SPRING BREAK ADVENTURE-- Seattle, WA
The trip began with excitement we did not anticipate.
Right after school Justin and I headed to the Indy airport. Thanks to his Uncle Randy, we're flying Standby, aka free, aka whenever seats are available. There were three flights out of Indy that looked like possibilities so we showed up to the gate feeling optimistic... Only to find out they were all full and overbooked.
We were looking at flying into other airports and then making the drive to Seattle from anywhere on the West coast... but none of those flights were open either. Did you know it would take approximately 33 hours to drive from Indy to Seattle?
Then I asked, "What if we flew out of Chicago?" We did some quick clicking around around saw that the 7:45 Chicago flight had 12 available seats. It was 4:15.
3 hour drive to Chicago.
Chicago is on Central time so we gained an hour.
Flight was delayed.
There were still 12 seats available when we arrived at the gate in Midway.
WE MADE IT TO SEATTLE!
p.s. Spotted Tom Crean in the Indy airport and Justin seized the opportunity to meet the old IU coach.
Our first Airbnb is in downtown Seattle so we're in walking distance of pretty much everything.
Pike Market
The FIRST Starbucks ever-- the line was like waiting for Splash Mountain in Disney world.
A vanilla latte has never tasted so good.
Vendors of produce, baked goods, flowers, arts & crafts, seafood, cider, coffee, etc line the streets. Even on a week day morning the place was packed with tourists and street musicians.
We started chatting with a woman from Seattle and she told us to go to Three Girls Bakery. I got a scone with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries-- delicious.
Seattle's Gum Wall
Multiple people before the trip told us that we had to come to Beecher's cheese for the "best macaroni and cheese in the world." They weren't lying.
Seattle Ferris Wheel-- we walked out to the peer and sat looking out at the view rather than actually riding the Ferris Wheel, still worth it.
Olympic Sculpture Park
Seattle Space Needle
After Seattle's last few months of non-stop rain, we couldn't have been luckier with the weather. The view from the Space Needle Observation Deck was such an awesome view of the city.
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Inside Exhibits
Garden Exhibits
Based on our Airbnb host Lauren's recommendation, we went to Taylor Shellfish for dinner so I could try oysters for the first time. I'm proud to say I ate all three of mine and they were slightly less scary than I had imagined.
We also shared the fried oyster po boy sandwich and it was actually delicious. 10/10 would recommend.
Sounders Soccer is HUGE in Seattle and since Justin figured out we would be in town for a game we had to go. The Emerald City Supporters are essentially the insane fan club for the team and they met in Pioneer Square to march to the game together. Before this, I had no idea that soccer scarves were such a big deal but they're not just for keeping your neck warm. When someone yells, "Scarves up!" everyone holds theirs up proudly so you can read the words like a banner. During the game, the scarves are swung around while cheering.
Airbnb host Lauren also told us that we had to find Big Al's yellow truck outside of the stadium so we could get a Seattle dog-- cream cheese and grilled onions.
SO DANG GOOD.
We got seats in the Emerald City Supporters section so it was constant standing, singing, cheering and jumping during the game.
HS Student sections should take their cues from these guys. The main leader had a platform closest to the field with a microphone. Then five more leaders had smaller platforms throughout the crowd-- they watch the head woman and then their section watched them. There are also song cards just in case you don't know the words to all the songs you'll be singing.
We headed out when there were about 10 minutes left in the match. Neither team scored, but we'd still call it a great success. We hiked back up the hill (Did you know that Seattle is crazy hilly? Like San Francisco hilly...) to our house and called it a night. Seattle, you're off to a great start.
Honorable Mention Blog Title:
"I took out my jeans so I could pack my binoculars."
