Meteors.

[icebluenothing]

I probably could have seen the Leonids well enough from my courtyard, but it seemed important to me to go out and drive to the best vantage point I could think of, which was Gasworks Park's Kite Hill, the hill that has the analemmatic sundial at the top.

I still had a dollar and change left, and it was enough to buy myself a bag of pretzels and some peanut-butter bars at Safeway on my way there, my theory being that having food would keep me warm, and keep me entertained between meteors. I also had music to keep me entertained -- my Discman happened to still be in the truck from that last time I used it. It turns out The Head on the Door is a fine soundtrack for meteor-watching.

I arrived at Gasworks. I was a little worried about being there after hours -- I was afraid I might get hassled by the police and have to leave -- but I was surrounded by other people who'd had the same idea, which was nice. It was nice to be reminded that the park belongs to the people of Seattle, not to the police.

I was also worried about light pollution from the city, but at least the city itself was gorgeous, with a rosy haze hanging above its thousands of lights.

I have to admit -- I didn't see a lot of meteors. Maybe about a dozen. But the ones I saw were spectacular. Bright, fast, and often with huge smoke trails behind them, like huge Roman candles.

Good things to bring would have been a warm hat, and gloves, and a flashlight to find my way to and from the Annabel Lee. I was dressed for the cold, but it wasn't enough -- after only about forty-five minutes, I was ready to head home. I had vague ideas about changing into some even warmer clothing and heading out into the courtyard after all, but Shoreline was completely fogged in by the time I got home. That's all right -- I was happy with what I'd seen, and besides, I'd already made all the wishes I could think of.