To See Heaven in a Wildflower

When I got back to my friend's apartment in Seattle, I was exhausted. I laid down to rest for a little bit and ended up sleeping for a few hours. It was evening when I woke up so we went to get dinner and then went out in Capitol Hill. We went into the first bar we could find that didn't appear to be too much of punk rock or grunge scene. A bachelor party scavenger hunt group stumbled in and provided some entertainment for us. One of the guys in the group was not into it at all and told us how annoyed he was that he had to take part in the whole affair. After his group left, he stayed around to complain to us about all the things he had to do for the bachelor party wedding. Several minutes later, the best man stormed in and basically dragged him out of the bar so they could go to their next stop. He had a competitive spirit that was mixed with alcohol and you could tell he was taking the bar scavenger hunt pretty seriously.

We moved on to another place called a Havana, a Cuban-themed club. The DJ was spinning 90s and early 2000s Top 40 hits. I'm probably not old enough to say this yet, but hit songs were so much better back in those days. On the balcony, there was a girl going crazy dancing. Before long, almost the whole club had turned to watch her. On the way home, I requested a stop at Kerry Park because I thought it would be nice to get a view of Seattle at night. It definitely was!

The next morning my friend and I attempted to meet another friend for brunch, forgetting that it was Easter Sunday and everyone else was also trying to go to brunch. We end up just going to a coffee shop and the grocery store and eating at home. My friend had an appointment so she dropped me off at a cafe called El Diablo to hang out while I waited. It was pouring outside by that time, and the cute and bright Latin America-inspired cafe was perfect place to be. I read my book and skimmed through some local papers. In one of them, my horoscope read: "You're in luck, Virgo. Not so much in the sense of winning the lottery or scoring a major award, but more in a spiritual sense. Do you know "Auguries of Innocence," the poem by William Blake? I think you'll experience what it describes: "To see a world in a grain of sand/ And heaven in a wild flower/ Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/ And eternity in an hour.""

It summed up my trip completely. There was not much to "see" or "do", it was more just about enjoying and appreciating the simple things- the company of old friends, great meals, random art, driving by myself, flower farms surrounded by snow-capped mountains, walking along the seawall, meeting interesting travelers, and a rainy afternoon spent in a colorful cafe.