Stretching across this great country of ours, there hides a secret and exclusive society. It is the Ocho Kennifer Family, and its associated lodges stretch from Tustin, CA, all the way to Tacoma, WA. Today, the Amigos found themselves welcomed by the Tacoma lodge, led by the ever-wonderful Todd and Kim. After a week of relaxing in sunny Monterey and San Francisco, the Amigos doubted the rainy northwest would stack up. The Amigos didn't count on The Ocho's extended family being such unequivocal ballers.
We rolled out of Portland this morning at a casual 8:50AM, only fifty minutes behind schedule, which we should be proud of, considering that last night included our first encounters with drag queens--an Earth-rocking event, I think. After a quick two-hour jaunt north to Tacoma, WA, entering the shadow of Mt. Rainier during our approach, we met the fabulous Ward family, including the world-famous Maggie, Kevin, and Brian, of which we had already heard so much. (For example, during the car ride up, Maggie had warned Devan that she was going "instagram the crap out of the day." The Wards also have a dog named Rollo, who is 13-years old, chocolate-colored, jacked, and kinda blind, which means he is a dude of epic proportions.) After a brief welcome at the Ward estate, the seven of us piled in the Wards car for a trip to Seattle to see the sights. It would be a guided tour.
After a tour of Pike Place, the fish and farmer's market on the river in Seattle, we made our way up and over to Top Pot Doughnuts on the recommendation of Guide Kevin. (We might not be doughnut connaisseurs, but we did think the doughnuts were pretty boss.) Top Pot Doughnuts provided us with the sugar rush we needed to make it down the street to the Experience Music Project, a music and sci-fi museum, and Seattle Center, where there was a sweet fountain that looked like a koosh ball in a bowl. We also went up the Space Needle, where we met a guy who had been there on the first day that the needle opened, when he had proposed to his wife there at the top, and now he had returned on the 50th Anniversary of his proposal and the 49th Anniversary of his bride's tragic death on their honeymoon. It was an incredible story. We bought him a drink--gin and tonic, his wife's favorite--and he said he would never forget us. I'm lying, we didn't go up the space needle. But it did look cool from the bottom and The Ocho calls it the Space Noodle, which is a funny name when you imagine what it looks like.
On our return trip, we stopped at the Gas Works, a cool park outside Seattle, where we stumbled on a festival for the Solstice. The festival was, eh, kinda hippie. There was a map that showed the different parts of the festival, and there were parts called "Hula Hooping to a Tax Loophole," "The New Economy," "The People's Art Gallery," and "So You Want to Live Indoors?" It was a wonderful spot, full of music and sensual hippie dancing. We highly recommend it to any passersby, though you might have to change your itinerary to accommodate the pagan calendar.
After busting through Seattle traffic--which wasn't hard, considering that we were coming home to a tasty dinner courtesy of Todd and Kim--we were all pretty wiped out from our exciting touristy day. We hit up Kevin's fro-yo joint--where he is third in command, mind you--then collapsed into bed. Of all the places we have been thus far, Tacoma joins a very short list of spots that will forever have fond memories for us, thanks to the generous hospitality of our hosts. The Tacoma lodge of the Ocho family is a truly remarkable bunch--hilarious, too--and we're super lucky to have gotten to crash with them today. Tomorrow, we're back into the wilderness, back toward the east coast. Adios, Pacific!
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