| Seattle Spring Break 2024 | |
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| We had an extremely fun spring break trip. Robert had some job responsibilities (more on that later) over the break so Sarah and I brought the great, blue sky weather from Alexandria's spring with us to visit in Seattle. It really was spectacular. We had a lot of fun walking around the UW campus — yes, the mountain, actually all the mountains, were out. As were the cherry blossoms. |
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| We managed to show up (well, Sarah ensured our flights got us there) for the Kraken vs. Capitals hockey game. Thank you David and Lynn for the great tickets (for both games)! What's not to love; we could cheer on both teams — but really were happy for the Caps to win, sorry Kraken. |
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The next day, Sarah and I went by the Aquarium. The big new addition is not open yet, but it's still a nice place to visit and check out the fishes. And yes the mountains in the background are fantastic. |
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David Z. invited us on a hike the next day. We drove over the pass to Ancient Lakes. The view out the car window of Mt. Rainier early in the morning was beautiful. A totally different biome from Seattle's rain forests: sagebrush and scrub land. We were in the Quincy Lakes area. David has been a huge hiker since he moved out to Seattle; it was great of him to take us to the spectacular spot. He's a fast hiker, that's him with King, his dog, at his side (the two dots in the front below) and Sarah starting down that small down slope behind them. |
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| The early start ensured we were back in time for our second hockey game of the trip: Kraken vs. Predators. Being Caps fans, Sarah and wore our Caps jerseys (well... I wore Robert's spare). That was not universally well received. But it was good natured ribbing. Also, the first game had a special opening; the second game we got to watch the tentacle descend, which is always fun. Sadly, the Kraken lost the second game as well. |
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| We had some time the next morning to wander the campus again and check out the cherry blossoms (I don't feel like I've lost anything not getting to the tidal basin for their cherry blossoms this year) before taking a train up to Vancouver. We'd been warned it was not fast, and I'm sure you could drive it faster, but it was a new experience for us: International train travel. |
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Vancouver also treated us very well. We started out with the same mass transit theme: the Sky Train, which has tunnels. Perhaps news to some: Robert has changed his major to Geography and his long standing mass transit interests are coming into their own. The sky train is one of the only fully automated train systems. So, of course we had to ride around on a few lines. |
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After a lovely lunch at the Stanley Park Teahouse, we wandered a bit around the park. The rocky beaches with the mountains in the background really make it a splendid scene. Sarah was interested in the Capilano Suspension Bridge after her research on things to do in Vancouver. While a little bit pricey and touristy, we had a fun time there. |
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| That evening, we took in one of the spots I found in my research of things to do: dinner at Vij's. It was a fabulous Indian dinner from the aroma when we walked in the door, through a very tasty meal. We enjoyed it so much Sarah bought their cookbook (for us) and a spice box to give to David and Lynn in thanks for hosting us in their newly remodeled home. |
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| The next day, Sarah and Robert headed to the Science Museum and Granville Island. I took in a couple of the other spots recommended to me: wandering through a couple lovely Vancouver neighborhoods. |
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Trivia of the trip: there are a lot more A&W Root beer shops in Canada than in the US. We enjoyed the one in the train station before taking an evening train back to Seattle. Well... we took the train back to Edmonds, the stop immediately north of Seattle. The conductors let everyone know the had been a "strike" north of Seattle and we would hold in Edmonds until the all clear. They could not, however, offer any good idea of how long that might be. So we took the modern way out and called a Lyft. (We beat the train, but not by much; the hold was pretty short.) That hiccup did not take away from the fantastic sunset views on the trip south. |
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| Sarah and I borrowed a car the next day (while Robert did some work at the stadium) and drove to Walla Walla. One of the hearts of Washington wine country (maybe the heart?). The drive took us back over the pass but south to the Oregon border. (I did not sample all those, there were 4 small pours from a set of those: I enjoyed the reds from Substance; Sarah enjoyed the whites from Sixto.) |
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| On the drive back the next day, I had to take one of the infinity pictures out of the windshield — there are some long, straight roads in eastern Washington (and the American west). We got back after dark and as the weather was starting to get a little more familiar for this time of year: the "false spring" was turning back to winter. |
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| Robert's job at the Stadium is with the Seattle professional ultimate Frisbee (disc) club: the Cascades men's team and Tempest women's team. And another of Sarah's scheduling wins was enabling us to watch the Tempest's season opener. Robert, in his game day operations role, was able to get me approved to wander around and take photos. I was very glad the rain stopped before the game and enjoyed the chance to watch more ultimate. |
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| The weather cleared up for us the next day for our flight home. It was a little bit of a let down to say our goodbyes at the Stadium: Sarah left after the first couple minutes for a birthday dinner of an old friend. And I left after the game so Robert and team could get game day stuff put back away (next home game is next month). |
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Vacation notes:
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