Oktoberfest

Heading south I stopped at vv to find an outfit for Oktoberfest. Normally I would have had one reserved for months beforehand, but I may have adopted a more laid back approach to plans. Leather liederhosen would have been ideal, but a gimmick of a dress was all there was. Met with the carpoolers & drove into Leavenworth for a live-music Italian dinner. Shared pinot grigio, ate smoked salmon, brie & apples.The owner of the restaurant - there every night for 20 years, opens whenever he feels like waking up - gave life advice, though not good life advice; told stories. There was a thrill in the center of me, one that has been hard to find.
We headed up the mountain to Plain, winding through the dark, finding ourselves behind another carful of reuniters. It seemed all of us were lost & had found one another in the woods. We rolled down the window to concur directions when a giant papermache penis popped out of the passenger side window, Mickey Avalon's, "My Dick" erupted & the girls in the car stared, nonplussed. We laughed, asked where the heck our cabin was; they inched away slowly, the mache-peen dancing still; they took off. We followed the mache-peen, wondering if one of us was engaged or something, along the winding road until we found our destination cabin. It was a grand parade. Now is a good time to say that I have not laughed so hard in such a long time, the kind of laughter only certain friends can ignite. That kind you miss from when you were young & less serious.
When the nine of us united, we unpacked our groceries, poured wine into goblets, pulled out the halloween brownies & played board games until I fell asleep snoring in the middle of us.
We woke in the morning to D making us pancakes, the coffee boiling, peanut butter & syrups at the center of the table. I have said before & I'll say it till I die - being given coffee is the sweetest, most simple gift. We sat around with morning eyes until the food settled, then headed off into the brush beneath the powerlines for a group run. Running with people you love is right there with having coffee made for you. I think I understand now why there was a hole after college: all of these women are suddenly gone & there's no one like them to you, again.
Showered, put on team shirts, my dress, made pretzel necklaces out of floss, had a couple beers. We were picked up by a party bus, encouraged to bring our beers on board, might have got a little bus sick from the curves, but landed at Oktoberfest. Had mexican for dinner; not so thrilling as that of the schnitzels and bread I had hoped for. People watched. Went to a few wine tastings. Entered the biergarten for beer & schwag. Listened to sassy yodelers, danced with professional 2-steppin' germans. We boarded our party van back along the mountain. Kissed in glitter, tired, we fell asleep talking in our wood-framed beds.
The next morning: more pancakes, more coffee, important questions, we went for a long run along primitive road, reaching higher up the mountain, with peeking views of the wenatchee river below. I took a cup of coffee through the woods to a cliff overlooking the river, felt clear. There was such space & vivid color up there, smoke from a fire billowing out amongst the mountain. It was romantic. Walking back through the woods to the cabin some lady from a second story window told me to get off her property & that I should have known better. I called out, "Just admiring the river, I'm sorry. I didn't know it would ruin your day!" It's amazing when a person can't tell the difference between souls, good or mischievous - or should we all just be afraid?
The troupe of us caravaned into town for lunch before we hit the road - some to Spokane, to Portland, to Seattle, to Bellingham. We had paninis & coffee, spoke about the men in our lives, how each of them missed him, waiting at home for her. Hugs all around, laughter, goodbyes. The sun declined. The travel home long, I felt a deep sigh, a hole there.