fact: I'm at an amazingly delicious frozen yogurt place in Portland right now (seriously, I think it may very well be the best frozen yogurt I've ever had) but I've told myself that I can't eat any until I've finished three blog posts. And now I'm on my third one. Almost there! That being said, I still am really excited to write this post, because this was an awesome week.

Awesome, with one exception - Dallin wasn't in town. He's required to take two five-day trips as part of his internship. It's always really hard when he's gone, so I decided do something that would keep my mind off of his being gone. I decided to go on a road trip to Seattle!

Hello, Seattle!

One of my favorite mission companions lives about thirty minutes out of Seattle. When we were companions she'd always tell me about how awesome the Pacific Northwest is and how I needed to visit her after we got back. It was really exciting to call her up and make that dream from years ago become a reality!

There was only hiccup in the plan - at the time, I was part of a church/community orchestra that was putting on a concert THAT WEEK. That meant that there would be not one, but two rehearsals on Tuesday and Thursday that week. Instead of shortening my Seattle trip to a day and a half (Monday to Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday to Thursday afternoon), I decided to make two day-and-a-half-long trips. And it was fantastic. I loved seeing Laura in her "natural habitat" - she's staying with a wonderful family who have completely welcomed her into their home and into their hearts. They are all also very musical, so it was fun for me to talk shop with them. Laura took me to all of the sights that she possibly could in our few hours together - sightseeing locations, good food locations, good hike locations, and of course Chinatown. I loved spending time with her - she is a great friend and an even greater example. Love you, Laura!

Waterfall hike near Mt. Rainier

Laura in her element

Yet another hike

(Notice the french braid - slowly getting better at different hairstyles!)

Beautiful friends and beautiful scenery

On Friday I picked up my dad from the airport. He had spent the two weeks prior in India and Thailand on a business trip. His flight home from Thailand went through Portland, so being the wonderful man that he is, he stopped here for a few days to spend some time with me. I loved it! The poor man had just gotten off of a flight from Tokyo - he told me that he'd slept maybe six hours over the past seventy-two. Nevertheless, he wanted to go and see the sights. I took him to beautiful Wahclellah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge - it was breathtaking. And of course my dad captured its beauty with his camera:

Glad that we could get a picture together, even if it was a selfie.

I'm also glad I could get a picture of him!

Next, we were off to Multnomah Falls. They are spectacular, and they're right off of the freeway! We decided to do a hike up to the top that was only about 3 miles long roundtrip but was also about 97% switchbacks. I was a little worried watching my poor dad climb up the steep trail. He not only made it, but he captured some beautiful photos as well:

Then it was off to picking up Dallin from the airport. I'd been pretty fortunate up until this point at avoiding Portland traffic - unfortunately, my luck completely ran out when I was picking up Dallin with my dad. It was awful. Thankfully we got through it (I seriously doubted that we would) and took off - the three of us - to Vancouver for my performance.

The concert was a patriotic concert for choir and orchestra. It was my first time playing in an orchestra for a couple of years, and I'd forgotten how much I missed it. Playing with the Portland Choir and Orchestra really has strengthened my resolve to try and play in a community orchestra next year. Anyway, the concerts went really well (there were three performances). I was perfectly situated so that I could see the faces of most of the audience members. The most touching/memorable parts of the concerts for me were from looking at the faces of those who were obviously touched by the performance. That's not something you get as a conductor. I especially enjoyed seeing the faces of different veterans. Their expressions were mingled with so many emotions - happiness, pride, and excitement, yes, but also sadness, melancholy and solemnity. I can't imagine what it would be like to be a member of the armed forces, but I know I got a closer glimpse from watching these veterans' faces.

The concert

Dallin and my dad came to the last performance - they slept during the first one and went to a cool farmers market with crafts and food (and a random clown that Dallin completely missed) during the second.

The clown (you can see why Dallin was surprised he didn't see her there)

Additional perk of Oregon: gorgeous roses

I'll talk more about blackberries in a later post.

As mentioned in a previous post, we went to the beach with my dad on Saturday morning. It was pretty early when we got there and the beach was almost empty. I love moments like those where your relationship with nature is on an individual basis. It was beautiful.

We also managed to go to a classic Portland place: Salt & Straw ice cream. Their unique flavors are often a blend of savory sweet. We were lucky and made it at a time where the line was unusually short - about a 30 minute wait time! But the ice cream was totally worth it. I got the almond brittle and sea salt caramel flavor. Deliciousness.