usa: washington: seattle

Getting from Charlotte to Seattle was supposed to be easy. I was supposed to have a flight around noon, a layover, then another flight, landing in Seattle in the evening. When I woke up in the morning I discovered my first flight had been cancelled, which totally changed the plan. I didn't receive any notification from the airline that my flight had been cancelled, I only found out because I checked online to see if it was still scheduled to be on time. I don't know what I would've done if I'd gotten to the airport and found out then. 

Since my first flight was cancelled, I called the airline to find out what they were planning to do to get me to Seattle. I was really glad I'd booked directly through the airline, it made figuring out the changes a lot easier. I was on hold for 30 minutes, then three minutes of talk time got everything sorted out.

My first flight ended up being around 1800, with a layover in Houston. When I landed in Houston I discovered the new second flight had been delayed, argh. It all meant I landed after midnight in Seattle, making for a very long day.

I'm grateful for my friends, (Lynnae was one of the very first people I met when I moved to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2001,) as the one who was hosting me was still willing to pick me up at the airport at that crazy time of night. She drove us to her house, then we stayed up way too late talking before going to sleep.

The next morning I was woken up by her three sons coming to meet me. They'd all heard about me, and they'd read the postcards I'd sent, so they were curious. The last time I'd seen the sons, there had only been two, and the youngest had been just a month old. 

Now there were three, with the youngest at five years old.

Lynnae cooked breakfast, and we all hung out. The boys were out playing in the backyard for a bit, loving it. When weather is good, it's always a good idea for kids to be outside, amusing themselves.

When we were all organized, Lynnae was kind enough to load everyone into the van and drive us into the city center. Traffic in Seattle is a mess (like any big city,) so this was no small feat. I'd booked myself a hire car, and it was heaps cheaper to pick it up in the city center than it was to pick it up at the airport.  

I got the car, figured out where I wanted to go next, then drove out of the parking garage.

My destination was the Seattle campus of the University of Washington. It was somewhat painful to go there, as I grew up as a Wazzu (Washington State University) fan. Howeva I'd seen a photo online of a reading room in a library on that campus, I wanted to see it for myself. I'm a sucker for old school reading rooms in libraries.

The hardest part of visiting this campus was finding parking. Like many major university campuses, it was built long before the average student had a car. Like many major university campuses, the idea is still that students come to class on campus, still without a car. It makes sense when you are a student, and are able to use other forms of transport, but when you're a visitor, it's not very convenient.

After circling around at least twice, I finally found the entrance to a parking garage, and parked. I followed signs on the walls, hoping I was heading in the right direction. Suzallo Library is named for Henry Suzallo, who was the university president when construction on the library started. It was formally named for him after he died in 1933.

The entrance area wasn't anything special, but the stairs going upstairs were quite grand. Stained glass, stone stairs, etc.... The reading room was everything I hoped it would be.

Vaulted ceiling, stained glass windows, old school green lamps, bookshelves along the walls, etc... Beautiful.

I didn't want to fork out a fortune for parking, so I didn't spend much time on campus, though it was temping. It's a pretty campus, not that I want to admit something like that about a school that is a rival to one I support. I was lucky with the weather that day, it was clear, and I was able to see Mt Rainier from a fountain on campus. Gorgeous.

I drove from the UW campus to another iconic place in Seattle, the REI flagship store. It's not just an REI store, it's an experience. For anyone who doesn't know, REI is a store/company for outdoor gear and clothing. Chances are, if you need something for an outdoor adventure, they have it. They have their own brand, but also sell tons of others. There is a climbing wall in this flagship store, the whole thing is incredible. Every year they have at least one massive clearance sale, devotees get super excited when that rolls around. I spent money of course, more than I should have spent, but I loved everything I got.

Normally you can park at the REI store for two hours for free, howeva the day I visited they had free parking all day long. For me, this was practically an invitation to leave my car there, in a somewhat secure location, for free!!

I walked to my next sight, stopping on the way for a cool drink at a coffee shop. It didn't take me too long to get to Chihuly Gardens and Glass, a well known place in Seattle.

While it is classified as a museum, this is basically a giant art exhibit, showing the work of Dale Chihuly. He has a very distinctive style of glass sculpture, the whole thing was totally worth the $30 entry fee. 

I don't know if it was done intentionally, but each sculpture is set up in a social media friendly way, in that you can take photos without other people in the photos.

Half the museum is indoors, then you walk through an atrium with more sculptures hanging from the ceiling. Then you head outside to gardens with sculptures placed throughout grass and other landscaping. Though I loved the whole thing, the indoor section was my favourite.

When I left the museum I realized it would be good timing to walk back to the car, and drive to Lynnae's house. 

I didn't know what rush hour traffic is like in Seattle, and I didn't want to find out.

That night I got to hang out with the whole family: all three kids, Lynnae, and her husband Colin. I met Colin when he and Lynnae got married, but obviously I didn't get to know him well at the wedding.

The next morning another GaP friend picked me up, bright and early at 0600. It wasn't too hard for me to get up at that hour, since my body was still mostly on east coast time, which was three hours ahead. I'd only messaged Chelise the day before about getting together, I basically got really lucky that she wasn't working the whole time I was in the Seattle area.

We drove (well, Chelise drove, not me,) to Mt Rainier national park. Since we were on the road so early, we got to see beautiful rural areas without a lot of traffic. We also avoided the crazy number of people who visit this national park, thank goodness.

Chelise had picked out a hiking trail, and figured out the best park. We got to see some great views on the way to the parkplatz, which I loved. She'd chosen a trail called Emmons Moraine, which took us to viewpoints of this moraine, as well as a beautiful lake filled with glacial water. There were a couple points in the trail where we 'turned a corner' and were presented with stunning views, we were both in heaven.

Surprisingly, I managed to stay on my feet the whole time, I didn't fall off a mountain, or a hill. (I'm just coordinated enough to do such a thing.) We saw a small waterfall while on the trail, and could feel the cool air coming off the water. I wish I had a week or more to hike different trails around the national park.

After hiking we drove back to town, where Chelise dropped me off at Lynnae's house. I hung out there for a few more hours, watching the boys entertain themselves. In the evening Lynnae went to work, and I went with Colin as he took the boys to their lessons at a local YMCA.

On the way home from the lessons we picked up Mexican food for dinner, yum.

The next day was the end of my visit in Seattle. Lynnae lives in a suburb, so after breakfast we took the boys down a few streets to get to the shores of Lake Tapps. 

It's quiet, it's pretty, and if you're rich it's a nice place to own a house. (I'm never going to be rich enough for a house on this lake.)

Some people swim in this lake, but this summer there is an algea growing, and it hasn't been decided yet whether the water is safe for swimming. Wading around is okay, but full on swimming maybe not. I waded around, but didn't swim.

Not long after we got back from the house I had to say goodbye and get on the road. 

At the end of my two week trip to the pacific northwest I ended up driving back to Seattle in the morning and spending a few more hours in the city before turning in my car and heading to the airport. 

When I first arrived I decided to go to the Japanese garden, it was fairly easy to find after arriving from out of town.  This garden is in the southern end of the Washington Park Arboretum. Seattle is a big city, but in this garden it is quiet, and almost spiritual. 

No photo equipment is allowed, so I didn't use my tripod, but I was able to ask strangers to take my photo.  

This garden has been around for quite a while, plans were made for it starting back in the 1930s. Construction was finally completed in 1960. Each rock, tree, and flower has been put in a particular place. It is a really peaceful place to spend a couple hours. 

From there I drove to another neighborhood, to a cemetery. The grave of Bruce Lee is easy to find, and Brandon Lee is buried right next to Bruce. Bruce Lee was a well known Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist, and more. His grave is decorated, of course, and people leave offerings. While I waited to take a single photo, one guy had his friend take at least 10 different photos of him standing next to the grave. 

I had two more things to see, both were statues of a sort. The first was the winner of an art contest in 1990, the Fremont Troll.

The Fremont Arts Council sponsored the contest as a way to help clean up the area under the bridge, which apparently was getting to be pretty bad. It's an iconic spot in Seattle, but there is no parking nearby, which I think is a good thing. People are all there to have their photos taken with the troll; for the most part they are polite and everyone waits their turn. 

A quick five minute walk from the Fremont Troll is a statue I never expected to see in the States: Lenin. 

Wikipedia tells me this particular statue was made and displayed in the Czech Republic in 1988, a year before the Velvet Revolution toppled the government and changed everything. In 1993 a rich American found the statue in a scrap yard, so he paid to have it shipped to the States. I'm not sure what his specific plans were, but he died before carrying them out. More Wikipedia reading tells me it has been on 'temporary' display since 1995. 

I walked all the way back to my car, (I'd parked more than a mile away,) then dropped the car at the garage near the hire car office. From there it was an easy and short walk to catch the train to the airort. 

I will definitely be back to Seattle.