Salt Water and Evergreen Kingdom

   In Tacoma is an amazing park called Point Defiance. It's full of trails through the woods and along the shore. I learned about this park from a hiking book and the book warned that a hiker may hear the trumpet of an elephant because the park is also home to a zoo and an aquarium. Plant lovers can admire the parks botanical garden and a Japanese garden. There is also an old-timey village where actors reinact history. For my first visit, I limited myself to one of the trails. It was a beautiful hike and it made me think twice about Tacoma which I was led to believe was grimy and bland. No place with a park like this can be described as anything but wonderful!

   Last weekend D and I finally saw the new Wes Anderson movie, "Moonrise Kingdom." It was great and lived up to my high hopes. The movie had the perfect mixture of wit and whimsy that I've come to love in past Wes Anderson movies. And it was beautiful to look at! It had a dreamy storybook feel to it... like everything was infused with a fantastical undercurrent in a way that reminded me of my favorite books from childhood. But it had a feeling of melancholy and nostalgia that distinguished it from a movie aimed only at children. The characters were complex and interesting. Also, I was glads Bruce Willis was in it. I have a soft spot for him because my Dad and I would always watch his action movies together in the theater when I was a kid.
  We got to the movie theater quite early so D and I went across the street to drink coffee and read. In between pages and sips I slyly people watched. There was a man sitting nearby who was sketching an interesting insect-like creature in his sketchbook. I think he is a student of natural drawing and that he wants to be a illustrator for field guides. He grew up in the suburbs and when he turned 18 he decided he would either move to a city or the woods. He wanted the culture and excitement of city life but he knew he wanted the woods nearby so he thought Seattle was the perfect place. He likes to sit in lonely coffee shops where he can look up from his illustrations, and gaze out the window where he watches the June rain fall.
   I also saw a woman in her forties with dyed red hair, big eyes, and colorful makeup. She was writing in a notebook. I think she is either a romance writer or a mystery writer who always adds romance in her mysteries. She gets all her ideas in the buzzing comfort of a coffee shop. In her notebook she writes plot summaries and character sketches. When she returns home to her blank computer screen she feels fortified with her earlier imaginings.