The Emerald City
So I am currently writing this entry from 35,000 feet in the air!! We are flying back from Seattle right now and I am trying to collect my thoughts from the past few days. The question is, where do I begin? I will start with Washington itself I suppose.
Throughout my life, I have been to and visited many, many different states. With my dad being a history teacher, we were always all over the country checking out new historical places. Yet throughout all my travels, I have never seen a state with such natural beauty as this one.
The moment we stepped out onto the sidewalk and took a deep breath you could feel it. The air….it was SO clean!! It was an incredible different from Michigan air. This was fresh and clean compared to the polluted air in the Midwest. They say the incidence of asthma in this area is virtually non existent because the air is that clean.
Then there were the trees, AMAZING! Everything was just so lush and green. The pine trees were not the skinny scrappy ones that you see in driving through Michigan. These trees were probably about 80-100 feet tall, full, and green the whole way up. The mountain sides would just be filled with these towering trees.
About those MOUTAIN!! Everywhere we looked there would be majestic mountains rising high about us. Some were sloping with trees covering the whole thing, while others were jagged, steep, and covered with glaciers. With the Olympic Range, Cascades, Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens - we never really had a bad view! Their beauty was truly breath-taking and no picture I took could capture their true beauty, none would do justice.
Wildlife is also very abundant here, which I LOVE!! We saw a couple sea lions, a seal, a bald eagle, and even a porpoise all in the wild. We didn’t see any whales though, story about THAT later! J I would like to go back in the summer months when it is Orca season!! I think like 80 or so whales live around the San Juan Islands in the summer time, anyone want to go??
Now onto Seattle…
I can not stress how much I fell in love with that city. Everything about it was just, so ME!! Everyone was just so laid back, friendly, and nice!! People were so active because there was so much to do. Everywhere we went, there were people out biking, walking their dogs, or just out enjoying the beautiful weather. They say that this is one of the fittest cities, because there is so much to do with the mountains, water, and tons of city parks.
I swear the whole city is on a permanent caffeine fix!! Every corner there was a Starbucks or sometimes even a “drive through” coffee shop!! LOL One time we saw a store selling stone garden statues of some sorts and this is what the sing read…
“European Garden Statues
& Drive through Expresso”
I wish I would have gotten a picture of it!! LOL Every store ended in “coffee, java, or expresso” You can’t live in Seattle without loving coffee!! OHHH we did go to the Original Starbucks, which was sweet!!
I remember there was this moment, when I was drinking my original starbuck’s coffee and standing outside the store. It is located in Pike’s Place Market, you know the busy market where they throw the fish and sell lots of flowers?? I am sure all of you have heard about it. Anyways, I was standing out by the street with bustling people all around, drinking my coffee as the sun was shining down on my face, and staring down the cliff to Elliot’s Bay with the water gleaming. There was this street performer in the street playing his saxophone in the background, it was just one of those moments, ya know? I just thought to myself, WOW, I LOVE THIS PLACE!!
The weather was AMAZING!! People tell me that Seattle is depressing and it rains all the time, I really find this hard to believe. I know that winter is the rainy season and I missed that, but honestly, it was over 60 degrees and sunny every single day that we were there!! I hate the extreme temperatures of Michigan, here everything is mild and nice, with a great breeze across the ocean Maybe I didn’t get a good perspective on things because it didn’t rain a drop while I was there. Then again, maybe the perspective I got was good because I know that it really doesn’t rain as much as people think it does.
The only thing that sucked about Seattle was the driving!! Our first night I swear we circled the city like three times because of all the one way streets, no left turns, and medians it was almost impossible to get around. If I move out there, I think it would be best to use the public transportation system!! J
Our hotel was right across from the space needle, which was sweet!! So Saturday we walked over to it and checked out the Seattle Center around it. We jumped on the monorail and headed to the downtown area. There we stopped at a bunch of little stores on our way to the waterfront. We hit Pike’s Market which was really sweet! There had sooo many fresh flowers and quite a bit of artwork they were selling. I bought a bunch of sweet paintings, I will have to show them to you! I didn’t get to see them throw any fish because it was later in the morning, which was a shame! The fish that they had there were HUGE, I couldn’t believe it!! After walking around the market we went over to a little park that overlooked Elliot’s Bay. This was the first time I could see the mountains, and they were breath taking!!
We then walked down to the board walk and ventured through the stores down there. The Aquarium just had a baby sea otter born and I wanted to go see it, but the closed at 5 every day, so we didn’t have time to do it. Another time I suppose.
Eventually we got to Pioneer Square, which was where Seattle originally was started. We went on the “Underground Seattle” tour, which was LITERALLY underground. So Seattle was founded on mud flats and steep cliffs, NICE! The drainage system was so terrible that rain would have no where to go, so huge mud holes would develop in the streets. PLUS when the tide would come in, so would the sewage. This was a slight problem!! Hahaha
So when the city burned down in 1889, they had a chance to rebuild it. What they did was build huge walls through out the city and build a NEW street on top of it!! Pretty sweet huh? So the city looked like a giant waffle while they were doing this.
They took us down into the underground of the streets, which used to be the original streets of seattle! From the sidewalks today you could see little purple tiles in the cement, which I thought were just decorative. When we went underground, they were actually skylights because that used to be the roof from the old city!!!
After the tour we went up to the Smith Tower, which was built in 1914 and was the tallest building this side of the Mississippi. The view was spectacular. We also went up to the Space Needle which was also great. You could see all the mountain ranges and the blue lakes and waterways from up there. Amazing to say the least.
This was all the first day, so needless to say we were pretty tired of walking!! Ohhh before dinner I walked down to Pier 70, sound familiar? If you ever watched Real World Seattle it would!! That was my favorite one because the cast was awesome, this was WAY before I ever thought about going out there. Sad thing was that after it was filmed they totally remodeled the whole thing and put in restaurants and stuff. Sadly enough there is nothing remaining from the Real World house except the Pier 70 signs that looked familiar.
Sunday was a little more low key. We drove up north for the day. One the way I wanted to stop and look at some house boats, especially because I knew the “Sleepless in Seattle” houseboat was around there. We didn’t wander too far because you need to be residents to get down to the docks, but we thought that we figured out which one it was, sure enough when we got back I looked online and I am pretty sure that we found it!!
We headed to Fremont which is the Hippie town north of the City. The movie “10 things I hate about you” had some shots filmed in this area if you have ever seen it. We also saw the castle-like high school in that movie which really is a high school in Tacoma. Anyways, we swung through the University of Washington because I would go there to get my masters eventually. Beautiful campus!! It reminds me a lot of Michigan State, which the old brick buildings and the lush green trees and plants.
After that we went a little further north and took a ferry to Whindbey Island. Never rode a ferry before!! We saw some sea lions out in the water, so cute! The views from the island were spectacular! At the top of the island is a nice state park with the “Deception Pass” park. The deep cliff with a sweet looking bridge!! We continued on to Bellingham which is a “Norman Rockwell” type town. The Orca’s are really abundant in this area in the summer!!
Monday we went to the hospital downtown and I got the number of a nursing recruiter to talk to which would be great! We wanted to go to a whale watching boat on the Pacific at 2, but on the way there wee had a nail in our tire!! The amazingly friendly seattle people fixed it, which out even charging us!! So we continued in our journey…
So Westport was NOT exactly what I had pictured. I thought it would be a cute port town, defiantly not the case. It was trashy and run down. LOL So we went on a whale watch in Boston a while back. There were about 30 of us on the boat and they had sonar and a marine biologist - this was not the case this time!!
When we checked in, the told us to start boarding 10 minutes before we were suppose to leave. My dad asked how many people were going, and it was just us!! HAHAHA We got on our boat and drove around the harbor looking for whales. The captain didn’t even have sonar, he just told us to look out the sides for blowholes. Worst part was, we didn’t see any damn whales!!!! What kind of shit is that!! Hahaha If it wasn’t so damn funny, we would have been pissed. We got a good laugh out of it though, one for the books.
So that was my Seattle trip. It really puts things more in perspective for me as more of a possibility then just a though. The only thing is that I know it is far away from everything and everyone I know. Although I do want to move to a big city, I guess I will not know anyone there either. I think I should just move where I want to live. What do you think? Should I take the plunge??
Sorry this is so long, I had a lot to say!!
Throughout my life, I have been to and visited many, many different states. With my dad being a history teacher, we were always all over the country checking out new historical places. Yet throughout all my travels, I have never seen a state with such natural beauty as this one.
The moment we stepped out onto the sidewalk and took a deep breath you could feel it. The air….it was SO clean!! It was an incredible different from Michigan air. This was fresh and clean compared to the polluted air in the Midwest. They say the incidence of asthma in this area is virtually non existent because the air is that clean.
Then there were the trees, AMAZING! Everything was just so lush and green. The pine trees were not the skinny scrappy ones that you see in driving through Michigan. These trees were probably about 80-100 feet tall, full, and green the whole way up. The mountain sides would just be filled with these towering trees.
About those MOUTAIN!! Everywhere we looked there would be majestic mountains rising high about us. Some were sloping with trees covering the whole thing, while others were jagged, steep, and covered with glaciers. With the Olympic Range, Cascades, Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens - we never really had a bad view! Their beauty was truly breath-taking and no picture I took could capture their true beauty, none would do justice.
Wildlife is also very abundant here, which I LOVE!! We saw a couple sea lions, a seal, a bald eagle, and even a porpoise all in the wild. We didn’t see any whales though, story about THAT later! J I would like to go back in the summer months when it is Orca season!! I think like 80 or so whales live around the San Juan Islands in the summer time, anyone want to go??
Now onto Seattle…
I can not stress how much I fell in love with that city. Everything about it was just, so ME!! Everyone was just so laid back, friendly, and nice!! People were so active because there was so much to do. Everywhere we went, there were people out biking, walking their dogs, or just out enjoying the beautiful weather. They say that this is one of the fittest cities, because there is so much to do with the mountains, water, and tons of city parks.
I swear the whole city is on a permanent caffeine fix!! Every corner there was a Starbucks or sometimes even a “drive through” coffee shop!! LOL One time we saw a store selling stone garden statues of some sorts and this is what the sing read…
“European Garden Statues
& Drive through Expresso”
I wish I would have gotten a picture of it!! LOL Every store ended in “coffee, java, or expresso” You can’t live in Seattle without loving coffee!! OHHH we did go to the Original Starbucks, which was sweet!!
I remember there was this moment, when I was drinking my original starbuck’s coffee and standing outside the store. It is located in Pike’s Place Market, you know the busy market where they throw the fish and sell lots of flowers?? I am sure all of you have heard about it. Anyways, I was standing out by the street with bustling people all around, drinking my coffee as the sun was shining down on my face, and staring down the cliff to Elliot’s Bay with the water gleaming. There was this street performer in the street playing his saxophone in the background, it was just one of those moments, ya know? I just thought to myself, WOW, I LOVE THIS PLACE!!
The weather was AMAZING!! People tell me that Seattle is depressing and it rains all the time, I really find this hard to believe. I know that winter is the rainy season and I missed that, but honestly, it was over 60 degrees and sunny every single day that we were there!! I hate the extreme temperatures of Michigan, here everything is mild and nice, with a great breeze across the ocean Maybe I didn’t get a good perspective on things because it didn’t rain a drop while I was there. Then again, maybe the perspective I got was good because I know that it really doesn’t rain as much as people think it does.
The only thing that sucked about Seattle was the driving!! Our first night I swear we circled the city like three times because of all the one way streets, no left turns, and medians it was almost impossible to get around. If I move out there, I think it would be best to use the public transportation system!! J
Our hotel was right across from the space needle, which was sweet!! So Saturday we walked over to it and checked out the Seattle Center around it. We jumped on the monorail and headed to the downtown area. There we stopped at a bunch of little stores on our way to the waterfront. We hit Pike’s Market which was really sweet! There had sooo many fresh flowers and quite a bit of artwork they were selling. I bought a bunch of sweet paintings, I will have to show them to you! I didn’t get to see them throw any fish because it was later in the morning, which was a shame! The fish that they had there were HUGE, I couldn’t believe it!! After walking around the market we went over to a little park that overlooked Elliot’s Bay. This was the first time I could see the mountains, and they were breath taking!!
We then walked down to the board walk and ventured through the stores down there. The Aquarium just had a baby sea otter born and I wanted to go see it, but the closed at 5 every day, so we didn’t have time to do it. Another time I suppose.
Eventually we got to Pioneer Square, which was where Seattle originally was started. We went on the “Underground Seattle” tour, which was LITERALLY underground. So Seattle was founded on mud flats and steep cliffs, NICE! The drainage system was so terrible that rain would have no where to go, so huge mud holes would develop in the streets. PLUS when the tide would come in, so would the sewage. This was a slight problem!! Hahaha
So when the city burned down in 1889, they had a chance to rebuild it. What they did was build huge walls through out the city and build a NEW street on top of it!! Pretty sweet huh? So the city looked like a giant waffle while they were doing this.
They took us down into the underground of the streets, which used to be the original streets of seattle! From the sidewalks today you could see little purple tiles in the cement, which I thought were just decorative. When we went underground, they were actually skylights because that used to be the roof from the old city!!!
After the tour we went up to the Smith Tower, which was built in 1914 and was the tallest building this side of the Mississippi. The view was spectacular. We also went up to the Space Needle which was also great. You could see all the mountain ranges and the blue lakes and waterways from up there. Amazing to say the least.
This was all the first day, so needless to say we were pretty tired of walking!! Ohhh before dinner I walked down to Pier 70, sound familiar? If you ever watched Real World Seattle it would!! That was my favorite one because the cast was awesome, this was WAY before I ever thought about going out there. Sad thing was that after it was filmed they totally remodeled the whole thing and put in restaurants and stuff. Sadly enough there is nothing remaining from the Real World house except the Pier 70 signs that looked familiar.
Sunday was a little more low key. We drove up north for the day. One the way I wanted to stop and look at some house boats, especially because I knew the “Sleepless in Seattle” houseboat was around there. We didn’t wander too far because you need to be residents to get down to the docks, but we thought that we figured out which one it was, sure enough when we got back I looked online and I am pretty sure that we found it!!
We headed to Fremont which is the Hippie town north of the City. The movie “10 things I hate about you” had some shots filmed in this area if you have ever seen it. We also saw the castle-like high school in that movie which really is a high school in Tacoma. Anyways, we swung through the University of Washington because I would go there to get my masters eventually. Beautiful campus!! It reminds me a lot of Michigan State, which the old brick buildings and the lush green trees and plants.
After that we went a little further north and took a ferry to Whindbey Island. Never rode a ferry before!! We saw some sea lions out in the water, so cute! The views from the island were spectacular! At the top of the island is a nice state park with the “Deception Pass” park. The deep cliff with a sweet looking bridge!! We continued on to Bellingham which is a “Norman Rockwell” type town. The Orca’s are really abundant in this area in the summer!!
Monday we went to the hospital downtown and I got the number of a nursing recruiter to talk to which would be great! We wanted to go to a whale watching boat on the Pacific at 2, but on the way there wee had a nail in our tire!! The amazingly friendly seattle people fixed it, which out even charging us!! So we continued in our journey…
So Westport was NOT exactly what I had pictured. I thought it would be a cute port town, defiantly not the case. It was trashy and run down. LOL So we went on a whale watch in Boston a while back. There were about 30 of us on the boat and they had sonar and a marine biologist - this was not the case this time!!
When we checked in, the told us to start boarding 10 minutes before we were suppose to leave. My dad asked how many people were going, and it was just us!! HAHAHA We got on our boat and drove around the harbor looking for whales. The captain didn’t even have sonar, he just told us to look out the sides for blowholes. Worst part was, we didn’t see any damn whales!!!! What kind of shit is that!! Hahaha If it wasn’t so damn funny, we would have been pissed. We got a good laugh out of it though, one for the books.
So that was my Seattle trip. It really puts things more in perspective for me as more of a possibility then just a though. The only thing is that I know it is far away from everything and everyone I know. Although I do want to move to a big city, I guess I will not know anyone there either. I think I should just move where I want to live. What do you think? Should I take the plunge??
Sorry this is so long, I had a lot to say!!