Another fantastic day under my belt. I’m really bummed out that I have to go back home tomorrow. I’ve been having such a wonderful time up here. Then again, I did last time as well. Maybe it’s just the vacation factor, but Seattle really seems to call to me. Not as much as New York did, but I definitely feel at ease here.

Uncle Mike and I went over to Tacoma this morning to walk around on the waterfront. We went to a restaurant called The Ram and had coffee and appetizers shortly before noon. The view from the deck of this restaurant was breathtaking. And it was cold! Ok, maybe a Washington native wouldn’t say it was cold, but it was cold to me, and I loved it. We walked up the shore for a while, and then we went to a place called Johnny’s Seafood to pick up some Salmon for the barbecue we were having later that day. The man who runs the store recommended the white salmon, which I had never seen or tasted before (and Uncle Mike doesn’t eat fish). We took the suggestion and figured it was worth the risk because it cost less than the regular kind. I also got a small cup of Clam Chowder there that was one of the best bowls of chowder that I’ve ever had the pleasure of sampling. When Uncle Mike went to pay for the salmon, he realized that he had left his credit card at the restaurant. Fortunately, when he went back, the waiter had the credit card and everything turned out ok. Uncle Mike has apparently had his credit card stolen and used twice before, so he was obviously a bit distressed at the possibility of it happening again.

Shortly after we got back home, Talulabelle from the Bad Girl Swirl called me and we arranged a meeting for that afternoon. She came and picked me up at Uncle Mike’s house and then took me back to Tacoma for a tour of the town that she loves so much. And she really does! It was interesting to see her talk with such passion about her home town. I don’t get nearly that excited about St. Petersburg. She showed me where she works, the Glass Museum, the downtown theater district, and this really cool shop called “What?” where she bought me a 45 dollar Spider-Man shirt. I couldn’t believe it! I had a wonderful time with her, and we were both sad that my stay was so short because she kept thinking of cool things she could show me in the area (including the Troll that Ms. Communication insisted that I should see). Uncle Mike had invited her to stay for dinner with us that night, but she was understandably awkward around a whole bunch of people she did not know, and bowed out of the meal. I can’t say I was thrilled to see her go, but I certainly understood it. She’s coming down here in October to go to Disney World, and if she can get away for a day I’m thinking of seeing if Pandora would like to pick her up and bring her over to St. Petersburg and we can have a party or something. Because you know I’ll use any excuse for a party.

After Talulabelle left, we had a really nice barbecue with my cousins Jennifer and Justin, Jennifer’s husband Craig and her daughter Clarissa. I really don’t know my cousins all that well, but it was a lot of fun hanging out and talking with them. Jennifer insists that I’m a male counterpart to her sister Julie, so I’m really interested in meeting her some time. It would be strange to see how I would have come out in female form.

After the rest of the family left, Uncle Mike and I went to another waterfront tavern called Salty’s and had a few irish coffees. While we were there drinking, we got to see some divers swimming under the docks with their flashlights searching the surface of the sound for something. I’m not sure what they were looking for a 11:00 PM on a Saturday night, but it was very pretty to watch them do so.

The only real disappointment that I have this time around was not getting to see Athena. Athena was Aunt Marueen’s foster child for a brief period when she was quite young. We got along really well during my visit last year, and I was kind of looking forward to seeing her and catching up. She has, apparently, gotten back into drugs (for the umpteenth time) and the McGreevy’s here aren’t very fond of her at the moment. She did call once (they apparently still babysit her daughter Jasmine on a regular basis), but Uncle Mike specifically did not tell her that I was here. He knows she would have been over here and all about spending time with me, and he did not want that. As I say, I’m a little disappointed in that (I really thought she was a cool person, and I was sad to hear she was using again), but I understand his feelings. They’ve done a lot for Athena, and she seems to continually piss on their good intentions. I guess I’d get a little burned over that as well.

Ok, it’s off to bed. I’m flying home tomorrow. Unfortunately.