Life embrace

It was the hugs.

When I decided that it was good time for Baby1 and me to take our first mother-daughter trip together, and that it would be to Seattle at the opposite end of the continental US (no, we don't do things small here) I planned out just about every step. The people we'd meet up with, and when we'd meet up with them. The Gehry and the Koolhaas that I wanted to see. A visit to the top of the quintessential Space Needle. Traveling with a little one, I almost couldn't over-plan.

I figured the trip could go one of two ways: it could go rock-star awesomely, and we'd have a fantastic time and look forward to our next trip together; or it could fall flat on its face and leave me one frustrated mother with an equally frustrated daughter stranded in a city without the ground-support familiarity of home. It was a coin toss, that call for fifty-percent chance of whatever the hell on this expedition.

The day we arrived, it was raining. And cold. And I led our 3-block walk to my dear friend S's flat astray in the rain. We couldn't mobilize to get out of our room until quarter of eleven the second day we were there - and not because we were dilly-dallying, but because Baby1 fell back asleep that morning and didn't wake up until mid-morning. I had forgotten that hills are a factor in the west coast, and hiking up just three blocks of 45-degree roads would prove tiring for little legs - and for grown-up legs carrying said child attached to these little legs. And we lost Baby1's hat, gloves, and Bob the toy hamster somewhere along the way.

But despite these minor setbacks, we found a clearing in the fog. Between amazing meals with good friends; getting a chance to experience a completely different cadence and spirit in our environment; watching Baby1 jam, shimmy, and shake to Crystal Method in the lobby of our hotel; and feeling connection with Baby1 in our exclusive time with each other, we found our way. And one continuous theme day after day, from friends to Baby1, were the hugs we got. We didn't get those "oh, I'll hug you but I really don't want to touch you" kind of hugs. We got the hugs that people give close friends and family. And with this invaluable gift, we felt instantly at home in Seattle.

Then, again, the left-swinging walk-the-talk air of the whole place didn't hurt either. And to boot, in the cosmopolitan surroundings of home, I wouldn't be able to find the following just walking into any ole joint in DC:

1. Truffle fries
2. An amazing prix fixe meal served by volunteers, prepared by a guest chef from a 4-star restaurant, with a crew of homeless people trained in the culinary arts by the host restaurant, and they offer vegetarian AND VEGAN options, all for $25 a head
3. 2" thick french toast with fresh-made whipped cream
4. Bags and bags of freeze-dried fruit without sulphur dioxide as one of the ingredients
5. Fruit and nut bars without sugar or ingredients I couldn't picture or pronounce
6. A tourist spot's snack bar with yogurt, fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, and fruit juices at children's eye level (sports drinks with all those unpronounceable manufactured chemicals are at the top level of the shelves, out of easy reach of the kids)
7. Above-ground travel going through a major work of architecture with the dynamicism of fluid and the colors of New Year's Eve in NYC
8. An open-air market that is a tourist draw, in the center of town
9. Huge Fuji apples, local

All in all, this was a wonderful trip. Baby1 proved to be one of the best traveling companions I could have asked for, and I will miss our morning snuggles before heading out the door for another fun adventure together. We had amazing friends that welcomed us with open arms, and makes me want to make this trek across-country more and more.