It was like four months of Seattle/mainland conditioning was reversed the second the humidity hit me in the face.

It was like time stood still. We were just driving a different car.

Eric and I booked the trip the night before. When family calls, you gotta go. Got to see a few of the homies while at it and run into a few randomly. Got to have that post shower after the beach 5pm layout without feeling like we were visitors. Visited my parent’s graves, and just my luck, they were under construction.

A question I get often, is how do you get to travel so much? First of all, flights in general are much cheaper once you are back on the mainland. Especially if you are in a city where the airport is a hub of connections (but not like PHX). SEA is pretty good but places like LAX or SFO, more flights will go direct to there and somewhere else. Like I don’t think I ever heard of a one way HNL to JFK. If so, that’ll probably be an arm and a leg and not that often. AND name drop and every chance that you get to get anything out of it. Do it. Really it’s like an investment. Invest in a few flights, and then, let the free ones come. Mileage card, bank cards, credit cards with miles. So many airlines are merging, you can actually use miles from different airlines. Rental car companies, hotels, motels, restaurant. All you gotta do is sign up for a few things and give your email address and email customer service on where those miles are. It’s amazing what you can do.

I guess something happened a couple of weeks on the news about Hawaiian’s service to Vegas. Hawaiian ended up giving everyone a free round trip after a bunch of locals went to the new station to talk about how pissed they were. I also had a couple of friends from Seattle who had a majorly delayed flight and resulted in free roundtrips back…in first class. So naturally on our delayed flight, we didn’t even have to ask. We got a nice room at the Ala Moana Hotel for the night, four meals, transportation and a free trip back. That’s how you do it. United will take emails and they usually email back apologizing and sending some sort of compensation, whether in miles, percentage or vouchers. This we have gotten five of already. I guess that’s the price of crappy domestic airline services (ya’ll that have flown JAL know what I’m talking about) Is that you just get another crappy experience for free or cheaper.

Well, next trip back, will be on Hawaiian and we’ll be able to kick it a little harder. Plus I think I am going to need that Hawaiian sun back come the winter here. I am stoked about the weather changes after so many years in the heat but also scared. I miss Longs (really starting to think best store ever), the beach and really good food.

Rocky Rivera aka Krishtine Deleon. I am proud of you sis!
TEAM ROCKY!

Yakima, Washington is about a three hour drive away from Seattle. While driving on the I-90 I always have fantasies about doing a Beacon Hill to Beacon Hill drive. Which would be from where we live in Seattle’s Beacon Hill taking the I-90 to where it ends in Beacon Hill Boston Massachusetts where Eric went to college.

I was working with middle schoolers in West Seattle for the end of the 09/10 school year and Thi-le and I started at about the same time. She’s a woman warrior with the most amazing family history background and with so much hospitality. She invited me up to her boyfriend’s family farm in Wapato for her birthday. She talked up Eastern (Central?) Washington so much…and mentioned there was wine tasting, so we happily took the invite.

Let me tell you. The Vo and Valencia family really know how to treat folks and it shows. I’ve never kicked it like that before. Nor have I ever been on a real farm like that. Apparently Tito and Tita Valencia had come from the Philippines and decided to drop Engineering to have a farm. Tito (Jay’s dad) even got the special stash of seaweed from Hawaii for us to eat.

The drive there alone was amazing. Eric said parts of it had reminded him of Africa. It was like when we arrived to Yakima, there was a hidden little town in those beautiful rolling hills.

It was Eric’s first time and I have had some experience in Napa and Sonoma. We hit up six wineries in two days. A new record. We should’ve known rolling up at Silver Lake and seeing the Confederate flag stickered on someone car that it was bad news. But someone else had a Hawaii sticker on a jalopy. I thought it balanced. They treated us like aliens there and all the patrons there stopped, turned their heads and had no problem staring at us with their mouth open with food.

On the other hand, we loved Masset Winery who had the quirkiest lady running the tasting room. I never got her name but I can tell you all about her son-in-law who is the wine master, her daughter and her twin grandchildren. One of the few places to have ice wine, great selection of well made reds and my favorites, dessert wine.

Also Horizon Edge was on the return list. I think the dudes name was David. He was the wine master as well as running the tasting room. I like the places that feel more like someone’s home or workshop instead of those fancy places where people go from person to person using words that sell. He didn’t even bother. He asked what he liked, poured it down the list and just talked about whatever we wanted to. I think we got like half a case there. We couldn’t’ help but notice the labels on the bottles. Eric being all designer-y and me being all observant and appreciating well designed things. The fancy names of this wine were like “The Foreplay Chardonnay”. David also had an ice wine.

The hanai family next door to the Valencia farm let me ride their pet horse. Which I found out there is a huge different between someone else’s horse and the ones at Kualoa Ranch. Thi-le’s step dad really displayed as a great father and uncle figured to the boys who were probably way too stoked about guns for that age (?) He sure handled it great and encouraged me to try something new. His ex-military style really kept those boys in check. Eric shot a shotgun for the first time. Terrified of guns and I finally got to shoot one. Like East LA style in my blood, I murdered those targets. (or beginners luck, whatev)

The crop smells of jalapenos, green onions and cabbage is indescribable for the first time. Maybe even the second. Of course I felt like a city girl getting all stoked about the cows in the cow holding area and saying things like “I wish there was a home fragrance like these crops!” Jay took us on a four wheeler. We rode around miles of farm land around sunset and it was one of those moments of living life.

Not only was it many firsts and an amazing weekend. But it was also a great lesson in family, friends and moments in time. It was an amazing weekend to recharge and feel awake again.

Thanks fam, farms and four wheelers.