[pf] My vacation (long)

by tully

06 December 2000 07:53 UTC

Not sure why, but until today, I was unable to post to this group when I 
tried this week.  I could see everyone else's messages, but my posts kept 
bouncing.  Luckily David M helped me and put me onto Tom Gray, who fixed 
everything.  My grateful thanks to Tom and David.

I wanted to tell everyone about the vacation I just had.  If you have any 
tendency to think that things happen for a reason, you may appreciate the 
story.  I'm still trying to come to terms with it all...

A couple of months ago, I was able to determine a time where the work 
crunch would subside, so I scheduled a 2 week vacation for the week before 
and the week during Thankgiving.  Since Eric was in school the first week, 
I just planned to goof off, since work had been too intense (though great 
fun), with too much overtime, I was making mistakes, and I needed down time 
badly.  Eric's last day of school was Tuesday during Thankgiving week and 
we planned to spend time in Manhattan, hoping it wouldn't be as cloudy as 
last year where we couldn't even see the ground from the top of the World 
Trade Center.  We'd spend the weekend with family in Annapolis and then 
come home.

The Thursday before my vacation started, an email friend from Australia 
(we'd corresponded sporadically for years) let me know she was visiting 
friends on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.  I knew she had 
people in Illinois and I asked if she planned to go there, since I could 
possibly drive there and meet her.  On Friday she said that she couldn't 
make it east this time, but could I make it to the peninsula?  She knew, 
and I think I've mentioned here, how much I love that peninsula and that I 
intend to move there once I get Eric thru high school.  As fate would have 
it, there I was, completing months worth of 60-100 hour work weeks, with 
the next week free with no plans.   Everything just fell into place to 
allow me to make the trip.  Eric was able to stay with his dad all week, 
the internet yielded me good flights and a Geo Metro car rental, and all 
was easily arranged on Saturday to fly out Monday morning.

Only problem was that first thing Monday morning, I still had no email from 
my friend saying how to find or contact her.  Going back thru her old email 
I found that her friends might be living on the Squaxin Island Indian 
reservation, and since exploring my beloved peninsula would itself be 
better than any imaginable vacation, I figured even if I didn't find my 
Ozzie friend, that would be a regrettable but acceptable loss.

So there I was, leaving North Carolina at  705am EST and at 1230pm PST 
getting into a Geo Metro heading toward the reservation, without any idea 
what I could do to find my friend once I got there.  Again fate lent a hand 
and on the main highway was a sign for the Tribal Center pointing me in a 
possible direction to try.  The girl at the desk didn't know the names I 
mentioned, but allowed me to hook my laptop up to see if I'd gotten an 
email yet.  I hadn't...  As I was trying to figure out what to do next, she 
told me to pick up the phone, that she had someone who might be able to 
help me and sure enough, I ended up with a phone number.  I called and was 
told they wouldn't be home for a few hours yet.  I did some sight seeing 
(anywhere on the peninsula is worth seeing IMO) and took a motel in Olympia 
that night.  When I found they still weren't back, I left my motel phone 
number.  Right after waking the next morning, the phone rang and this 
marvelous Ozzie accent greets me!  I got directions and finally met my 
friend and the people she was staying with.

I expected to get along well with my email friend, but I didn't expect the 
immediate connection I made with her "family" there.  We talked for hours 
and when I made moves to leave, they asked that I stay and have supper with 
them and then that I stay the night in a spare bed they had.  I did and we 
stayed up late talking about all sorts of fascinating things.  I was 
introduced to the drumming songs they do as part of a tribal group and was 
allowed to play with them.  The next day I got to see the new longhouse 
being built for a museum on the reservation, at the very beginning of the 
build with only the main logs in place and part of the roof 
installed.  That evening I met the Chief of the Hoh Nation and his wife who 
were also spending the nite and the whole group stayed up for hours 
talking.  The next day the daughter and I did half the peninsula loop to 
see Hurricane Ridge, and the talk was non-stop and intense the whole 
way.  The next night found the Chief of the Wenatchee Makah and his wife 
staying the nite and it was another very late night talking, singing, and 
drumming til we all dropped from exhaustion.  My email friend and I drove 
to the La Push reservation (i'd never been there) to visit a friend of 
hers, stopping by Quinault on the way to see my favorite spot on the 
peninsula, which turned out to be the same place on a trail where the 
people we were staying with were married.  At La Push, we visited, got a 
tour, and then got a great efficiency motel room (at Indian rates!) right 
on the ocean.  The next morning we had breakfast with our friend and then 
were off to the Makah reservation at Neah Bay and its museum, and then 
around the rest of the loop past Crescent Lake, back toward Olympia, 
talking the whole time, getting home late.  You might understand that by 
this point, it was really feeling like home to me.  Sunday nite was very 
hard since I knew I had to leave the next day and I did not want to 
go.  Here I was in a spot that for years had been calling me, experiencing 
the most intense community life I'd ever experienced, with some of the 
warmest, most fascinating people I'd ever met, and I was to leave?  I 
couldn't sleep and darned if each person didn't spend some extra time with 
me until around 4am, the last of us finally couldn't keep eyes open any 
longer.  Leaving at 10am Monday morning was one of the hardest things I've 
ever done.

The flights to the west had been on time, but the flights back were both 
late.  I didn't get home until 1 am.  The next nite at 1am, Eric and I got 
in my Geo Metro and drove all night (well, almost, since I needed to sleep 
an hour on the other side of Baltimore before i could continue on) and got 
to Manhattan around noon and immediately got to the top of the World Trade 
center for a spectacular view in all directions for miles.  The City View 
Hotel (in Queens) yielded us 2 nights of rooms on the manhattan view side, 
even though the internet said rooms there were unavailable.  We watched the 
Macy's parade atop the Empire State Building, saw Times Square fully lit 
Thanksgiving nite, walked around the site of the 1963-64 World's Fair at 
Flushing Meadows, which still has the Unisphere and the circle towers (of 
"Men in Black" fame), with the elevators still there, parked at the 
top.  It was like visiting an archeological ruin since it has apparently 
been untouched since that time.  I'd been twice to that Fair as a young 
teenager and it seemed strange to remember it like I did.  There is a 
highway there that I don't remember, but I was amazed how the entire area 
is still open parkland in that high rent district.  It could again house a 
World's Fair.  From there to visit family in Annapolis and then home 
Monday, where Eric went to school Tuesday and I went back to work Wednesday.

Does anyone else see the incredible contrasts I was dealing with in those 
two weeks?  From the farthest west amidst spires of firs to the far east 
amidst spires of granite.  From one of the poorest, least populated 
wilderness areas to the richest, most densely populated urban area.  25 
years ago, I had experienced wonderful community in manhattan when I spent 
7 days with my beloved grandmother who lived on East 46th Street.  Each 
evening fascinating people came to visit and my grandmother was known by 
name in so many of the tiny and intriguing shops there.  My grandmother 
moved from Manhattan to Annapolis 15 years ago, passing on 2 years ago and 
I no longer know anyone in Manhattan well enough to feel comfortable 
visiting them.  So I felt quite isolated this time, though I will always 
love manhattan because my grandmother taught me to love it and because of 
my happy experiences there.  I have always loved the Olympic Peninsula, 
from the first time I visited there about the same 25 years ago, but never 
knew anyone there.  In this last visit, entering as a complete stranger, I 
became part of a vibrant community life, and have a place I am always 
welcome to stay.  The emails to my new "family" have been steadily 
increasing in size and tonite the daughter called me on the phone which 
will be the beginning of that form of contact I'm sure.  It was so good to 
hear her voice, since I am having trouble believing that it wasn't all some 
sort of dream.  We are all talking about what I need to do to get moved out 
there.

The story continues.  On the second day back to work after my vacation, out 
of the blue, my boss comes over (we rarely talk) and says his wife has 
started telecommuting, he thinks it makes alot of sense, and that I ought 
to consider doing it if I'm interested since my job lends itself to such an 
arrangement.  Interested??  Its a dream of mine!  He says the company will 
pay for a second phone line and help in any other financial way to make it 
work!  How can anyone be this frigging lucky??  That was the last piece of 
the puzzle.  All I gotta do is show that this will work for the benefit of 
the company and then I'm free to work anywhere I can have 2 phone lines and 
a local ISP!  I will have no problem making it work since I've stayed home 
several times in the past and have managed to get much more work done since 
I can concentrate better in the quiet.  I have the phone company scheduled 
to put the second line in this Friday.  The boss is now telling everyone 
that I am the "guinea pig" to test telecommuting!  He even knows how 
interested I am in moving west!

I just can't believe what has happened in the last 3 weeks.  Things just 
came together like it was some sort of vortex in time.  I mean, something 
has been calling me to go to that peninsula for years now.  It has been 
getting more intense all the time.  I didn't really consider doing it while 
I was married since my husband didn't want to be so far from family.  But 
he left me 3 years ago...    Something is trying to be sure I make it out 
there and it must be that something important is in store for me there.  I 
wonder what it could be.  But for now I'll just have to enjoy pondering 
this magnificent mystery of life.  It is awesome.

Sorry this was so long (trust me, I could go on) but I thought you all 
might be interested in this story.  It shows a positive-future for me, and 
maybe for others as well.  With its implications toward intentional 
community, telecommuting, and just plain love, I think it indicates real 
hope for all of us.

----
tully