Oh, Washington, How I Love Thee

As I was sitting inside listening to the pouring rain and wind on this lovely start to Memorial Day weekend, I began questioning my love for this state and then I remembered it IS awesome.

In one weekend, I can visit a rain forest, volcano, the longest spit in North America, islands, sandy and rocky beaches, as well as ride a train,ferry, and ski boat. I can enjoy every weather possible in one day if we're lucky. I can visit Children's Museums, the Science Center, the Space Needle, SAM, EMP, multiple zoos and animal sanctuaries, Point Defiance Park and the Seattle Center. I can eat every type of food imaginable without leaving town. I never have to look for a coffee shop to get a Chai latte (unlike when I was in San Diego). Hiking, biking, snow shoeing, skiing, water skiing, wakeboarding, swimming, skating....it's all close by!

Then I saw a list that I thought was funny:
You Know You're from Washington if...
1.You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Enumclaw and Issaquah.
2. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer & Elk Season (Fall)
3. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.
4. You measure distance in hours.(doesn't everyone?)
5. You think people who use umbrellas are tourists.
6. You get a terrible sunburn on the first really nice day of summer.
7. You can't make it two blocks without seeing a Starbucks.
8. You can tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean and Thai food.
9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best and Tully's.
10. You can't imagine living through a tornado or hurricane but you secretly think earthquakes are kind of fun.
11. You can endure 100 days of rain and wind but an inch of snow means school cancellations. (so true!)
12. When you cross the mountains into eastern Washington and it feels like you entered a completely different country.
13. When you live in a small town and when you try explain where you live, you eventually have to give up saying other larger towns around you and say "Oh, never mind. Just NEAR Seattle."
14. When you think wearing a hooded sweatshirt 11 months a year is normal. (it's not?)
15. When you're out of state, people always ask you about the rain.
16. Smiling and waving at strangers is no biggie. (is this strange?)
17. Being pale isn't a big deal, because everybody is.
18. Whenever someone visits from another state you always start a fight over the fact that we have more stuff started in Washington than any other state. (Starbucks, Boeing, Microsoft, Costco, Sea's Best,"the wave," etc.)
19. You, or someone you know, lives "in the woods."
20. You can name 10 different apples.
21. You can smell the rain coming. (again, is this strange?)
22. You expect snow for Valentine's Day, not Christmas.
23. When you visit another state and it rains...and all the other people around you run and scream while you continue to slowly walk around in your flip flops and shorts.
24. You "Do The Puyallup" every year.
25. You feel guilty throwing something away that could be recycled.
26. You or someone you know works at Boeing or Microsoft.
27. You know the difference between "showers followed by rain" and "rain followed by showers".
28. The sight of Mt. Rainier is still awe inspiring.
29. Your lawn is mostly moss and you don't really care.(haha! Bruce and I were talking about how we like the moss because it stays low and it's soft!)
30. You use the word "sunbreak" and know what it means.
31. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
32. You never go camping without water proof matches and a poncho.
33. You can point to at least 2 volcanoes even if you can't actually see them through the cloud cover.
34. You often switch from heat to a/c in your car in the same day.
35. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.
36. You know how to pronounce geoduck and know that it doesn't quack or have feathers.
37. You go to work in the dark and come home in the dark even though you only have an 8 hour workday
38. You realize no education is required to be a weatherman in Washington. Just make up different ways to say it's going to rain.
39. You know what 'Sodo Mojo' is
40.You think summer starts in July and winter in September. (well, mid-September really)
41. You know you better enjoy the snow the first day it falls before the rain washes it away
42. You prefer one mountain range to the other
43.When someone honks at you, you think they are trying to say "hi".
44. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Enumclaw, Issaquah, Steilacoom, and Sammamish.
45. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
46. You keep snow chains in your trunk but they've never been used.
47. Eating seafood isn't anything special.
48. You yell at the TV if they pronounce the name of a city wrong or make an inaccurate Seattle reference on "Frasier" or "Grey's Anatomy." (So true...)
49. You rarely wash your car because it's just going to get muddy again tomorrow.
50. You only visit the Space Needle if you need someplace to take out of town guests.
51. You've used every setting on your intermittent wipers. (In one drive, nonetheless!)
52. You lose your sense of direction if you go east of the Cascade mountains. (where are the landmarks?!)
53. You know the difference between a rhododendron and an azalea.
54. You think it's not a real windstorm until your lawn ornaments blow away.
55. You get pissed when you watch 10 Things I Hate About You, because you know that Stadium High School is not in Seattle. (And that paint balloon place has never existed at Gasworks Park, dang it!)
56.You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.
57. You always have to specify "Washington state" instead of just saying Washington because of D.C.(OMG this is SO true!)
58. You do the "Washington Wave" when someone lets you cut in front of them in the freeway. (well, yeah, doesn't everyone?)
59. You know what an "oh shit" handle is.
60. You still call it The Bon even though now it's Macy's.
61. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye Salmon. (yes, 4th grade, Mr. Gurez)
62. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.
63. You put on your shorts when it gets above 50 degrees but still wear a sweatshirt (did this look weird when I did it in Las Vegas?)
64. You know what a Frango is. (mmmm, mint is my fave)
65. You give directions using the Puget Sound and Cascades as points of reference. (haha, I remember when Bruce called me when he was lost and got mad at me when I asked which side was the river on so I knew whether he was heading east or west!)
66. You know 5 different ways to kill a slug.
67. You have more than 10 recipes that call for blackberries. (this can't be true of just Washington, could it?)
68. You've used the phrase "The mountain's out today"
69. You regularly pass volcano evacuation route signs when driving around town.
70. You live in utter fear of black ice
71. You miss the King Dome.
72. You don’t think the Panama Canal is anything special because it’s just like the Ballard Locks.
73. Seeing a submarine, aircraft carrier, or battleship isn’t a big deal.
74. You know the significance to the phrase, “My Oh My!”
75. You can name at least one bridge that’s collapsed or sunk in the last 50 years.
76. You consider a floating bridge a pain in the butt, not an engineering marvel.
77. You don’t grab an umbrella even though you know it’s going to rain.
78. You go to Wild Waves even when it’s raining because you know the wave pool is heated. (ahhaha!, it's the best time to go!)
79. You have to know what time of day someone’s traveling in order to tell them how long it will take to get somewhere. (for sure)
80. You remember where you were on May 18th, 1980 (and you know the significance of that date).
81. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
82. You’ve actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
83. You buy new sunglasses every year because you’ve lost last year’s pair after such a long time not needing them.
84. It’s not a “real” mountain unless it has snow year round and has erupted within the last 200 years.
85. You can identify 7 different types of rain.
86. You know the difference between a "house boat" and a "boat house."
87. You know who J.P. Patches is.
88. You don't know what a turnpike is. (I had to google this: a toll road).
89. You know someone's house that has been partially crushed by a tree.
90. Within 20 minutes of your house you can visit a mountain range, the Puget Sound, a lake and a river.

Soon Summer will be here and I won't question why I didn't leave this place when I had a chance. I LOVE IT HERE!