Seattle
October 26, 2006
When Roger and I were trying to decide how to spend our two-and-a-half-day fact-finding mission in Seattle, we immediately agreed with each other that we wouldn't visit the Space Needle. It somehow seemed too touristy. Too ... expected.
A delightful girl, whom I only know as "Tele Girl," emailed me with a list of must-do's for Seattle.
(I don't know why she calls herself "Tele Girl." Does she work in telecommunications? Or is she a huge astronomy buff with a collection of telescopes on her porch? Tele Girl, won't you respond and let us know?)
When we finally arrived in The Emerald City, we navigated our way directly to Pike's Market – but not without a little exasperation on Roger's part and defiant, ridiculous, over-defensiveness on my part, during which I might or might not have thrown the map on his lap and exhaustively sighed that he'd just have to navigate and drive all by himself, which he refused to do, so we sat in silence, stomachs grumbling, until I reclaimed my duty as navigator if only because I was so hungry and desperate to go somewhere, anywhere, even McDonald’s – by way of the piers, where we stopped for "lunch" (Note: not at McDonald’s). And by "lunch," I mean our bodies thought it was 4:00 p.m. and we had yet to eat a meal that day.
We were off to a great start for a delightful weekend together, don't you think?
Once we consumed our weight in food, we strolled through Pike's Market, oooohhed and aaaahhed over the fresh flowers, cheered as we watched a fish market worker catch a huge salmon that flew through the air (I half expected him to run for a touchdown, but it didn't happen), and wandered through the streets of downtown Seattle.
I was enamored by the musicians on street corners – something you would never see in Dallas – and even tipped one man a dollar because he had developed mad drumming skillz with his old paint cans. If my children are only half that good on pots and pans, I’m totally placing them on a street corner with an over-turned top hat for tips. And I may even let them keep the tips.
The air during the entire weekend was crisp and clear, just as autumn air should be. The skies were an intense blue, as if God had color-corrected them just for our trip. And then we found ourselves doing exactly what we had agreed not to do: riding the elevator to the top of the Space Needle. We decided that given the weather, it would be completely irresponsible for us not to go. We could see clear to the Canadian border, as well as most of the Seattle suburbs that weren’t hidden by trees. We had a lovely view of Mt. Rainier, watched ferries zipping by (as much as ferries can "zip"), and squinted at buoys bobbing around in the water.
(We didn't even notice until after we took the picture that two seals were sunbathing atop the buoy.)
We sipped coffee and watched the sun lower over the Puget Sound, and then quietly discussed whether we could imagine ourselves living in the city.
Over the course of the weekend, we acquainted ourselves with Seattle. We drove through outlying areas and evaluated neighborhoods and suburbs. We rode a ferry from Seattle to Bremerton, then drove through small towns on our way to the West coast. We found ourselves bundling up at the Pacific Ocean, hiding ourselves from the strong wind and silently admiring the strength of the waves. We watched a family play fetch with their retriever, and another couple flying a kite on the beach.
It was very, very cold and very, very windy at the ocean.
We stopped for a couple pieces of saltwater taffy and ended up buying a (small) bagful. And now? We want more.
Someone, please send banana, vanilla and orange-flavored taffy. I will throw money at you. In an envelope. With your name on it. And a stamp. Ooooh! And also licorice flavor, please. Yummm. And maybe some peppermint, but not too much. Banana, orange, vanilla and licorice flavors take precedence in my book.
Perhaps I should apologize now for becoming such a taffy snob. To make up for it, I’ll let you offer your suggestions of your favorite taffy flavors, and maybe I’ll get a few pieces of that, too, in my taffy order.
Our last morning we went on a short hike at Mt. Rainier with our incredibly hospitable weekend hosts, Jen and Jeremy. Jen is an old childhood friend of mine: the kind that you see for the first time after twenty years and it seems like all that time never went by. Except we are both older. And married.
Jen and Jeremy introduced us to the lush forests of Washington, where we stood in awe of trees. Big trees. And rivers. And actual, real mountains.
Jeremy enticed Roger with stories of camping and hiking, and even won me over by telling me that poisonous snakes and spiders aren't prevalent in Washington because it is too cold. While the boys chatted about backpacking, Jen and I discussed the merits of sending the guys out into the wilderness (number one on the list: more time for scrapbooking).
Obviously, it would be a win-win situation.
Even though we only spent less than three days in Seattle, our time there felt rich and full. No contest, we fell in love with the taffy city. The question is: should be move there? Or elsewhere?
(See more pictures from our Seattle trip here.)
Comments
Wow, now I want to move to Seattle. Amazing! I visited one time and loved it. Loved Pike's Market. Lucky for me, we have salt water taffy here too! I'll go down to the boardwalk and see if I can pick some up for you. Then I can get a gift from the Storage Closet O' Goodness too.
Posted by: CPA Mom | October 26, 2006 09:02 AM
Yes, CPA Mom, move to Seattle. And then I can have another friend. And you can have free access to the Storage Closet O'Goodness.
Posted by: jes | October 26, 2006 09:35 AM
I haven't had saltwater taffy in such a long time!
I'm glad your mission went well. The city looks gorgeous.
Posted by: -R- | October 26, 2006 10:22 AM
I don't think I've ever had salt water taffy. I've had salt water, does that count?
And yes, the scenery looks beautiful.
And no, you can't move that far away!
Posted by: AmStaff Mom | October 26, 2006 11:54 AM
I'm so glad you had a great time and fell in love with Seattle. It's hard not to, there are so many opportunities for good times, beautiful scenery and great food. Plus, you will be near mountains where there are opportunities for TELEMARK SKIING! Which totally rocks and is why I go by "telegirl". I do hope you move there and I do hope that life is blissful for you. :o) Keep us posted.
Cool neighborhoods? Fremont. Queen Anne. Green Lakes. West Seattle area. Actually, they're all cool!
Posted by: telegirl | October 26, 2006 12:50 PM
Telemark skiing?
I haven't been skiing since I was five years old (I know. Must go.) and I really don't remember anything about it.
But wikipedia? Is full of answers.
Posted by: jes | October 26, 2006 01:27 PM
Hm.
You should be a technical writer for travel brochures.
Is there such a thing?
Posted by: ben | October 26, 2006 03:39 PM
I have seen the fish market before, on a training video for a crappy job I had once. It was a video about having a positive attitude. They had this whole "FISH" concept developed around it. Gotta go and ruin something cool like throwing fish with corporate crap. =0)
Posted by: Mikey | October 26, 2006 03:41 PM
YES, ben, there is! And I would LOOOOOVVVVEEEEE to do that. Gah. Dream job.
Posted by: jes | October 26, 2006 03:42 PM
Seattle is awesome! I've only been there once but I totally fell in love with it. The views from the University of Washington campus -- hell, the views from anywhere in town, are always amazing.
Posted by: Jonathon | October 26, 2006 04:00 PM
Another vote in favor of Seattle. I'm not sure why, but it got stuck in my head as "Great place to raise kids".
Posted by: Lia | October 26, 2006 04:21 PM
And now I totally want to move to Seattle and I dont camp or hike.....willingly. Hiking may be fun but I am not sleeping outside.
Looks beautiful though.
Posted by: Willow | October 26, 2006 08:38 PM
Okay, your pictures are gorgeous, but we need to talk about the most important part -- your scrapbook. UH. MAZE. ING. Wow.
It's so cute! So now that you're back, we have to meet. I mean, we both live in Dallas. Probably even close to the same part, I'm thinkin'. So we'll meet and we'll scrapbook. I already have supplies and a book to make a scrapbook for my relationship with K. The problem? I've had said scrapbook AND supplies for like 6 months. Besides, it looks like you've got yourself a trip to scrapbook. :)
Posted by: my life is brilliant | October 26, 2006 09:29 PM
Those pictures are SO crisp!
Posted by: CP | October 26, 2006 09:48 PM
Well, dang. Now *I* want to move to Seattle.
Hell, let's ALL go!
Posted by: Lawyerish | October 27, 2006 08:51 AM
Beautiful Pictures. Looks like you enjoyed yourself.
Posted by: Tammy | October 27, 2006 10:02 AM
I grew up in Western Washington and miss it so badly some times. I could look out of my 7th grade latin class window on Mt Ranier. When it is clear in Seattle it is the most beautiful place in the world.
Posted by: katie | October 27, 2006 01:52 PM
I love the color corrected sky. It's perfect.
And salt water taffy? Deeelish!
Posted by: Jayleigh | October 27, 2006 07:27 PM
Beautiful photos, Jes! I am impressed with your crazy-good skillz as a photog. But, man did you make me lonesome for the West Coast.
Posted by: juliness | October 28, 2006 08:48 AM
I love Seattle. Like when they throw the fish at Pike's Market. Check out the underground city thing.
Posted by: Rhea | October 28, 2006 09:17 AM
It's so strange. I live SO close to Seattle, and I hardly ever go. But it is indeed a beautiful city, and it sounds like you had a great trip. Hurrah! : )
Posted by: kerrianne | October 28, 2006 06:29 PM
YAY! Glad you had fun. I reeeeeally think you could live in Seattle and be VERY happy.
THE WEST COAST IS THE BEST COAST!!!
:)
Posted by: Courtney | October 29, 2006 02:51 PM
Sounds like a good time. But I don't think I could handle the cold. I like my mild winters! It's better for Frisbee!
Posted by: eddo | October 30, 2006 02:25 PM
I was born and raised in the Seattle area (Redmond, and the U-District). I'm in SF now. Seattle is all the things your "moving" post said you are looking for. There IS still affordability there, even though it has changed a lot (like just about anywhere else). Their new city slogan is "MetroNatural" and that is really true. Big city fun with nature and recreation at your fingertips. Just remember, it doesn't rain as much as people think, but it is gray a lot. Fortunately, often (like this past weekend) the gray just dissipates and you have a glorious day at your feet! Good luck!
Posted by: shannon | October 30, 2006 09:15 PM
Hi there! I stumbled across your blog while testing out the NaBloPoMo Randomizer I made. I dig your design, and the photos of Seattle. I just moved to New Zealand from San Francisco, but had I stayed in the States, Seattle is definitely where I would have gone.
Here's a link to the randomizer if you wanna check it out:
http://www.pinkelephants.org/nablopomo/
Good luck on posting everyday!
Posted by: lane | October 31, 2006 11:19 PM