It was my third time to the top of the ridge and after last visit's foggy fiasco, I was cautious as the sky began to get overcast the further along we went. Not only did we get graced with the panoramic view at the top, but we also got in on a mini nature talk about Marmots. It was mostly a refresher of what I'd learned back in February. There was also a decent view of smoke that grew smokier while we were there; signs of a fire that had started in a rainforest part of the valley and while under control, would probably smolder through the hot summer.
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On our way to Cidery numero uno, it started to drizzle. Mary wasn't feeling too hot and a few stomachs were rumbling as I navigated shady directions so I began to worry that maybe we were pushing ahead into resistance. Fortunately, we stumbled upon Eaglemount after only a couple of wrong turns and Mary eventually worked off the funk enough to come inside. Between the two of us, the sales price of two flights would allow us to taste all ten ciders and so that is what we did. Our host was very forthright about his desire to be anywhere but working that day and it immediately let down any formalities and by the end of the tasting, I was talking to him about the possibility to work there and live in a Yurt.
Leo and I got a kick out of the fact that for every two tastings he would bring out to us, we would each prefer the opposite, meaning that we cleaned out the glasses between the two of us. However, we both claimed dibs over the Ginger.
Our next stop was Finnriver, the cidery I already had a bias towards after developing my instant infatuation earlier in the year during spring break. By now, they had started up their weekly musical entertainment and the place was packed, a far cry from my quiet, personable first experience. Instead of the casual tasting environment that lent itself to conversation, groups were being held in sessions with barely enough one-on-one to learn the host's name. Leo and I were the only ones to partake and in combination of the large crowd, drama and exhaustion, we were in and out pretty hastily after.
Finally we made it to our last and most obscurely located cidery, Alpenfire. A seemingly quaint middle aged woman named Nancy greeted us at the tasting counter which was placed in a small opening underneath a shed, keeping us very much in the outdoors. Nancy was actually quite spunky and it turned out that she and her husband were the primary owners and operators. They had started simply from their love of drinking cider and since toured the ways of cider-making overseas. Many of their elixirs seemed to be reminiscent of the more classical, straightforward english and french varieties. I had already become a huge fan of their 'Spark' after initially feeling it to be too plain. I left with Spark remaining the decided favorite but with an itch to develop a more nuanced taste for a true cider.
We were all running on fuel by the time we made it to Port Townsend. Fortunately, we had a hassle-free check-in at the Air BnB and were able to simply throw our stuff in and go. We walked downtown to find dinner, ending up at the same restaurant my mother and I had tried out before. The night finished with movies, games and of course, cider.
Not that I wouldn't have been up early, but that night, I slept horribly. With everyone still in bed, I snuck out and walked through the quiet streets waiting to catch sight of an "OPEN" sign for coffee. Better Living Through Coffee was right up my alley. Perched right on the Portside of town with seating by the water, they served everything breakfast-y, treat-y, wholesome-y and fresh. I bunkered down for an hour or so to write as the place started to stir with the commotion of customers. Every so often, I would pause for a glance at my surroundings and during one of these moments, I looked up at the doorway to see Leo walk in, putting a ridiculous grin on my face for chancing to find me without so much as a call or a plan. Since Mary and Lew were still asleep, we decided to elaborate upon our spontaneous outing and venture over to Fort Worden State Park.
Fort Worden was originally built as a preventative measure to protect the Puget Sound from foreign forces back in the late 1800's but as far as I understand, had never had to be utilized during that time. It closed its active status in 1953 and had since been turned into a state park historical site. Mother and I had been prodded to visit when we were here and had only gotten to the first clearing in the wooded park area. With more time and interest that morning, Leo and I ventured on past the initial set of Barracks to discover additional complexes, lookout towers, storage units and electrical hubs. Leo and I dipped in and out of all the nooks and crannies, his excitement charged as he compared the sight in front of him to the virtual reality of many of the games he's played. For me, his knowledge of the way operations would have played out gave me the opportunity to visualize it happening before my eyes regardless of my video game experience. We hypothesized the uses for different rooms and the extreme amount of brute force it tustve taken to operate some of the archaic machinery. Spontaneity is fuel for my fire and I didn't want to leave but we had asked Mary and Lew to be up and ready to go by a certain time so it would be unfair for us not to be there.
Back at the cabin, we were piling the last of our things into the car when our two hosts walked past. when I said check-in was easy, I'd meant we didn't even have to meet them. It was nice to put a face to the place and learn a little bit about the kinds of people they are. Both women seemed strikingly ambitious and equally warmhearted. They had started an eco-housing company that is run solely by women and they were incredibly laid back about our clean-up procedures. Next time I go back, I'd love to seek out some time to pick their brains. We went back to the coffee shop on our way out of town and then it was off to the Ferry for Seattle.
Mary's request for her last day was to be outside, so we headed to the best place to be outdoors in the city: Discovery Park. After a few hours to bask there in the diverse offering of forest trails and coastal rocks, we played out my favorite pairing of sushi and cider at Schillings.
While we were there, we joked and laughed and made light of the thought that Mary would be on a plane in a mere few hours. As opposed to my sort of somber or dramatic approach to big changes, Mary didn't need a ritual. Her ritual was joy, to that last moment. We sat next to a couple people from the area and got to talking with them until we were almost late for the airport. It all went so fast that I don't even remember the drive between those places. But I remember the tiny shakes building up as we approached the lane to let Mary off and our blubbery faces as we hugged and re-hugged half a dozen times. Lew walked her into the airport while I sat in the car and it wasn't until she was out of sight that the big feels hit.
Mary month was more than a visit. It was a beginning, an ending, a past and a future all converging at super-speed. It was a mini paradigm shift. Our friendship was taken out of the context of AmeriCorps and evolved into its own sisterhood. With it, we found a new family, a new belonging and a new tune in the course of our lives. We abandoned things that no longer served us, we sound boarded our visions for our futures and we did it all side-by-side. With transformed hearts and minds and the sense of completion of a puzzle, we were breaking up our puzzle pieces. Mary going home was feeling like work undone...
But life has a way of coming full circle...and if it isn't a hell of a ride in the meantime...
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