Seattle, WA: Where’s all the rain??

We were thrilled for another beautiful day of driving into Seattle and will sure miss the scenic westward trek!

Somewhere between Spokane and Seattle

It was great to finally make it to our western most state of Seattle. Claire & I were both greatly looking forward to this city! We even brought clothes JUST for Seattle: rain gear, sweaters, boots. But instead we were greeted by 90+ degree weather for our entire stay—a sunny heat wave hit Seattle! The atypical weather allowed us even more time outside to explore the city!

Starting in Seattle, we were joined by Theresa’s friend from IU, Emmy. Emmy flew to Seattle to do the trek from Seattle to San Francisco, California since her family lives in the Bay area. We were thrilled for the extra company (and driving buddy!) for the next few weeks!

Day one we explored the downtown area by viewing from afar (we were too cheap to pay to go up) the Space Needle, some art in the park, and the pier by the water. 

We had to take advantage of the beautiful weather, so we spent a morning hiking in Discovery Park. We walked through forests, beaches, and finally a coastal area. We also did some kayaking in Lake Union which was a peaceful way to see the city (and get quite an arm workout!)

Shameless selfie pic

We made a few visits to Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle, the biggest farmer’s market any of us had ever seen! It was crowded but well worth the time to walk around the booths, the tiny shops, and listen to the street music. We even visited the original Starbucks. Off to the side of the market is the infamous Gum Wall, which is exactly what it sounds. An entire alley of used chewing gum—kind of gross but kind of awesome.

Some other fun events of Seattle included:

Fancy dinner with ginger cider

The Fremont Troll who lives until the bridge

Gasworks Park

Drinking REAL Seattle coffee--sooo good

Visiting the locks where the salmon swim up a ladder  to get upstream

Mariners v. Cubs game in Seattle

Sporting our Chicago pride!

We did some thrift shopping in Macklemore’s hometown (yup—he’s from Seattle). We like to think he was inspired by some of the shops we visited!

Pinball in a bar?? It’s a thing! Thanks to our old friend, Mike, for taking us to the hippest places around town and helping us rediscover a classic but awesome game!

 And finally, thanks to our amazing hosts, who not only let us stay in their home but were also so incredibly helpful in mapping out the city and taking us around town! Thanks Melissa & Bekah! Though the city certainly changed some of our preconceived notions, we both left wanting to return again someday (someday very soon, perhaps, for Claire!).