Sunny Seattle

What? Sunny? Seattle? You must be dreaming... Yeah, I think we were.
It was sunny! For all the days we were in Seattle (excluding the first night, but that was to be expected.)

A mere two hours after leaving Colorado Springs we were landing in a different world. We didn't have a plan for how we would leave the airport let alone food and sleeping for the night. But that's how this trip was going to be. We would just figure it out as we went along.

We grabbed a taxi who promised us a fix rate to the nearest campsite. Two miles later and $50 for the ride (what? lame!) we ended at our first and only KOA Campground with two huge cardboard boxes, a backback, a sick dready, and an unsure girl.

We were so tired and stressed that no pictures were taken of our crazy luggage and Blake putting his bike back together in the parking lot. We over payed for the tent camping spot and Blake ventured for food while I set up our tent and gear for the night. I knew it was a truly rough night when Blake came back with Wendy's. If you know Blake you know that is past a last resort option. I was totally ok with the cheeseburger and fries.

I remember calling my dad and letting him know we landed and were setting up camp. It was so nice to hear his voice and know that he was always a phone call away. We were doing this. We weren't talking about it any more. We weren't planning. We weren't even saying goodbye anymore. We were in it.

It rained that night. We were so close to the airport that I thought the planes were going to land on us every five minutes during the night. Blake was still sick and never had time to recover from his bike accident. I had my first melt-down. He was so good with me when I was worried about what we were doing. I was more concerned that we were camping near Canada! And in Canada. I knew it was the summer, but I had never been that far north before. What were we getting into?! We will freeze to death in our sleeping bags. I didn't sleep.

The next morning was the first official day on this journey. A new start to the trip. That day we walked through the market and looked around a little, then took the longest bus ride I have been on, checked into a motel, took a cab to the Honda dealership, jumped on that thing, and rode back to the motel together. That ride back was the moment I knew we were crazy. But the only kind of crazy that was good.

The next day we packed up the way we would for the next two months and headed back into downtown Seattle. It was the 4th of July. We checked into our hostel, The Green Tortoise, which was right on the corner of the Public Market. The hostel was incredible (I described it as something from Harry Potter in my blogpost while there.) After two months and 2,500 miles, that first hostel was by far the best one of any we stayed at. That night we went across the street to Victor Steinbrueck Park, which overlooked the water and watched several firework shows go off. It was the best 4th of July.

I'm pretty sure during our few days there we walked every block of the great city of Seattle. We went to the art museum, ate fresh fruits from the market, watched fish fly over people's heads with lots of yelling, grabbed a photo by the first Starbucks, went to the coolest REI for some gear, and on our way out of town we checked out the Troll Under the Bridge. We both loved Seattle. But I am convinced that's because we saw it on the only sunny days they had out of the whole year. It was beautiful.

The journey to get ourselves out of New Mexico and Colorado, and to make this travel dream reality wasn't always pretty and enjoyable. But when is life always pretty and enjoyable? Those rough times, and stressful situations only make the joyous ones THAT much more of a miracle and appreciated. Looking back, I would NEVER trade a second of what we went through and what we got to see and feel and experience. I could not have asked for a better partner on this journey. Blake is determined and sees everything in a way I don't, just as I see things in ways he doesn't. I had a travel buddy, my best friend, and my lover by my side every day, and to be able to have him know every feeling and know every sight of where we were is the best gift I could have asked for.

The next move was to get out of Seattle and on the ferry to Bainbridge Island.