WWU Weekend

Another lovely concert in Bellingham. I have considered asking the hotel folks if we can get a punch card where the 10th visit is free. Alas.

I drove up yesterday and popped in at the beach at Larrabee State Park. 

It is so beautiful up there. And even though it rained most of the way up there, the precipitation stopped as I turned on Chuckanut Drive and did not rain for my entire stay (again). 

After an early dinner at his new favorite restaurant (he went there twice with Jason and Ben during their last visit), I dropped him off at his house before the concert. I met his new girlfriend, Bella, outside the music building and we had a great time chatting about books and hiking as we waited for the concert to begin. This concert was as good as all the other ones we have come up for. As a bonus, it included the WWU symphony orchestra for the second half and was a powerful experience. Even though it meant that Michael had to sing in French.

This morning I took Michael out for gas (under $5 a gallon!!!!!) and breakfast. Then I found my way back to Larrabee to hike the Fragrance Lake trail before heading home.

A Weekend of Two Cities

Jason and Ben drove off to Bellingham this weekend bringing Michael's car back to him. Not to be outdone, we had our own adventures in (unusually) sunny Olympia. My first thought was to ask who you thought had a better time. But happiness and enjoyment are not a zero sum game, so I will just share some lovely pictures of both.

BHam

OTown

Freshman Singer Showcase, ft. Michael

You only have a Freshman Singer Showcase once. Which made it seem like the thing that we should go visit Bellingham for.

And once we got there, we found these flyers in the music building, much to Michael's disgust.

 We left Ben and all his activities and commitments behind, but we dragged brought Isaac with us.

Since many people in the audience had come with plenty of time to spare, the professor made the wise decision to use the resources available to her and had Michael play some prelude music.

But we did get to hear him sing, too. Always a lovely experience.

A lovely group. Michael enjoyed this class and even started hosting game nights for the class at his place. It will be exciting to see how some of these folks grow over the next few years.

Before we left, we had to make a pit stop at Michael's place to appreciate the decor. 

And then we took the scenic way home and tortured Isaac by making him get out of the car and pose in front of the view beautiful views.

Black History Month Concert

It was a loooooong day yesterday, but totally worth it. Michael had a concert and the week was busy, but I managed to squeeze in a turn-and-burn and made it up to Bellingham for the evening and then back home in the wee hours of this morning.

The concert was lovely, but the lighting was....odd. It in no way looked as blue as it does in my photos.

I was finally able to see and then hear the amazing Dr. Hodges. He is the head of the music school and one of Michael's heroes.

After Michael's choir performed, we got to settle in and enjoy the rest of the concert. We finished off the day with dinner and then I enjoyed very little traffic on my way home.

It is wonderful that Michael goes to school close by enough that we can attend these concerts, but I am completely converted to the idea of getting a hotel room for the night from now on!