Last day in Kingston (sigh)

You may be wondering why I'm posting so early this evening -- as I write, it's only 6:06 p.m. I suspect I will be going to bed, or at least getting horizontal, earlier than usual this evening.

The day started off quietly enough, with leisurely breakfast and hanging out looking into Airbnb possibilities for LA. In the late a.m., Nancy and I headed out to see the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. It's a work in progress but already has some very moving pieces. Stated in several places: Let this not ever happen again -- or words to that effect. We talked about how fearful people were after Pearl Harbor, and the fact that there were some Japanese Americans who were signaling Japanese aircraft, etc. Just as now there are some few Muslim Americans who may hold hostile views toward Americans and intend to do us harm. And yet, especially now with better information processing, we must learn not to condemn a large group of people because of the (potential) actions of a few.

After the Memorial, we went to the art museum in beautiful downtown Winslow (still on Bainbridge Island). The museum had a fundraiser last night, so only one of the galleries was open as they cleaned up. We saw a very interesting exhibit about art books -- book which use the art of the very structure of the book to enhance the content. Fascinating.

I loved this, because I was just responding to a post the other day about how mistakes sometimes help us create unexpected beauty.

A beautiful cloth book about food and the dangers our culture exposes us to through it.

After the museum, Nancy and I had a very nice meal at the cafe adjoining the museum. We had talked about a trip to Mount Walker, but she wanted to check with Dick about weather before we set out, so she called him. His verdict was, "Let's go," so we went back to the house and changed clothes. 

Mount Walker is about an hour from their home in Kingston, much of it back up the way I've been going to Port Townsend and Port Angeles. When we turned off from the familiar route, though, we passed through some very beautiful, wild areas. We drove to the top of Mount Walker, which has two observation points, one to the south and one to the north. Dick took my picture at the south overlook, and I'll post it when I get it from him, but I don't know if you'll be able to see much in the background. What we could see was everything -- all the waterways between Mt Walker and Seattle, and the towns: Poulsbo, Port Gamble, etc. We could even see the white line of buildings of SeaTac airport. And the color was mesmerizing. If it hadn't been for the family enjoying the view with much loud music and noisy chatter, I could have stayed there much longer just soaking it in. As it was, we moved on to the north view.

The north side gave us a view of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, pretty much the area where I went whale watching last week. The sky was kind of overcast, but the clouds were high enough not to impair our distance view much. After we had admired the view, Nancy drove the car down to a parking area at the trailhead; and Dick and I embarked on the downward hike, 2000 feet in 2 miles. 

I sure wish I was still in Kung Fu and Tai Chi shape. My quads were not screaming exactly, but giving up, by the time we got about 2/3 of the way down. We stopped briefly at a hairpin turn, and I realized my legs were trembling. As we continued, I became less and less confident that my quads would help me brake on the downward grade. Nancy hiked up a short way from the parking area, and after I took a tumble, she grabbed the back of my jacket on the descents to help me brake, and thus I made it back to the car. 

I have rolled on the roam roller and taken some homeopathic aids, as well as doctored up a scrape on my elbow. I'm really not too worried about it. It's been a while since I worked hard enough to result in sore muscles. If that's what happens tomorrow or the next day, it's not a big deal. This, too, shall pass. And Dianna, whom I'm visiting tomorrow, said something about a hot tub! That sounds like just the ticket. 

So now you know why I'll be heading to bed early tonight, after another of Nancy's wonderful meals!