Saturday highlights from Seattle, Washington:
Morning java at a downtown coffee shop with Tabasco. Meeting Michela, Tabasco’s friend who acts and sings and shared with us stories about her amnesiac nun character in the upcoming play, Nunsense. Lunch…homemade Tacos at Tabasco’s Mom’s house! Kathy and Stepdad Larry were a lot of fun! Taking the scenic route through Seattle. A special highlight of the day was our afternoon visit to the mother shop of all REI’s, the downtown Seattle store. We returned some gear and talked to various former coworkers who knew Tabasco when he worked at REI. We ran into four fellow thru-hikers while in the store. Freight Train, one of my hiking buddies in the High Sierra, Business Casual, a NOBO I hadn’t met, but know of, Gabe, and Cypress.
Cypress was the thru-hiker that had the allergic reaction in the Sierra that was down and out when I returned to the trail at Tuolomne Meadows, then I had to turn around to come back to Portland to let the foot continue healing. Cypress and I talked about his helicopter evacuation and I told him my story of struggle in my decision not to stop to check on him that day in July. We got a group photo of the six PCT thru-hikers in the store.
From there we went to Allison’s condo. Evening fish and chips and Seattle beer and great conversation with Tabasco’s friends, Allison, Sophia, Scott, and Beth was a lot of fun. We returned to the condo after 11pm to retire for the night. I got a 1:22am phone call from fellow hikers in Portland having a great party in a bar downtown…Psycho (Roger), Debi, her friend Vanessa, Brian from Alaska, Nabor J….they were having a blast, but it was so loud on their end of the cell phone connection that I had to speak loud into my phone…and woke Tabasco and Allison and the neighbors. Still…loved the phone call and our family connection.
