Another report from Orion

Wow. Summer 2001 is well over and it was packed. Here's a few highlights.

HealtheTech
Starting in April, I worked in Belltown, a section of downtown Seattle up near Seattle Center and other landmarks. The commute involved a bus trip to Bainbridge Island, a ferry ride to Seattle, and a 20 minute walk up to the office in Seattle. The walks were a lot of fun - mornings along the waterfront seemed a lot more peaceful than the busy afternoons. I took a 360 degree picture at the Bell Street Bridge for an aerial view.

	Several landmarks were along the way - Bena Roya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony, was one of my favorites.
On the way in, I would often walk through Pike Place Market, enjoying the smells of fresh bread and pastries. The Market had advertising pig sculptures all over town, each one decorated differently. The Bon had a Disco pig; the waterfront had one dressed like an orca.
	The building I walked to was a (relatively) small brick building, hidden behind several trees on 3rd Avenue.
Inside was a bunch of really cool people who never looked this serious. = )
	On Thursdays, I got to stay with my cousins, so I got some fun visiting, eating, playing, and resting time in. It was probably the most refreshing part of my summer.
I enjoyed watching the sun rise as I ate breakfast at their house. The back porch was great for absorbing some early morning rays. I got to housesit for a few days and enjoyed walks and bike rides in the city. It was awesome.
	I spent the 4th of July with my family in Kingston and the went back to my cousins that evening. It was one of the few days that we were all together since Ayol was off in Honduras for a while.
The parade was really long, but it had a number of fun moments. We saw a lot of friends from the area.
	Later, we went up to Buck Lake and had lots fun hiking, tree climbing and playing lawn games.
Back at home, we had lots of garden treats throughout the summer.
	On Sundays, we got to go to Cross Sound in the new movie theater.
One Sunday afternoon, we were treated to two parties - one was a going away party for friends from Cross Sound.
	The other was an anniversary party for old friends from St. Luke's.
For birthday gifts, Bud, Rige, Ayol, and Dad went with me to a Mariners/Giants game. It was a great 12th-inning win.
	My family went to two weddings, too. The first one was for out cousins in Illinois. I'll probably write about that one elsewhere - it's a long story. The second one was for one of our good friends, Randy.
There were lots of cool families at the wedding...
	...which complemented the wedding families quite well. The service was really cool - it was all done in the forest, right next to the Hood Canal with beautiful backlighting and sunbeams to highlight the ceremony.
Randy's parents were beaming all night.
	Jumping around a little bit, Nae went to Scholarship Camp and was the only Ifland there. I had to work, but I visited on the two Saturdays. I missed being there.
Oh - and my family got to host some old friends, which was loads of fun.
	We went on a short little vacation to North Vancouver, too...
	That's all for now...maybe I'll ramble more later. I hope you enjoyed it. - Orion