bjarvis | Home Again

All good things must eventually end and our weekend in Seattle has indeed ended.

tdjohnsn,

rlegters and the Puddletown Squares are no doubt wrapping up final administrivia related to their fly-in,

cuyahogarvr is back in Cleveland we’re back in Washington, DC.

kent4str,

cuyahogarvr and

rlegters in Pioneer Square, Seattle:

I’ve sorted the majority of my photos but still need some assistance on tagging some of them with proper names… I hope to have the lot on my website shortly.

The weekend as a whole was quite an adventure. We unwittingly booked a hotel room on the outskirts of Seattle; the fly-in itself was held in three different locations in rotation. We even did a little site-seeing and shopping on the side. In all, we saw areas of Seattle we hadn’t previously and have a much better grasp of the major arteries and streets. Every time I’m there, I learn to love the place a little bit more.

Our rented Chevy HHR was an interesting beast. Yeah, it looks like a Nazi staff car but it was a smooth ride, had comfortable seats and was light on fuel consumption. It would have been a flawless automotive experience if SeaTak airport wasn’t such a driving nightmare due to construction and Hertz had bothered to properly mark their rental car return area, but such is life.

The Days Inn was geographically undesirable but was itself comfortable and well kept; there was a billing issue when we checked in –the check-in rate wasn’t the promised rate on our reservation—but the management corrected that before we checked out Monday morning. Our only regret there was not making it to the A&W next door for milkshakes any time this weekend –alas!

I didn’t actually dance a whole lot, but I have no regrets. I recorded some of Anne’s fun C1 choreography for transcription and study –I always love a chance to learn some new tricks from experienced square dance veterans—and my own calling sessions were a wonderful experience for me. I find I don’t dance much at any fly-ins anymore: we’re usually very involved with the organizers of the event and spend a large block of time helping with transportation, last minute purchases, hall set-up and clean-up, etc.. I don’t regret this in the slightest, though. I’m a facilitator and enabler by default so being useful behind the scenes is just as enriching and fulfilling as being active as a participant.

We missed the Puddletown Squares’ potluck on Saturday in favour of dinner with

kent4str’s brother & sister-in-law who drove up from Portland to see us. I can’t remember the name of the place but it was a Chinese restaurant up the street from the Phinney Community Center. The lemon chicken was a bit disappointing but the other dishes were fantastic.

Dinner at La Spiga Sunday evening was an adventure too. It’s a restaurant specializing in northern Italian cuisine; the menu was arranged into courses and sharing of dishes family style was heartily encouraged. A number of platters were being passed around continuously, each entrée or appetizer pleasantly arranged and even better tasting; even the recommended wine was well appreciated by our table’s connaisseurs (I’m didn’t partake… alcohol isn’t my thing and I was driving anyway). Our little crowd of seven left very full and satisfied.

The only downside to the overall weekend was that it was, of course, a Puddletown Squares fly-in so

tdjohnsn and

rlegters were in constant motion gradually becoming more exhausted as the weekend rolled along. We knew this would likely be the case, however, just as we were working hard with our Harper’s Ferry Hoedown last November when they come to DC for a visit. We’ll be rooming with them again in Cleveland for the 2008 IAGSDC convention in July so we’ll have more quality time then.

This is also the last time we’ll be saying good-bye to

cuyahogarvr… the next time he comes to Washington, DC, it will be to stay for good. His worldly belongings should be shipped to our place next week and he’ll be moved in with us (although probably still living out of boxes) within 10 days. Whee!

We have no additional calling engagements until next Monday’s Mainstream class. In the interim, I have to get the accounting for this weekend caught up, including checks deposited and expenses recorded. Heaven knows what will be waiting for us in our mailbox when we get home.

We also want to get an additional license for Vic Ceder’s square dance software since it is likely we’ll be using separate equipment simultaneously in future. I want to shop for a newer microphone, one which better matches my vocal range. I have Anne’s C1 to transcribe & study, and there’s always A2 and C1 material to compose when spare time allows. I also have a handful of singing calls for which I need to redraft the lyrics –either they’re inappropriate for our group but have a lovely melody in my range or the cue sheet simply has no lyrics whatsoever.

In short, there’s a laundry list of things to do (including laundry) while I’m still supposed to be holding down a fulltime job. At least our weeknights are free this week, although we might run over to dance to Skip Cleland’s A2 with the Zig Zaggers this Friday night if we’re ambitious.