Another Day in Paradise
For those of you who don't know, Heather and I finally took the hippie highway up to Bainbridge Island (WA), shortening our brisk 70 mile commute to a mere 3 miles of darkness. The 'darkness' is meant on so many levels. Although Bainbridge was ranked the No. 2 Best Place to Live in 2005 by CNN/Money (A NJ town was ranked No. 1, no surprise, ok maybe a little), this darkness I speak of can be found in many that live on the island, the weather, or the island itself.
Whether your a rich pretentious bastard or a dirty angry hippie (there are two kinds of hippies, those that love the world and people, and those that hate what the people have done with 'their' world and resent the people for it; I would be speaking about the latter) , or worse yet a rich dirty pretentious angry hippie bastard, you're right at home on Bainbridge. The island's people have a darkness about them that resonates as they walk by you with their $200 Marmot sandals, $4 good-will jeans, tie-dye-esk hippie shirt complete with Buck Fush button and list of ignorant comments in hand, driving a Volvo or Subaru with the obvious bumpersticker, that hasn't been washed since it left the showroom; miserable-in-denialitis as it's commonly referred to.
The weather makes Seattle look like the Sahara, the island being on the same side of the Sound as the continents only rain forest due west of here. Low-gray clouds occupy most days, and the fact that I can't sleep with my windows open or go for a run in the morning because it's too cold (low 50's this morning) takes the wind out of your sails early.
As for the island itself, in its quaint majesty it's like camping for rich people year round. It's so heavily wooded where we live that Heather and I have to peer out the window straight up to the sky to see if it's a nice day or not, because the tree cover is so dense sunlight, or should I say daylight, is non-existent at window level. Don't get me wrong, the atmosphere is beautiful and serene, but not conducive for sunglasses, shorts and short-sleeves. Don't worry people still where their sandals here in the cold weather, all year, just with white athletic socks...don't get me started. It's currently 11:15am and I'm wearing jeans, a long-sleeve t-shirt, and a fleece vest with sneakers; the nice thing is that I'm appropriately dressed at the office.
Again, go to The Best Places to Live in 2005 to see where you rank. Notables include 2 NJ towns in the top 10, Moorestown (no. 1) and Chatham (no. 9) (next door to where I grew up in Randolph and where Heather lived for a year, and where a lot of my family has always lived), as well as Louisville, CO (no. 5), where Heather and I lived while in college at Boulder. That puts Heather in 3 of the top-10 towns in her short independent existance; can she pick em' or what. Peachtree City, GA (no. 8) is where my uncle Kevin resides, with golfcarts being the predominant source of transportation for residents. Randolph, NJ, my hometown, was a 'contender' in the rankings, putting it in the top-250.
Whether your a rich pretentious bastard or a dirty angry hippie (there are two kinds of hippies, those that love the world and people, and those that hate what the people have done with 'their' world and resent the people for it; I would be speaking about the latter) , or worse yet a rich dirty pretentious angry hippie bastard, you're right at home on Bainbridge. The island's people have a darkness about them that resonates as they walk by you with their $200 Marmot sandals, $4 good-will jeans, tie-dye-esk hippie shirt complete with Buck Fush button and list of ignorant comments in hand, driving a Volvo or Subaru with the obvious bumpersticker, that hasn't been washed since it left the showroom; miserable-in-denialitis as it's commonly referred to.
The weather makes Seattle look like the Sahara, the island being on the same side of the Sound as the continents only rain forest due west of here. Low-gray clouds occupy most days, and the fact that I can't sleep with my windows open or go for a run in the morning because it's too cold (low 50's this morning) takes the wind out of your sails early.
As for the island itself, in its quaint majesty it's like camping for rich people year round. It's so heavily wooded where we live that Heather and I have to peer out the window straight up to the sky to see if it's a nice day or not, because the tree cover is so dense sunlight, or should I say daylight, is non-existent at window level. Don't get me wrong, the atmosphere is beautiful and serene, but not conducive for sunglasses, shorts and short-sleeves. Don't worry people still where their sandals here in the cold weather, all year, just with white athletic socks...don't get me started. It's currently 11:15am and I'm wearing jeans, a long-sleeve t-shirt, and a fleece vest with sneakers; the nice thing is that I'm appropriately dressed at the office.
Again, go to The Best Places to Live in 2005 to see where you rank. Notables include 2 NJ towns in the top 10, Moorestown (no. 1) and Chatham (no. 9) (next door to where I grew up in Randolph and where Heather lived for a year, and where a lot of my family has always lived), as well as Louisville, CO (no. 5), where Heather and I lived while in college at Boulder. That puts Heather in 3 of the top-10 towns in her short independent existance; can she pick em' or what. Peachtree City, GA (no. 8) is where my uncle Kevin resides, with golfcarts being the predominant source of transportation for residents. Randolph, NJ, my hometown, was a 'contender' in the rankings, putting it in the top-250.
posted by Jonathan at 10:28 AM
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