I’m currently formulating what to do over the summer – my very last quarter in college ever- and its been making me feel very stir-crazy. Though my head is dancing with visions of far off places and people and adventures to be had, a fair stream of out-of-town visitors has come upon me, and showing them all that Olympia has to offer has been really reaffiriming of why I love this place so much.

I think its such an Oly-esque exprience to see Arts Walk for yourself – beyond the children and dancing and animals that take the mainstage during Procession, there are all those little on the side things that just kind of happen-that cute happy feeling you get clapping and stomping around to the impromptu show down at the Well, the kind of spur of the moment dance party late at night that takes over the downtown streets. That adorable eccentric community-loving community doesn’t exist just anywhere.

Similarly, its easy to get used to the way you can walk through the back of the parking lot into a magic rainforest land with huge pretty trees and babbling creeks and treehouses and teepees and other such fun found objects hidden in the forestry. Bringing my friend down to the beach through the forest path really reminded my how crazy it is that all this is right in my back yard.

The thing about Olympia is, sometimes I’m just overwhelmed by how much I love it. The industrial pockets by the port and the Farmers Market even when it isn’t open- all the sleepy coffee meetings through big glass windows walked by mid-morning-and the antique stores and certain big intersections I love where the Dash drives through-
and the little punk children, the overgrown Greener townsfolk, the old ladies with hemp hats and the teenagers that are Alternative.

All I am doing right now is planning my big grown-up life in the big wide world,

But I realize that if i really do leave Olympia,
I really will miss it