120612. Week One of Strange West Coast Tour.

The trip to the west began with an over weight luggage (9 lbs... Coincidence?), broken hardcase luggage tab and a no seat belt ticket paid from 2011 charge. Up until the night before, I hadn't even thought of packing for the trip. The anxiety of traveling and the plunging into a 'tour' of suspect travel itinerary made me a little bit uneasy. What fruit was this seed of an idea going to bear?...
After 'breaking' into my own luggage and unloading 8 lbs from my bag, I was on my way. Its not unusual for me to feel different once my luggage is boarding the plane and I am in the high.
I don t like air travel, but it sure is fast. What was once a luxury mode of transportation is suddenly the normal. Free drinks and a chocolate birthday cake later, I was in dreamland waiting for the landing.
5 hours later, With a peek at Seattle, I finally began to understand how the city is lined up.
At the airport, I connect with Strange. There is a third cohort arriving from kamakura. We rented a suburban and picked up Jun Shimada. And head to our host family's compound. Unbestown to us, we would spend an extra 3 days, loitering and merriment to serendipitous effect!! New friends and old friends, reconnecting and compounding.
Its amazing how there are time for  plans and there are times when plans should be re-thunk. In the first three days, the plans all fell out the window and we were on a very narrow strip of over staying and under planning... Miraculously, the magic of the pacific north west corridor funneled us and made available to us  'new' plans that adjusted the 'old' plans to a more perfect chaos, one that made available for us opportunities unimagined and horizons more broadened by our 'giving in' to match current situations and suggestions.
All my pre-trip anxieties were coming true, only to reveal that the chaos I was afraid of was the perfect path to travel. It was the beginning journey of patience for moments to reveal themselves and opening minds to opening portals. On the day we were supposed to be in portland, found us driving back full speed back to seattle from PDX, to pick up out friend, Hajime of Monro, to return to Georgetown Seattle for a carnival!
Sunday brought us back to Portland. There, the revealings of a sketchy plan and the unfolding chaos was a welcome.