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华盛顿州的Skagit Valley, 有近800英亩的土地，六十多年来种植着郁金香和水仙花。 为保证产量和土壤质量，一块土地每六年轮种一次。据说，荷兰进口的郁金香的70%是来自美国的华盛顿州。
四月21日的西雅图，清晨还下了点小雨，等我们达到Spagit Valley后，天晴了。雨后的早晨清冽地刮着冷风，我们跟着如潮的人群在寒风中排着长队，等待进入。入口两旁窄窄地种着一长溜各色郁金香，一片红，一片紫，一片粉，一片黄，一片白，熟悉的，不熟悉的品种，在风中摇曳着，欢迎着四方来宾。
走进农田后，我们先是观赏了精心设计的展示公园，然后又徜徉在一望无际的花海间。想起这些十七世纪风靡荷兰的郁金香，人们曾为之趋之若鹜。1620s, 有人愿意拿一栋townhouse去换十个特殊品种的郁金香球茎，居然没有交易成功。那时，一颗郁金香球茎的价值可以高过一个人一年的薪水。除了炒作的效应，从另一个角度说明郁金香的独特。又想起中文的翻译-郁金香。其实这花并没有什么香气，但是它确实有着浓郁、艳丽夺目的色泽，一度金子般的身价，抑或是它黄金般的高贵，最终赋予了它这样典雅的中文译名。
郁金香无疑是美的，无论含苞待放，还是已经蓓蕾绽放，它娇艳的色泽，光滑细腻如蜡的花瓣，纯净得如十六七岁的少女，美得倾国倾城。
笨拙的笔头无法尽述其美，让照片说话。A picture is more than a thousand words.
看完郁金香，我们开车去Deception Pass State park, 见到了架在两座峭壁间的大桥。桥下碧绿的湖水奔腾流向大海，那些顶风逆流而上的划艇爱好者泛舟水面；峭壁间，turkey vultures 自由自在飞行盘旋。回途中，我们还非常幸运地瞥见了栖息在一棵松树间的美国鹰，它那一头白毛在绿树间若隐若现。
第二天是星期天(4／22)，天公作美。
明媚的阳光好像是跟着我们从加州来到西雅图似的，洒向曾经阴雨连绵的大地。我们决定去爬山，一个叫Poo Poo Point的山。以前在家从不愿跟我们一起爬山的女儿，那日兴致也很高。这是个1760英尺高的山，来回四个miles，山路崎岖陡峭，林中参天的大树挺拔笔直，树干上布满青苔，茂密的树林遮天蔽日，路两旁随处可见的一些蕨类植物，新抽出的嫩叶碧绿欲滴，每片叶子都像从水里洗过那样干净。我贪婪地看着，看着这些久违的嫩绿青翠，真希望能把它们刻入脑海，带回加州，让它在干旱之时走出记忆，浸润我的心脾。
一个多小时后，我们汗流浃背地到达了山顶。那里有一块开阔的平地，聚集着几位跃跃欲试的跳伞滑行者。他们借助着风力打开降落伞，然后纵身一跃，飞向空中。其矫健的身影、五彩的降落伞在蓝天白云的映衬下格外飘逸，为四月的天空增添了一道风景。
当我们最后沿着羊肠小道下山，再次见到那一大片青草地上竞相盛开的蒲公英时，我真是留恋不已。我今春无缘在加州一睹春的秀丽，心中的那份期盼却在异乡得到了实现，最终有幸沐浴在这样的春光下、春色中、春风里，再次有缘与春天相遇。
6:55pm
After the flight took off about 10 minutes, we were over the vast sea. The sun was setting, casting its long sparkling orange streak on the gray sea surface.
An hour later at 7:55pm.
Sitting next to the window where the wing is, I saw a long wing extended with its flowery tail erected and pierced to the sky. The setting sun shone upon the tail, its reflection was cast on the metalic body. The tail, with its reflection, looked like a flying bird.
Except for the noise rumbling continuously, it was quiet and peaceful. I rested my head against the window, relishing the layered sky over the horizon, yellow, orange, pink, and blue , enveloped in a white haze. The sky and the sea were seamlessly connected, the blue color at the bottom could be where they met.
For a while, the plane felt like motionless, with bare mountains dimly in sight, unmoved. Then suddenly, something was moving quickly with its headlight flashing in the twilight. At first I thought it must be another small plane, but when it approached and passed to the other side of the wing, I sensed that it was a vessel gliding across the sea surface underneath.
The two-day-trip to Seattle is very fruitful and fulfilling. The weather there, though cold and windy sometimes, was mostly sunny, with intermittent light drizzles in the mornings or late afternoons. Coming from a drought state, we greedily relished at the lavish greenness, pristine air, and blossoming flowers. The new leaves were spreading in tender yellow color; flowers were heavily hanging over the branches. Everywhere we went, we saw white peach flowers, pink and rosy cherry flowers, purple magnolia, and the state flower Rhododendron. It is a feast to our eyes.
The highlight of our trip is the tour of Skagit Valley tulip festival. Although tulips are no new to us, being seen in stores or pictures, when we were embraced with the overwhelmingly flaming colors of red, purple, orange, yellow extending to the end of the fields, our jaws were dropping, eyes opening, and hearts immersed greatly in this postcard scenery. When we took a closer look, we noticed that in addition to colors, tulips came in varied sizes and shapes too. Some are tall and slender, some petals are big and have layers, some in budding and some in full bloom. Each type has its delicacy, charm and uniqueness. Its beauty is just beyond the description.
As the saying goes, a picture is more than a thousand words. If my memory decays one day, at least these pictures can attest to the beauty.
After lunch, we headed to Deception Pass, where a bridge connects two islands upon the rugged cliffs, creating a magnificent view and mysterious strong gusts on the bridge. We braved the gust and walked across the bridge and down to the beach. On our way back, a lady, who was standing on the other side of the bridge, excitedly beckoned us that there was an American eagle down below, hoping that we could capture it using the big camera. We hurried across, and there on a distant tree on the cliff stood a white-haired American eagle.
Sunday was another great day. We decided to hike the Poo Poo Point, the summit of which serves as the launching pad for paragliding. The mountain is 1760 feet high, the trails leading to the top are narrow and strenuous. When we finished the 2 miles trail in about an hour and half, we were panting and sweating. We joined the crowd in a large clear area, and watched the paragliders launching in the wind. One after another, the paragliders rose to the sky, floating and gliding at ease, with the colorful parachutes decorating the blue sky and white clouds.
Quite unexpectedly, the downhill hike turned out to be a pain, as the pain from the right knee as well as the toes bothered me in almost every step. But it is a rewarding hike, to be accompanied by my daughter, and to immerse ourselves in the spectular spring season.
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