For the second consecutive summer, the PNW has been surrounded by devastating fires in British Columbia, northern California, and east of the Cascades, and their smoke has enveloped the region. In addition to a scratchy throat and feeling particularly winded during workouts, this year's smoke unexpectedly affected my mini-funemployment trip to Victoria with my mom.
Our plan was to travel via seaplane, which would be a first for both of us, so we tried everything to make it happen after our original flight was cancelled due to poor visibility. Try as we might to rearrange flights and hold out for possible clearing, we eventually resigned to the three-hour Clipper ride and shared a (free!) cab to Pier 70 with a fellow out-of-lucker.
The Clipper was by no means awful, but it also wasn't the 40-minute aerial view we'd organized the trip around. Both of us had looked forward to soaring over our PNW home from a new angle, mouth-breathing against the seaplane's bubble windows as our eyes took in every mossy island strewn about the Sound like sprinkles spilled on the kitchen floor.
But instead, we sat back—headphones in and cameras out—as the Clipper broke from the dock and slowly coasted into the foreign clouds that were choking the city. I closed my eyes, swaying with both my music and the waves, and thought about how beautiful it all usually looks on a clear Seattle day.
Some moody photos that mirrored our inner feels: