Seattle – Day 1

We left the motel at 10am, giving us more than enough time to get to Seattle and return our rental car. Or so we thought. Of course we underestimated the traffic and got stuck on the highway through some podunk town. In an attempt to lessen the stress, we blasted horrible music (TLC, Spice Girls, etc) and gaped at a guy who walked by us on the side of the road, clearly on meth (well, clear to Lauren – I’m the oblivious one!).

We arrived at the Hilton a few minutes late, but no one seemed to care. I don’t even think they charged us for not filling up the tank when we returned the car. But ugh, we’d been stressed, it was hot out, we were starving… and we had to lug all our stuff all the way to the hostel. Not a fun trek. I was pretty cranky. We’d chosen the Green Tortoise hostel, obviously affiliated with the one in San Fran. The receptionist recommended a good Thai restaurant nearby for lunch, called Mae Thai. Ahh at last, the first veg-friendly establishment since Portland! The food was nothing spectacular, but we were so hungry and so happy to see vegetables again that we barely minded.

After lunch, Lauren and I parted ways. After nearly 2 straight weeks of traveling together we could do with a little time apart. Plus, I figured I’d let her meet up with the Welsh guy she’d met in Portland.

For the first time in 2 weeks, I really didn’t have any desire to see anything in particular. I was tired and a little underwhelmed by Seattle. What I’ve come to realize while traveling is that every so often I’ll need a day to just chill and not worry about doing/seeing things wherever I am. If I’d had the luxury to take a longer trip, I’d have budgeted in a couple of chill days.

So on this unofficial chill day, I strolled along the waterfront on the Puget Sound. It was such a gorgeous scene with the mountains on the other side, and boats and cruise ships on the water. It felt very serene. I soon happened upon a fountain and sculpture park, took a zillion pictures, and then decided I was ready to “do Seattle”. That meant checking out the snazzy architecture of the Experience Music Project and the famous Space Needle. Against a deep blue sky, it made for ideal photo snapping In all seriousness though, the EMP is pretty fantastic.

And then I pulled a typical Lindsay-move and decided I was going to walk miles and miles to the U-district, not really knowing how to get there and figuring I could just wing it and eventually find the area. My misguided route led me through construction zones and across major highway-esque roads, clearly not the optimal way to reach the neighborhood. I walked and walked and by chance stumbled upon a cafe that served Stumptown coffee. Yes!! Voxx’s iced coffee was just what I needed to recharge and psych myself up for the remainder of my journey.

Finally I reached the U-bridge, which naturally led to the U-district. U for University (of Washington). I’d been considering grad school and UWash was one of the few schools on my list, so naturally it made sense to check out the campus while I was there. It was absolutely the perfect day to take a self-guided tour. Perfect weather, students out in the sun enjoying the end of the school year, dancing or playing frisbee. There were even students floating around a fountain in a raft. It was quite a picturesque campus – I mean, being able to walk through the quad with a view of Mt. Rainier to the east? That’s pretty freaking awesome.

I wandered into a library that resembled a church to ask for directions to the I-school. Impressive architecture for the 2nd time today – that made me pretty happy. But unfortunately the maps weren’t updated and I ended up at the old I-school building rather than the one that would be opening in the fall. Funnily enough, I accidentally found it later on in my stroll.

I spent the whole of the afternoon just exploring campus, imagining myself being a student there. It was such a glorious day, where the weather is so perfect that it just makes everything else about the day that much better. I was content to say the least. Well, until I stopped at this coffee shop on University Way – I must have blocked its name from my memory, though I’m pretty sure it has the word ‘sound’ in it. But ugh, the coffee was so disappointing. It looked like such a cool spot, resembling a dive bar more than a cafe with its brick walls and video games. I didn’t think Seattle was capable of producing bad coffee, but it proved me wrong.

Thankfully, my palate was quickly cleansed with some falafel from the renowned Cesar’s. I took it back to campus and sat on the grass to enjoy my mini dinner.

I didn’t really want to, but I figured I should head back into the city after dinner. It was another nice walk along the waterfront, with flowers blooming and boats on the water. More mountainous views, more bridges. I got back by 9pm and spent the remainder of the night in the hostel lounge. I met up with Lauren briefly, but she was preoccupied with the Welsh guy so we didn’t do much more than finish off our Oregonian wine before they went out to see some live music.

While we were all hanging out, this middle-aged man started talking to us and lamenting over being laid off from his job. He was clearly drunk and attempting to throw himself a pity party. What gets me is that he kept bugging me to see my photos, and when I finally showed him he barely had anything to say. That’s ridiculous – if you’re going to hassle me to see them, you better have some feedback! On the plus side, I did meet these two young British girls who were spending their summer in the US before beginning university. They would soon be heading to the Grand Canyon and other western national parks – so jealous!

And then I coughed myself to sleep.