Travels with Ari – Day 5 – Ann

Ann here: As you know, we arrived at Erin’s in Seattle on Day 4, June 4. Since then, it has been a busy social and work time for me. Plus resting to recover from the drive!

On Friday evening, we had carry-out sushi with Erin’s friend since first grade, Dr. Kate. We sat on the balcony in sunny 65 degrees, enjoyed the view and talked. I really enjoy her company. She is smart and a leader in her field.

On Saturday Day 5, I got a good tour of Erin’s house and what her plans are for each room. The townhouse is lovely with an incredible view of the Olympic Mountains (when its not cloudy of course). I can see why she fell in love with it!

There are tons of trees, flowers and birds all around. Her cat, Isis, loves watching all the action.

Around lunchtime, Erin’s boyfriend, Brett, and his dog Appa. came over. Brett is charming and chatty, full of information about Seattle, since he used to be a tour guide here. I enjoy him very much. He and Erin seem quite happy together.

The 4 of us went for a walk to the Woodland Park Rose Garden which is half mile away. The roses were is full bloom, beautiful and fragrant. And it was gratifying to read the signs that talked about the sustainable soil management practices they use that don’t require pesticides. Lawns have wild flowers in them and weren’t just grass. And most open areas were fully wildflowers vs. grass.

Appa is now over a year old and calming down, a bit. Though he is still quite curious and energetic.

He surprised us at one point and made us all laugh. As we were looking at a beautiful raised pond with coy and water lilies, Appa, who couldn’t see what we were looking at, took a running leap right up on the ledge and right into the water. He didn’t realize it was going to be water so was quite surprised when he went in over his head. He has never been swimming before so now has his first experience.

Delicious carryout tamales topped off the day. It was a wonderful welcome to Seattle!