Spring Is In The Air

Spring is upon us now. I can feel it in the warm breezes, the increasing number of sunny days, the scent of lilacs, the rows of daffodils and tulips. The world is opening up, as is the town. After a month of hard work, we are finally beginning to get to know the area, to understand its quirks, and to appreciate its beauty.

We've discovered our favorite hangouts - Darby's and Otto's for breakfast, Batdorf and Bronson for coffee, and Fishtail's or The Oyster House for excellent fish and chips. One unique and wonderful aspect of the Olympia dining experience is that so many of the restaurants pride themselves on using mainly local and organic foods. It seems that everything from the eggs, to the potatoes, to the oysters, to the coffee and beer is produced and sold locally. The Oyster House boasts that "the oysters [they] serve today, spent last night in the bay." Otto's and Darby's post a list of their organic ingredients and the names of the farmers who supply them. Most restaurants also serve vegetarian options as well.

In addition to the local food, we have come to respect the variety and quality of the local music scene. Last Wednesday we went to see Matt Costa play a concert at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle, an amazingly clean and intimate venue for an extremely talented musician. But we don't have to drive all the way to Seattle to see quality music. Olympia's thriving downtown offers a wider selection of music venues than most cities I've visited. Any given night of the week, I can slip into a booth to hear a jazz show, sit on a bench in the park to listen to acoustic guitar, or rock in front of a stage to one of the local punk bands. Last Monday, the local art hosue theatre even offered a rap show featuring Pharcyde, a group respected in many circles for their political and articulate music.

And the list of things to do doesn't stop at music and food. Last weekend marked the reopening of the Olympia Farmer's Market, and though it was still too early for much local produce other than apples, artisans, farmers, and members of the community gathered together to sing, dance, and eat under a rare sunny spring sky. The opening of the Farmer's Market (which was mentioned in Jane Goodall's book Harvest for Hope) also signaled the beginning of the Olympia Film Festival, sponsored by the New York Times. Though the downtown theatre is small, it offers a surprisingly wide variety of art hosue films, including Why We Fight and Cache this week. Priest Point Park and Bud Bay beach are surprisingly large parks for a city as small as Olympia, and offer acres of relaxing waterfront and walking trails. Though we have not yet had the opportunity to explore the waterways by boat, we have seen seals, crabs, and other sea life from the bridge at Percival Landing, which is about a mile of pleasant walking from our front door.

In addition to sightseeing, we have kept busy in more productive ways this trip. Ted has focused on developing his photography skills, and I tutor two to three times per week at a local middle school. Also, I have spent the majority of this assignment honing my writing skills and researching material for the book I am working towards completing by the end of the year. The past six weeks has passed quickly between trips to Seattle and forays into local parks, but the next six weeks will pass even faster now that hiking trails are beginning to open to the public after long winter closings. Our plans for the next few weeks include kayaking, sailing, camping in Mt. Rainier, driving the Cascade Loop, biking through the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, visiting Portland, and, of course, hanging out at the Pike Place Market in Seattle at least a few more times. Last, but not least, a Mariners baseball game will round out our experience in the Pacific Northwest before we move to the desert for the summer. Every day will count, and I'll try to find time to update you all about the new adventures coming our way!

Posting By: Rebecca
Photo By: Ted (Bud Bay Inlet in Olympia, WA)