Monday, September 7, 2015

Travel Link-Up: I Left My Heart in the Pacific Northwest



I used to say this really stupid thing.

When people asked me where I was from, I'd say, "Washington state." Then hastily add, "But I lived on the East Coast for four years while I was going to college." Like being from Washington was deficient in some way. Or detrimental. It made me feel embarrassed. Less than.

To my younger self, the East Coast was sophisticated, cosmopolitan, and almost European (which, as a high school student, was where I desperately wanted to escape to).

Where I grew up? Not so much. I was raised in a suburb 40 minutes south of Seattle; a suburb with a mall, a few convenience stores, lots of trees, a perfect view of Mount Rainier ... and not a whole lot else. The "look" was all about polarfleece jackets and bootcut jeans (often worn with actual cowboy boots). When neighbors and family friends heard that I was heading to Massachusetts for college, they'd say, with admiration in their voices (or perhaps this was imagined), "You're going back East?"

But then, something changed.

Well, I changed.


In 2013, I went back to Seattle for our wedding reception (one of two transatlantic receptions after we had eloped the year before!) and - reunited with college and family friends that I hadn't seen for years, and with the sun beating down on us as we toured the beautiful Tacoma and Seattle waterfronts - I saw Washington in a new light.

It was stunning. Resplendent, even. The Puget Sound shimmered in Tacoma where I grabbed a milkshake and burger with my brother as we reminisced about our youth symphony rehearsals and my ballet classes in the area. Later, as we drove up north, the Seattle skyline emerged proudly before us, with a handful of Washington's beautiful islands just visible in the distance. 

How had I not seen it like this before? How did I miss this, when it'd been in front of me (literally - I ate my breakfast facing the mountain every morning) the whole time?

I'd been so blinded by my urgency to escape, to run and never look back - that I could only truly appreciate it once I'd left.

I knew this. But it still hurt.


That summer, I returned to London, listened to Neko Case on repeat, and longed for Washington in a way that I'd never had before. 

And it wasn't even that I wanted to live there - it was more that I wanted to preserve that specific summer in my memory. The sensation of the warm sun on our backs as we ate Top Pot donuts and went for late night drinks at a hipster bar in Belltown; the memory of driving through winding, evergreen tree-lined roads (how I miss those trees!) toward Mount Rainier with my mother-in-law, who'd never been. The memory of sitting outside on our newly refurbished deck at home with my mom, dad, and brother until the sun set and it became dark - the memory of our togetherness.

And so much love.


A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through Instagram, when my thumb stopped at a photo of three women smiling in a selfie, with Rainier in the background. "Hiking through Mount Rainier!" the caption said.

And you know what? The emotion I felt wasn't happiness or nostalgia or joy - it was envy. And the feeling of being left out. Which was silly, of course, but that photo made me miss the beautiful, scenic environment that I'd grown up in - which, ironically, I didn't even like until a few years ago.

The other day, I got into an Uber in central London and the driver, making friendly conversation, said, "You've got an American accent. What part of America are you from?" And I answered, "Near Seattle. The Pacific Northwest."

"Ooh - I've never been, but I heard that it's nice out there," he said.

"Yes, it is," I said, staring out the window at the concrete jungle around me. "It's absolutely beautiful. You should go sometime."

This month's travel link-up is about a place you can't get out of your head. What's yours? Let me know in the comments and head over to Rebecca's, Emma's, Kelly's, and Liz's blogs to read more fantastic posts in September's link-up!
SHARE:

20 comments

  1. I left NZ to escape the small country life but now, I find myself missing the quiet down there! London can just feel a bit too manic at times, love your post xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much ... I totally hear ya! Seattle/Washington is still a little too chilled/relaxed for me, but it will always, always hold a special place in my heart xx

      Delete
  2. I agree with this so much - I grew up in Glasgow, Scotland and spent so much of my time wanting to get out of there and away from the judgments that people make when you say you're from Glasgow that I don't think I ever really appreciated it. I hope that I, too, go back to my home one day and really appreciate where I grew up.

    Lauren xx | The Lifestyle Diaries

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally know what you mean, Lauren. When I was in college, I think this also also drove me to try to be someone I wasn't; it took me a long time to accept where I was from, and to be proud of that. I'm sure you'll feel it too one day - really feel it. xx :)

      Delete
  3. This is such a wonderful post. I can relate to this in some way too - having just spent the weekend in my hometown on the land I grew up on. We spend so much time trying to leave home and move on to bigger and better things that when we spend time to appreciate what 'home' did for us, it kinda kicks us in the gut a bit.

    Your last sentence just made me tear up too. A really lovely post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment, Charley - I really appreciate it! I agree with everything you've said. I guess it's like that saying, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone"! Where did you grow up?

      Delete
  4. I'm a military brat who also served ... it's only now that I realise how much I love the area we lived in when Dad first left the Service ... and believe me when I say that it's nothing to write home about! There's something to be said about absence making the heart grow fonder after all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you're spot on, Ruth - there's an element of that, as well as that idea of ... well, where we're from and how that shaped us. Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  5. Isn't strange as how we change, our view of home changes as well?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely, Emma. My idea of "home" keeps evolving ... it's a strange process and notion.

      Delete
  6. Seattle, and the PNW, is a stunningly beautiful part of the world. I would live there in a heartbeat (even thought about moving there briefly a couple of years ago).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No way, Becky! What kept you from doing it? For me, the PNW is a little too chilled and laid back ... I'm an anxious person but I thrive in stressy, busy environments!

      Delete
  7. Seeing the world with new eyes is both a blessing and a curse for it opens your eyes to the horrors of the world but it also shows you beauty that you had never noticed before xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totally agreed, Amy - thanks so much for stopping by xx

      Delete
  8. I can definitely relate to this. I hated that my mom moved us to North Carolina when I turned 14, and I hated NC even more once it was established that I would be staying there for college instead of going to New York "where I belonged." Now, whenever I hear the word "Tarheel" I get misty :'D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know that feeling, Gianni, though I escaped as quickly as I could to the opposite coast for college because I was so resentful about where I was from. I was thinking about it last night and I'm still resentful of the people and the culture (or lackthereof). But it's grown into a soft acceptance, I think, and even though the people I grew up with might not understand me, I like to think that I accept them and it (the town) for who they are/what it is a bit more. Sorry for rambling! Not sure if that made sense.

      Delete
  9. I used to be like that about being Danish, always telling everyone I was English, now I jump at the chance to tell them where I'm from. I think when you're younger you don't want to be the odd one out, but as you grow up you realize the more ways you can be different the better! :) Your home mountain is beaut ;) Lots of love, Andrea xxx

    Andrea's Passions

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's incredible that you've got another culture that you're so strongly tied to, Andrea - were you born in Denmark as well? I loved reading about how you went to Danish school when you were younger! xxx

      Delete
  10. It's so funny, since my mom is from Oregon, I grew up on the East coast but with frequent visits to the West and always wanted to move west! Grass is always greener and all that I suppose. My bf and I talk about how if we were to ever move back to America it would be to Seattle though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's crazy, Dannielle! My parents graduated from U of O. I definitely think there's an element of the grass is always greener ...

      Delete

© angloyankophile

This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services - Click here for information.

Blogger Template Created by pipdig