Trip To Seattle, WA - A New Favorite Vacation Spot!
It was 6:00 am on a Friday (July 18th). We drove to Dallas to board our plane to Portland, Oregon and then another to Seattle. We were headed to meet Trey's, my husband, parents who had been sailing all summer along the west coast. One of his best friends, Tom, from high school and Tom's girlfriend also lives up there, so we would be spending time with friends and family!
We got to the airport and I got called out of line for my tattoo ointment and my lotion bottle. I was allowed to keep them but they had to be in a bag, oops. I left half my makeup at home (that was hard to do) for security reasons and totally forgot to check my purse...of course. Finally, we were in Seattle. The instant we stepped out of the Lightrail (their subway-ish thing); I was in love! The city reminded me a tiny bit of New Orleans. The people were much cooler and nicer than the ones in New York and San Fransico, kinda like New Orleans. And there was so much art EVERYWHERE. Such an inspiring city!!
Now, don't get me wrong, no city will ever be as glorious as New Orleans. There is just no place with the kind of culture that New Orleans has. But, Seattle is definitely on my list of fav cities.
Tom picked us up downtown and took us to his apartment where we would stay that night. We walked in the door and *surprise* my in-laws were there! We were not expecting to see them until later in the day so we were happy. We went up to their rooftop to eat and had a lovely night looking at the most gorgeous view of Seattle!
The next day we went sailing with everyone to an island. It was magical. Sailing was a total blast! The island was beautiful with an amazing garden and traditional Native American art all around. We ate the best salmon cooked over an open flame the traditional way the Native Americans did. We then watched a live show of tribal dances telling stories about Seattle. It was amazing!
Sunday was probably my favorite day. We sailed to a dock that was right against downtown, which was where we stayed the rest of our trip. The view was amazing and we were next to everything. We spent the day exploring the city. We went to the market where they throw fish (way too fun to see and I could not get a decent picture of it unfortunately. They were just too fast!), saw the original Starbucks (check out the picture of the band), saw the gum wall (you just have to look at the pictures to get it), street artists, an outdoor art exhibit, and some absolutely amazing things. After all that walking since morning we needed a mid-afternoon break. We saw this gorgeous restaurant and hotel right on the edge of the water (hotel called the EdgeWater, clever; the restaurant was the Six|Seven) and so we stopped in. Not really realizing it was an extremely nice hotel and we looked like tourists...But, we had some drinks and appetizers anyway while we rested. That night Trey and I walked to the Ferris Wheel that hangs a little over the ocean, or sound, to be proper. Before we went on the Ferris Wheel, we stopped into a bar right next to it. I have no idea what it's name was but the bartender was AMAZING!!! I was in my sweats (because it was late and we were going to be the only people around) and my sweatshirt said LSU (because anytime I'm out of town I represent our state!), so he told us he could make a drink better than a hurricane, so he did. Turns out a scorpion not only tastes better but is about 100% alcohol. Totally didn't know that until the next morning when we told Trey's parents about our night. Whoops. Never would have said yes to that drink had I known that. The bartender also told us he went and lived in New Orleans for a year and insisted we live there for at least a year before having kids (I wasn't exactly objecting to this idea...). He was fun. The Ferris Wheel ride was amazing and terrifying! The thought of falling into ice cold water wasn't too thrilling. But it was magical being up there on the edge of the city.
We spent the rest of our time sailing and enjoying relaxing on Monday. It was a great last day! We sailed to a Navy Yard (where they build Navy ships) and they contacted us on the radio to ensure we stayed far enough away. It was serious business. But also, just plain FUN! For dinner, we ate at the restaurant right next to our pier. It was called Anthony's. Great, great food. After dinner we went to the sailboat to relax and listen to music. And I took picture of the most beautiful jellyfish I saw the entire trip. Perfect end to our last day in Seattle.
Tuesday, aka travel day, was eventful. We woke up at 4 am, our taxi we reserved never showed, we took another taxi to the light rail, and waited on it for forever. Barely made it to our flight in time (we ran through the airport...not kidding). And then when we arrived in Dallas we called my Mom, she thought we were arriving in Shreveport. So then, we decided to make this an adventure instead of just sitting in an over-crowded airport for three hours. So, we took a bus, to a bus, to get to the train that took us to the city. When we got to the train, to take us to the city, we were late. We had to wait in the 90 degree weather, with extreme humidity, which we weren't acclimated to (since we came from Seattle) for an hour. We had pretty much been laughing at our situation from the time we called my Momma. I mean, after nearly missing your flight, nothing else compares. When we finally got into the city we decided on a restaurant (thank you, Google). We started walking to our Mexican restaurant of choice and enjoyed walking through Dallas (we've only driven around in Dallas). After eating my Mom arrived, and we went home to basically pass out hours early. That, that was a long, adventurous, and fun day. Unexpected adventures are always the best! Always. As long as you know how to embrace the moment, laugh, and love life.
****Some images were taken with my phone and the quality is very poor! They were edited in Photoshop the same as any other image I post to my website.
