The View from a Drawbridge

It’s a rare thing in life when everything comes together just right to create a perfect day. I had one of those recently. It was my day off. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was 70 degrees out. No humidity. It was almost as if there were no atmosphere to contend with at all. I felt neither hot nor cold. And I had the opportunity to spend the day out of doors. Bliss.

I had an errand to run in downtown Seattle, and rather than grouse about the outrageous cost of parking, I decided to combine that errand with a visit to the Olympic Sculpture Park. As with many of the parks in this city, this one comes with a spectacular view. It overlooks Puget Sound, and across the water you can see Bainbridge Island with the stunning, snow-capped Olympic Mountains in the background. This view alone would have been enough to satisfy me. I could have watched the ferries and container ships passing by all day long. But to add to the beauty, there are also sculptures and wildflowers.

My photos don’t do this park justice, but here they are:

After wandering amongst the sculptures for about an hour, I simply sat down on a bench and gazed at the mountains with a stupid grin on my face. I’d probably still be there except that eventually I got hungry. So I wandered down the street to the docks and had lunch at Paddy Coyne’s Irish Pub.

I love it when I ask for ginger ale at a pub and they say they don’t have it, but they can make it. Make it they did, and it was the best ginger ale I’ve had in a long time. I sat outside and savored it while I waited for my Irish Style Potato Skins, which were filled with “savory Shepherd’s pie meat, Tillamook white cheddar cheese, sour cream and green onion.” My mouth is watering just thinking about it. And because this is Seattle, after all, I was told that it was gluten-free.

If there is ever a massive epidemic and I’m one of the few who survive, I am moving into that pub and claiming the sculpture park as my front yard. I think that’s one of my more brilliant ideas. Then I could look out the window and remember a perfect day I had once in 2015, and smile.