Villa Isola

Without stirring abroad,
One can know the whole world;
Without looking out of the window
One can see the way of heaven.
The further one goes
The less one knows.
-- Lao-Tzu

Friday, March 17, 2000
One year ago: Club Rat Pack
Two years ago: St. Patrick

I was awake at three thirty in the morning. Oh, how I regretted not getting the prescription filled yesterday! Should I go to the 24 hour pharmacy? Instead I got up and did some writing.

I was really hurting and achy. The pharmacy near work opened at nine. I got the antibiotics and a big bottle of ibuprofen. Thank heaven we have a couch in the office now! I laid down for a while, but my attempt to rest turned into a marketing meeting. I listened and spoke with my eyes covered.

I did some work in the middle part of the day, then lay down again. Finally I left, a few minutes after three. It was obvious I wasn't getting much accomplished, and I wanted to beat some of the traffic. The weather was dark and rainy. I had the directions to the Villa Isola printed out on the car seat beside me.

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Driving north to the Mukilteo ferry, I drove past the striking Boeing engineers. The highway offshoot goes right past the huge hangars and buildings of Payne Field. The union members have what looks like a shanty town set up at all the plant entrances.

I had about an hour's wait at the ferry. We parked in a holding lane going down the hill. Don't block the driveways or cross streets! Each gap is carefully marked with painted lines. Seeing Mukilteo reminded me of the Mystery Chef tour -- a Cacophony event where we went all the way to Port Townsend on public transit. Mukilteo is a cute little waterfront district, almost miniature! But I don't know who would want to stay in the motels on either side of the ferry dock.

It's a short ride on the ferry. I sat at the front of the cabin, looking out at the water. I enjoyed listening to the random conversations of the other passengers.

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The deck crew gave us the signal when it was time to drive off. I don't take the ferry often enough for it to be a matter of course to me (like the folks that sit in their cars the whole way!). Some part of me is concerned about accidents, not as much as if I were in a plane, but I pay attention to what's happening.

With only one wrong turn, I found the "villa" or bed and breakfast. Of course it looks smaller than in the pictures. They have a beautiful garden! The host was doing stuff in the kitchen. This building had only guest quarters; the owners live in the house next door, across the driveway. He showed me around: the deck, the dining room, the kitchen and living room -- leather couches, the dessert in the fridge. I got the key, brought in my stuff, then relaxed on the bed in the Venice Suite.

Jack arrived around seven thirty. I showed him the menus our host showed me of local restaurants. The town of Langely is only a few miles away. Jack was concerned for my tooth pain, but it wasn't bad for most of the evening. I drove to dinner, so he could have a drink or two.

We had a grand dinner at Cafe Langely. I decided to splurge on the rack of lamb! I only mis-chewed a few times -- my jaw was tender on the side where my root canal was. When we told the server to hold the asparagus (neither Jack nor I care for the seasonal vegetable) she brought carrots instead, which was a nice touch. Jack had a glass of retsina. We shared a slice of baklava. Jack asked for turkish style coffee, but (naturally enough) they didn't serve it in this Greek restaurant. "The owners fix it for themselves, sometimes," said the waitress, "but they aren't here tonight."

We sat on a bench overlooking the water. The full moon came out! I'm glad it wasn't raining like it was all day. Jack smoked a cigar -- it was a quiet, contented interval. (But I'm really not in favor of cigars.)

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We had a drink at the (rowdy yet slightly yuppified) Dog House tavern, then drove back to the inn. We couldn't find the road at first! and had to cast about until we found the highway that runs like a spine up the length of the island, then drive south and approach from the other side. It was the perfect time to try out our two-person jacuzzi tub! But first we had our tiramisu.