I got up early enough.

It was probably the coolest reason to get up at 6:30 am on a Sunday Morning.

I woke up at 6:30 and checked the website. I had to reread it several times before it registered that the place to be was Lincoln Park. By the way, Seattle has some kick-ass parks.

So I threw on some clothes and hopped in the car. I was surprised to find parking without any problem. As I found my way down to the beach, I passed by bedheaded Seattlites with float globes in hand, greeted with a sleepy Sunday "Good Morning!"

I wasn't sure where to start, so I just walked into the driftwood. I noticed there were a lot of people scouring the area about a quarter mile down the beach, and plenty of people leaving the park with the globe or two they've found in their hands and a satisfied smile on their faces.

So I looked around the driftwood, and didn't find nothing. I might have been pouting. I found my way down the beach, toward where the crowd was searching. When I got there I thought, this is a bad idea; this area's already been searched. Just then a family I had passed called out, "Sir, have you found one yet?"

Not yet, I said, and notice she was pointing. Thanks! It was a purple/maroon/pink globe, sitting serenely in a hollowed-out stump of driftwood. Hold tight for a picture.

I was happy to finally have one, but I was a little disappointed at not having discovered it myself. So I putted around, looking for another one, the purple globe in my hand.

Hopeful people started approaching me, seeing the float in my hand and asking for tips. Are they still out here? Are they in plain sight? Where did you find that one? By this time, the crowd of searchers had moved down the beach to the spot where I had originally started looking.

So I let go of my hope to discover a globe for myself, and hit the trail for my car. On my way back, I passed many people who had just parked and were making their way down to the beach. I started to notice the scuttlebutt...

"there's nine hundred and eleven of them..."
"they didn't plant them in the grass..."
"they're a half mile up the beach..."
"it's so much better this year..."
"I saw someone with eight, and they weren't ashamed..."
"I'm going to go find them..."

I smiled as I passed the people who had just arrived, knowing the purple glass float in my hand made them anxious to hit the beach. I got into my car and drove to Seattle Deli; ordered a chicken bahn mi and two fried egg rolls.

Now I'm sleepy. I probably won't make it to church at 11.