Seattle was our last stop on our Pacific Northwest vacation (believe me, if I coulda, I would have kept us chuggin’ right on up to Vancouver!) Another gorgeous city, one that Nick fell in love with because it’s right on a port. And if ever a man loved water, it’s my husband….

No sooner did we get into town in the late afternoon than we sought out the last “Seattle Underground” tour of the day. One of my students at Ball State, Kait, had told me this was a must-stop and she was right…The history buff in me is ALWAYS fascinated to learn more about a place — discovering that, after a fire in the 1880s, Seattle decided to build over again ABOVE sea level this time (darn tides!), essentially creating a city on top of a city. The tour guide was great too — very tongue-in-cheek.

My girl, Tira, had tipped me off to Kerry Park, letting me know it had the best views of Seattle. Before we checked into our hotel nearby, we stopped over and OOHHH was she right! So glad we did this at night (and that I had a tripod for proper exposure!) Nick and I stood there mesmerized by both the view and watching all the planes coming for a good 15 minutes. GORGEOUS cityscape! We stayed at The Maxwell and I can’t say enough wonderful things about the hotel. Cool and ecletic and close to so much, especially the Space Needle. And I can I just say I love that moment I see in person a monument or sculpture or painting I’ve seen a zillion times on TV or in other people’s photos? Still special, no matter how much I already recognize it. We meandered our way down to the famous Pike Place Market ….Rachel the Pig!!! The market’s mascot …Nick teased me about my compulsion to hunt down the original Starbucks and take a picture of it. Amazing to think of what this company has become in the 40 years since it opened this first small store. We picked up some yummy piroshkies and headed for the waterfront for breakfast… I was a woman on a mission to find the infamous Gum Wall. I know, I know..eewwwww. It’s gross and yet, I was strangely fascinated by it. Funny enough, I could actually SMELL it before we got there. The whole alley smells like one giant piece of Wrigley’s DoubleMint…. Is it weird I want to turn this shot into some kind of notecard? That little gum heart gets me every time. You didn’t think I’d go all the way to Seattle and NOT try to find McDreamy, did you? ;) We hopped on a ferry to see more of Puget Sound. All I could think about for a while was that one episode of Grey’s Anatomy where the ferries collide (also known as that plotline where Meredith “drowns” and the show jumps the shark). And leave it to Nick to instead be thinking about how he could do his best Jack Dawson impersonation. Man…what a VIEW. Can you see Mt. Rainier in the background? Yet another day where the weather held for us to be able to take in the beauty of Mother Nature in all her majesty. Countless are the times where Nick will tell me he’d rather not have his picture taken. And then, a tacky tourist shop comes along and he’s suddenly a camera hog. Lunch in the market at Lowell’s Restaurant. YUM! We finished off the afternoon heading back toward our hotel and setting our sights on the Experience Music Project. What an unbelievably awesome museum, both inside and out. The way the light reflected off this building made me feel like a bug heading straight for it ’cause I just couldn’t look away. The massive guitar sculpture in the entry. An awesome exhibit on Nirvana and the birth of the grunge movement meant I had the beat of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” stuck in my head for the rest of the afternoon. I was a 7th grader standing in front of a jukebox at a pizza parlor when I first heard that song. An exhibit on the lure of horror films had us giving our best “Scream” faces. I don’t watch scary flicks much these days, but still found the layout of this curation fascinating. We dressed up and headed 60 stories up the Space Needle to have dinner with one of the most spectacular views I’ve ever experienced. Our sweet waitress asked if we wanted our picture taken, then snapped this with my 5D. When she hesitantly asked me, “How did I do?” and I saw this on my viewfinder, I smiled and said, “You did great!” Out of focus though it is, I still love it. For sentimental reasons, of course. One last request for the night was made and my husband indulged me in getting a night snap of the market. What a great way to end this trip!

To read the first two parts of this vacation recap, visit: San Francisco, Mendocino & the Oregon Coast and 48 Hours of Fun in Portland

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