The waterfront welcomes us to downtown Seattle!
This is a pretty typical exchange that happens when I travel out of state:
Stranger: Where are you from?
Me: Washington.
Stranger: Nice, I love D.C. So much history!
Me: No, Washington State.
Stranger: Oh, gotcha. Seattle?
Me: [Considering whether to explain there are other cities in Washington besides Seattle. Like the capital, Olympia. Or the whole eastern side of the state.] Sure.
Pike’s Place was next.
Or this:
Family member introducing me to friends: This is my daughter/sister/niece. She lives in Seattle.
Me: Actually I live an hour south of Seattle, closer to Tacoma really.
Family member: [smiles to friend] We love Seattle.
Random Friend: Does it rain all the time in Seattle?
Me: I don’t live in Seattle, and no, it doesn’t rain all the time.
Family member and Friend: Nod knowingly.
Finally:
Me (out of town) introducing myself to strangers: Hi, I’m Kathy. I’m from [pause, pause] Seattle.
Friends: How nice.
Since this also happens to Rachel and Joshua all the time at school in Tennessee (really, it’s just easier to say we’re from Seattle), Rachel was determined to make sure we went to Seattle at least once during her summer home. As our days together are rapidly (SOB!!) coming to an end, we picked today to go.
I love these three so much!
It was a GORGEOUS day! All sunshine and blue skies with lots of warmth thrown into the mix. The streets were crowded with people, and we had a real challenge finding parking (circling the same three block four times is normal, right?). After three failed attempts (one spot too small to get out of the van, another lot turned out to be only free on weekends, and one parking garage took us all the way to the fourth level with NO empty spaces), we ended up on a quiet side street with two hour parking for only $7.
Off we went to complete some Must-Do Seattle activities from Rachel’s list. Last summer David and I went to Seattle with some out of town friends. That time we bought city passes (which I highly recommend) and had an incredible time exploring some of the best attractions in Seattle.
Today was the budget version – we paid for parking, a Mexican plate lunch, and coffee.
Sarah adds her gum to the wall.
Best buddies.
We went to Pike’s Place and walked through the market.
We found the Starbucks flagship store.
We went to the famous gum wall in Post Alley and added our gum to the collection.
There was a tour group of 2nd graders heading to the gum wall when we left. Um, okay. LOL.
We tried the coffee at the Storyville Coffee shop (yum).
Delicious coffee!
We drove over to Alki Beach, took off our shoes, burned our feet on the hot sand and dipped our toes in the cold water.
We got some Starbucks for the ride home.
Sarah, Rachel and David are the BEST traveling team – they are thankful, generous, and up for any and all adventures.
We missed having Tim, Daniel and Joshua with us, but we had a great time being Seattle Adventurers. Rachel kept saying, “We’re not tourists because we LIVE in Seattle.” At least now we’re ready to take friends to Seattle and give them an official tour.
Beach time.
The sand was hot and the water cold. The perfect mix!
Grab some gum and come visit us!
Got gum, will travel.
Project 365 – Day 211
Kathy
Lovely blog, momma! Wish I were there!
I resonate with this strongly. I have had all those conversations, many times.
Great pictures! Funny about the Washington questions. You know that most of my husband’s and my family are in Washington (plus my sister actually moved up there this year). Living in Virginia now, everyone assumes DC when we say “Washington.” Nope, not even close, right?!
My parents are divorced. My mom lives in Friday Harbor. Several times a year, my dad will have this convo with me:
Dad: I don’t know why your mom wants to live in Washington. All that rain . . .
Me: They live in the banana belt, Dad. They don’t get rain.
Three months later:
Dad: I don’t know why your mom wants to live in Washington. All that rain . . .
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Enjoy your time with your girl! We’re trying to pack everything we haven’t done yet into the next four weeks before my kid goes back to school too, lol. Including another trip to Washington. DC, that is.
Yep. Doesn’t happen to me all the time, but I get it. And that sounded like 2 coffees – what a treat day all in all! It sure was a gorgeous one. Isn’t it kind of yucky to smoosh your gum on the wall with all that other pre-chewed icky melty gum?
Thanks for taking us, MOM!
Great day. The thought of those 2nd graders visiting the gum wall does turn my stomach! LOL
Yes, we keep hearing Josiah moved to Seattle….he’s already adapting the coping mechanism…close – but not; but why correct everyone? LOL
I love wandering around downtown Seattle. Sad that your day with Rachel are coming to an end – praying the remaining time continues to be a blessing to all of you.