As I’ve told numerous people recently, “Yes, I’ve been to Seattle before, but the last time I visited I was pregnant with this one,” tipping my head towards the remarkably tall 16 y/o man child next to me. So, yes, it’s been awhile.
We awoke, disappointingly, to solidly grey skies as if we couldn’t shake the wet weather we had hoped to leave behind on the east coast. Our flight arrived late at night and I had elected to stay near the airport rather than heading directly into Seattle. There’s an awesome light rail system that was a few minutes walk from our hotel. We boarded at Angle Lake, the most southern station on the line, and for a total of less than $7 and 45 minutes, we were within walking distance of our Airbandb in the Belltown area of the city.
Our condo came with a wonderful rooftop deck and, after ditching our luggage downstairs, we emerged from the stairwell to skies which had amazingly turned to cloudless blue. Perfect for walking around and getting familiar with “our” neighborhood.
We went west towards the Sound, by this time a little hungry for lunch. The area felt familiar, yet I didn’t have specific recollection of individual places. Beyond the aquarium, that is. Walking past that came with a wave of memories of the Lilly Boys x2 in the summer of 2004. ❤
As my hunger morphed into an unbecoming hanger, we wandered in and out of the “food court” on the pier looking for a place to satisfy both of us. Striking out, we made a left to walk up the hill to the Pike Market area stumbling across a Japanese place that looked promising.
With satisfied bellies, we took a little time apart to explore the public market reuniting later with Quinn sporting a new ring, while I toted a bag of local cherries. Next stop: the REI flagship store for some hiking boots for my son in anticipation of our next day’s visit to Mt. Rainier.
This was my first visit to REI and I must admit it was pretty cool. There were numerous floors of merchandise and it all felt very open and airy. I left Quinn with a salesman (and a budget) and a short while later he found me with a box of Timberlands in his arms. Pretty much the perfect choice for a city hiker.
We were within a short walk to a Goodwill store in the Capitol Hill neighborhood which was on my son’s list of places to visit. We hoofed it up the hill and again split up, with my son seeking more ironic clothing for his wardrobe as I refreshed with a cold drink and a visit to a store more of interest to me.
At this point, we had been on our feet for 7 or 8 hours and all there was left to do was return to our condo and catch the sunset from the rooftop. We had big plans for the next day which included an early morning start. Once settled for the night, we most definitely were not sleepless in Seattle.
It had been a great day.
DelSo 
Glad you’re having a good time.