I have been riding the Water Taxi for seven years now – but not that regularly. It has mainly been a summertime operation, but this year funding was found to keep it running through the winter, albeit for weekday commuter schedule only.
Lately, in the morning on the bus to work, I see the vessel docking on the West Seattle side, and have noticed the garlands and lights hanging in the windows of the cabin. This morning it looked so inviting, that I decided to come home on it.
It was actually my first ride in winter darkness. There were only 14 of us on the boat – a far cry from the noisy crowds of summer. I didn’t pull out my iPhone or e-reader – just sat and enjoyed the hum of the engine and the feeling of sailing across Elliot Bay – enjoying the lights of the Port of Seattle and remembering all the times I’ve made that trip – in happy chapters – and in not-so-happy chapters. I have explored every emotion on that boat.
I bypassed my usual latte downtown in favor of dallying a while at Alki, where I doodled while enjoying an old-time-radio Christmas suspense play, and then read a few chapters of Mark Twain’s “The Gilded Age” – another blast from the past that sheds much light on our present.
On the way home, I enjoyed the Christmas lights of the neigborhood. I managed to get a somewhat decent picture of one display, that is not the most impressive – but is by far the cutest – with penguins in santa hats and a lawn flamingo. Always makes me smile:)
