Those who know me well know of my passion for a certain Max McDaniel, now further augmented by the zest that is Moorea Seal. (The irony, of course, is that Max and Moorea are 2 of the 6-8 of you who might read this.) Max and Moorea live in Seattle, to which I’d never been before May of this year. My first encounter with Seattle was enough to know that I love the city, and my second visit only strengthened that fondness.

For some reason I don’t yet understand, I’ve had difficulty expressing exactly why I’m infatuated with Seattle. I can articulate some of it though, I suppose: it has both big-city appeal and smaller-town comfort. I felt comfortable in my own skin in Seattle, as if I were totally in my element. I watched the local folk interact and noticed more and more that their interactions felt honest. I went to a concert on Friday night with Max (Minus the Bear with The Velvet Teen; it was great) and while there the standard events occurred: spilled drinks, feet stepped on, people milling about, etc… The difference was that people were acknowledging they had disturbed one another and subsequently offered apologies for whatever they’d done (most of the time.) This may well be a case of the grass being greener but I felt a certain warmth everywhere I went in Seattle. The people there simply have a very different attitude toward one another. What’s more, I find the physical environment in Seattle to be stunning; the mixture of reds, oranges, yellows and greens of the trees that are everywhere in Seattle was absolutely beautiful.

We ate, drank, worked, mellowed and generally enjoyed one another’s company.

I count myself among the very lucky to be able to visit a beautiful place and visit such good friends. I had an excellent time. I can’t wait to go back for more.

What follows is the set of quick iPhone photos I snapped over the weekend.

Oh, and we also watched quit a bit of Dual Survival, which I recommend you do immediately.