Washington Wrap-Up: Grab Bag Edition.

Well, it's been fun recounting tales of my recent cross country road trip and the adventures I had during it, but fall is in FULL tilt already here, and there are regular posts to get back to.

 I've had so much fun writing and sharing photos that I've been inspired all over again to try to do one at least    every other day. Trying to go every day doesn't really work when you're also going to classes and y'know, going out into the world and finding the stories. 

That was a little fall teaser, but what I want to do today is share the rest of my Seattle/WA pictures, in no particular order.  Free association! Whatever comes out comes out! Hold on to your hemp hats! 

 So...remember the advice we learned earlier?  This is the thing you should not eat.  Mount Rainier.  I can't say I've ever seen a mountain quite like it, and that it's so alone on the landscape makes it more dramatic. I never got close enough to get the types of shots I'd like to have gotten, but I thought this one was pretty neat. Ben told me that Fuji,Japan is a sister city to Seattle, and one of the similarities is the way that Mt. Fuji stands alone against the backdrop of the city just like Mt. Rainier does in Seattle.   I recently found out there's a whole national park at Mt. Rainier.  This is now on my list of things to do on future WA trips.

The sunset over Puget Sound.  This is something I'd like to watch as many times as I can get the chance.  This picture was taken across from Pike Market, but it reminds me of the feeling I got at dinner that night- knowing you're on the coast or at least near it, and looking out into such an immense horizon...on some level it should be scary, but in a different way it's so calming and so welcome, at least for me.

 This is just a snap of Seattle as Patty and I were wandering our way back to the docks to get to the ferry.  I didn't realize Seattle shut so much down so early...which is how we missed Pike's while it was open, and what also gave us a bit of the heebie jeebies....it's much nicer to be in an unfamiliar city that seems active, and where we were at the time of the photo really didn't seem to be.  Strangely desolate for a big city.  I knew Chicago slept at some point, but I guess Seattle sleeps a little earlier, at least where this photo is taken.

I have a friend I didn't get to meet up with who wants to give me a tour of Seattle and show me the hip spots so I'm hoping to find more nightlife if I take him up on that. 

 You can't spell Seattle without coffee....or something.   There were, just as I'd been told there would be, thousands upon thousands of coffee shops.  There's even TOPLESS coffee shops.  This isn't an extreme coffee drinking sport where they fill the cups up real high and don't put lids on them, forcing you to be careful in your drinking so you don't spill.  No, this is TOPLESS PEOPLE SERVING COFFEE.  I had no idea, first of all, that this occurred...and on top of that...HOT COFFEE...SENSITIVE BODY PARTS!!  And my final thought on that is this...does this not change the whole "laid-back, might be a date, might not" dynamic to "let's grab coffee sometime?"  I mean, if you say that in Seattle, do you have to qualify it by being like "but not topless coffee..." Just sayin'.

 This was later into the sunset the same night, right on the docks by Ivar's.  A pretty pastel palette on the stilling waters, with the soft blue outlines of the mountains in the distance.   This is something to look forward to seeing again and again...

This is a place I didn't get to go, but is on my list for next time. It's right down by the ferry, and people SWEAR by the place.  I'm not opposed to more seafood on the Sound.  I'm like a moth, and I'm attracted to neon, hence the many many neon pictures in this post. :D

Seattle has a really pretty skyline, especially when you're coming in from the ferry.  They even have a ferris wheel like Chicago does on Navy Pier.  Ours is more giant, and has better views, but this is a passable one. :P

You know the whole moth thing I mentioned just a little bit ago?  I also enjoy lame jokes/plays on words.  Hence.

This is Pike's Market.  It was on my list of places to get to, especially since I'd been told there was absolutely nothing like the flower market, and I ADORE flowers. If I had the money, I think I'd always have fresh flowers in my place, year round.  Anyway, due to the wonderful, laid-back dinner at Anthony's, we got to the market after it closed, which I guess was around 7.  I still got to peek around a little, which was fun. 

I'm pretty sure Seattle has a thing for neon, too.

This is something else I want to see at Pike's...during the day this is full of fishmongers tossing fish around all willy-nilly.  I worked in a seafood department once, and had seen a motivational video when I was still working in an office about this place. I thought it'd be neat to see the market at full bore with everyone throwing flounders around.   So I'll add that to the reasons why I need to visit Seattle again soon.  Apparently, the wall of gum is a must see as well.  I don't know how I feel about that.

I don't have an explanation for this other than that I like to take pictures, and I wanted to goof off with the lines and the contrast. So...hey! Pike's Market's women's room wall!

And since I didn't know where to put this earlier...this is what I left in Seattle for Patty- her going away present. This is all hand made by yours truly. I wanted to give her some kind of piece of Chicago so she wouldn't get homesick.  Here's a pro tip: If you draw IL, first of all, it's harder to draw than you'd think, and second of all, if you draw it on the reverse side of your glittery paper, it'll come out as backwards IL, and since you're a procrastinator and it's already late (y'know, theoretically. I wouldn't know anything about this), you'll be really mad that you have a glittery BACKWARDS IL.  Just sayin'.

The outside of the frame is a bunch of different Chicago-y things.  Blue Men, DA CUBS, DA BEARS...da sox...The Trib...all kinds of things.  I had a lot of fun doing this, and I think it'd be fun to do again. Not that I want any more friends moving so far away...but I am glad to say...I have 3 fantastic reasons to go back to Washington if the national parks, Puget Sound and Seattle itself weren't reason enough...and probably one more reason, since I really feel like through the trip, I gained a new friend in Tim.  

It was a fantastic trip, and I really do hope to come out and see everyone all over again, and do some more exploring.  If you ever thought about going to WA...I really hope this convinces you to check it out.  And if you never have...I hope this convinces you to put it on your list.  That and Idaho, and Montana. 

I love to travel, and I love to explore...and I've loved sharing my stories and pictures too.  This is me at my happiest...travelling, writing, photographizing (making up words...)...and being with the people I love. It's not really possible to do this every day...but I want to find ways to incorporate more things I love into my life every day. And hopefully, some of you will come along for the ride.