When our youngest daughter told us that her return flight from her deployment to Korea back to DC had a layover in Seattle we knew we had to go. The fact that it was in Seattle encouraged us to extend the trip an extra day because this is one of the few major US cities that I have never been to. Lee went a couple of times when he was a kid, but I had never been and going to Pike Place was a long-time bucket list item of mine. Originally we thought we would just have a few hours at the airport with her, but when she made arrangements to extend her layover overnight, we immediately added a third day.
Part of our stress over the issue we had with the truck was how we would make the trip, but that actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Seattle is not really big truck friendly and the Pike Place area is really not so. But we had a small rental car and were able to find parking right near the marketplace, which was pricey ($30), but worth it. Turns out the market is really numerous converted buildings and we both found it really confusing. I had images in my head of guys throwing fish and shops along a wharf area, but the market place we went to was more of an old warehouse district and it took us a long time before we found what I would consider the heart of the marketplace.
No way would we get the F350 in here. The black Ford was our rental.
This sign made it look easy, but it wasn’t 🙂
The shops were all along the road and inside numerous buildings
I recognized the ferris wheel from Grey’s Anatomy but it was across the freeway and in a different area
The terraced apartments were pretty neat.
We finally made it into one building which reminded me of the Colony Mill back in Keene. It was a repurposed old building with lots of stairs, weird partial floors, and narrow hallways.
I did get excited when we saw our first fish stands and the selection was pretty amazing
Turns out they have halibut in Oregon. I didn’t know that until recently
The flower stands were really beautiful and what I pictured
And through sheer dumb luck we stumbled upon the iconic golden pig
Finally we saw this sign and I knew we were getting close
And we saw this old fish market. The line was long and we were both starving so we decided to give it a try
We both got the halibut which was ok, but nothing nearly as good as what we had in Alaska
Plus by this time the place was packed
I know people love this, my mother-in-law DeDe went everyday when she was in Seattle, but personally I felt a little assaulted. Part of that is we have been living in a really isolated place all summer, but it is loud, expensive, and for me at least, claustrophobic. I am glad I got to experience it once in my life, but I wouldn’t be in a big rush to go again and since this was a Weds in the afternoon I shudder to think what the weekend would be like.
We did find some cool stores though. This chinese grocery store had trainer chopsticks
And Lee who struggles using them bought himself a starter pair
We saw a gorgeous fish are with beautiful crab legs
A neat used book store
A magic shop Lee spent some time in
And even a collectible coin shop. You rarely see these anymore
After a couple of hours though I just felt like I needed to leave and we headed back towards the airport and our hotel. We took a wrong turn which turned out to be pretty awesome because I got a closeup view of the Seattle Seahawks football stadium.
Really though we were both excited about seeing our kid. We looked everywhere for a hotel room near the airport that had two bedrooms and a separate sitting area in our price range and finally found one near an Amazon distribution center that we could afford. At $350 for two days it still wasn’t cheap but it had what we needed and more importantly would give our daughter a room all to herself. We knew she would be seriously jet lagged coming in and since she had changed her travel plans for us it was the least we could do.
It has a small kitchen, bedroom and bath upstairs
And a small living room, bed and bath downstairs
Oh and a bathtub which I used to take what I think was my first bath in over a year.
The next morning we waited anxiously to get the text she had landed and then headed to the cell phone lot. She had to go through customs (which went really fast) and then we had to find her but there she was!
We whisked her right back to the hotel, where we learned she hadn’t slept in 24 hours, but she was determined to power through and ultimately made it 36 hours so she could spend time with us.
Kay and her Dad
He gave her a big hug and then pulled out her hair tie which made her laugh because he used to do it to all of our daughters when they were little.
She even let us take a few pictures of her 🙂
It was a wonderful night with our kid and made the trip so worth it and I even learned how to use Pokemon GO and Snap Chat. I’m always behind in the latest apps and they catch me up when they see me, so now as we travel I can catch the Pokemon, which is a little like geocaching for the younger crowd. Love my girl and loved my time with her, so happy that it all worked out so well.
My snapchat icon which is actually a pretty cool app
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Wonderful opportunity to connect with your daughter…so very happy for you that she is back from Korea.
Great time with your daughter! Love the hair tie story. I loved Seattle. It’s like a mini SF to me. Yes, Pike’s market is crazy. I can only stay so long in there too. Loved all the flowers! We enjoyed walking around different parts of the city. Very pretty.
For anyone going to Seattle, it’s best to visit the Market early. By 11am on a weekend it’s mobbed. The Market has a detailed web site: http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/
And rather than drive into the city, park at an off airport lot near SeaTac, have their shuttle driver drop you at the Light Rail station by the airport. Take the Light Rail to Westlake Center in the downtown core, about 3 blocks from the Market. $3 for a 40 minute ride each way,
Thanks for sharing that. I really should have done more research. Sometimes I get caught up in just winging it and don’t have the experience I wish I had 😄
So happy your time with K3 went so well! I also love the hair tie story! So glad she is back in the USA safe and sound!
The joy of spending time with your family really comes through in this post. You had me smiling and thinking of calling my mom. 🙂
That’s a nice reaction ! Really can’t ever go wrong calling your mom 😄