Lemon cake and pirates

One of the things Jim wanted to do when we got to the Seattle area was visit a friend he met in Yakima:  Geoff.

Jim and Geoff have known each other since junior high, both went to the University of Washington, and lived in the same boarding house while Jim briefly worked in Seattle.

They’ve been in touch off and on over the years but hadn't talked in quite a while until Geoff tracked Jim down about their 45th high school reunion.  They’ve talked on the phone several times since they got back in touch, and Jim wanted to see him.  So on this trip we had the chance.

Geoff and his wife, Gail, live in Alki , a peninsula in west Seattle on the Puget Sound, and have a view of the sound and the Olympic Mountains from their home.  Geoff and Gail are both artistic; their home features metal work and photographs taken by Geoff, and Gail is a print production manager for a large public relations firm.  

They treated us to a wonderful lunch and an afternoon tea with lemon cake.  And Gail took us on a walk through the lush, wooded Smitz Preserve Park to Alki Beach. The beach was crowded with with sun bathers and even a few people braving the always-cold water of the Sound.  Alki looks like a fun town; for example, the day before we’d arrived the 63rd “Seafair Pirates Landing” was held, where dozens of pirate impersonators (or maybe they were real pirates for all I know) stormed the beach.

Thank you Geoff and Gail.  (And Gail, if you read this:  I’ve almost finished the book you recommended, “The Year We Left Home.”)

Gail taking photos of the guys on Geoff and Gail's front porch. 

Gail, Geoff and Jim.