Tag: coupeville WA

• Perpetual Helmet Hair

  I finally got my motorcycle license so it’s safe to say that I’m going to have helmet hair all summer.

  Chumstick Mountain (which comes from the Chinook language and means “painted tree”).

  Great smells I encountered on my motorcycle ride today:

  • Ocean wind mixed with madrona tree.
  • Freshly tilled soil.
  • Sea salt.
  • Meadow covered w/ yellow flowers.
  • Green grass
  • General fir tree

  My personal favorite homemade private parking sign.

  The helmet hair is worth it, because the Pacific Northwest is beautiful. It also lacks a subway system, so unless I feel like driving, riding my motorcycle is really the best way to get around. Smells way better than New York, too.

  

  The cool thing about where I live is that riding around in Coupeville alone I can explore so many different environments. I rode to the beach at Ebey’s Landing, then up the side of the cliff and through the forest, which lead me past the ferry dock and into an area of wetlands where I saw two great blue herons take flight. Then I went by some farms and a particularly beautiful meadow which was in total bloom with these bright yellow flowers. I crossed the highway and went through some more forest, saw a deer and then rode along the other side of the island which would have given me a great view of Mt. Baker if it weren’t as cloudy today.

  Port Townsend blue beetle. Also, if you haven’t read about Seattle’s recent anti-oil kayaktivism, you really should.

  Great animals I encountered on my motorcycle ride today:

  • A deer
  • A bunny
  • Chickens
  • Goats
  • Llamas
  • Two Great Blue Herons
  • Happy cows
  • Horses
  • My cats Mini & Olive.

  Très relaxant.

  To be honest, these days I’m either eating, sleeping, or riding my motorcycle. Or taking photos of my cats. I feel lazy but I also don’t care because I’m on summer vacation!!

  Hope everyone has a happy Wednesday and gets some fresh air into their lungs.

  XOLily

  June 4, 2015

  coupeville WA, motorcycle, northwest is best, outdoors, pacific northwest, pnw, riding, summer vacation, upperleftusa, Washington DC, whidbey island

  ---

• Ode to New York

  This is not actually going to be an ode.

  

  Last year on the day before I left Paris, my friends and I rode around the city on bikes, hit up our favorite cafe, ate a gourmet lunch, and had a picnic underneath the Eiffel Tower. It was romantic and I was so ridiculously sad to leave.

  Leaving New York this year is a bit different. First of all, because I know for sure that I have two more years here at least. But also because I have this mixed feeling of relief and anxiety about leaving. It’s like I both can’t wait to get out of the city, but also feel like I can’t live without it.

  My favorite little community park in Soho.

  I realized that New York City makes me feel like that a lot. Like I hate it and I love it. And I think that’s just the nature of this city. It’s disgusting and wonderful at the same time.

  And while I’m feeling trepidation about going back to Coupeville–population of like, 2 people & 4 deer–I know that it will be good for me to get some sleep without being woken up by sirens or street fights on 3rd Ave.

  Not only that, but I also have Paris to look forward to. For those who don’t know, I’m going to Paris in June/July for the NYU Writers in Paris program where I will be attending creative writing workshops with some amazing authors, including Zadie Smith!

  A taste of Paris in China Town.

  So I am sad to leave New York, even though it chewed me up and spit me back out this year. But as always, good things are coming. And in just a couple of months I’ll be back, sweating in that September heat and moving in to my new home in China Town.

  XOLily

  May 21, 2015

  blog, chinatown, coupeville WA, new york city, nyc, paris, travel

  ---