Our drive to Seattle wasn't as scenic as some others but it was still fun to see new things. Portland has cool things like a cable car system over the interstate.
Andy was a beast and did the majority of the driving. His back doesn't hurt much when he's sitting; walking is what causes him excruciating pain so with the exception of road hypnosis, he's good to drive all day long. At one point we stopped for Aleve (there are so many different kinds of Aleve, who knew?) and a heating pad for Andy and Sarah moved to the passenger seat. She had been dealing with a little car sickness and sitting in the front was an immediate relief. When we stopped at a Walmart for said sundries, we came out a few minutes later to find Andy sleeping with his head resting on Sarah's stuffed shark. The picture is hard to see but it was very clear in person that he was cuddled with a fluffy Great White Shark. We laughed harder than was probably necessary before snapping obligatory photos. The poor guy had done most of the driving and was in a lot of pain--he deserved a nap.
We surpassed the 5,000-mile mark on this leg and we also broke 200,000 miles on the Odyssey while making our way to Seattle.
Our AirBNB in Seattle is everyone's favorite so far. It's a three-bedroom, two-story house with refinished hardwood floors, and a nice front porch. It's in the Magnolia neighborhood, a nice, quiet area with restaurants and shops nearby. There are little families of succulents on each windowsill and the towels on the beds had Andes candies on them when we arrived. Alex likes it because it has a TV. My favorite part is that we're staying here courtesy of the incredible generosity of the volunteers at Hannah's Treasure Chest. I used Amazon gift cards I received from them in December and April to purchase AirBNB gift cards so this two-night stay is thanks to them. I'm so grateful for them and their kindnesses in so many ways.THANK YOU, HTC VOLUNTEERS! WE 💗 YOU!
Because we pushed to get to the house before dark, we were hungry and it was already after 8PM so we dropped our stuff in the house and drove just a half mile to Red Mill Burgers, a recommendation from Andy's friend who has lived in the Seattle area for many years. It was a good suggestion and we were all happy with our burger choices.
Our morning was very slow--the pace of the trip is definitely catching up with us. Andy worked until mid-afternoon and the rest of us filtered in and out of the shower, had lunch, and lounged. Charlotte said, "We haven't had a down day in almost a month! Can't we just stay in this great house all day and play games?" Well, we did stay home for a good portion of the early day but we headed out around 3:00 and started at Kerry Park. We got a perfect parking spot for Andy, right against the curb. The views of the city were spectacular and there was a little playground where Charlotte and Alex were able to run off some extra energy.
Next up was Pike Place Market. I was nervous about this for Andy because it requires a lot of walking and right now he's really only good for about 20 feet. The Market area is very large and I knew we'd likely be walking for a couple of hours. We found on-street parking (a requirement for the Odyssey because the "big mac" won't fit in most garages--Andy found this out in Las Vegas. 😱 ) and Andy thought it might be a good idea to try a LimeBike to get around since he's fine if he's sitting. It turned out that using the electric rental bike was a great idea and he was able to get around pretty easily. We're guessing there won't be a dozen rental bikes in Yellowstone when we get there tomorrow but it sure would be nice because his mobility is greatly increased with some wheels. We mentioned maybe getting a wheelchair and Alex told Andy that this would make him reeeally old.
This kids and I enjoyed the market. We saw the fish throwing, flower sellers, Piggy Bank, and all kinds of vendors. The vegetable stands were my favorites--the colors were so vibrant and the food looked so good. I wish I could buy it all and somehow make it last all the way back to Ohio! The weather heated up and we were actually pretty warm after a while. It's been so cold lately that we forgot what it was like to enjoy being outside. It felt good to walk around, even on my ankle that seems to slowly be turning to wood.
Hungry (Alex on the verge of hangry), we headed toward the car and restaurants on the piers nearer there. Andy rode his LimeBike and we walked. We first found a seafood restaurant but the prices were bonkers and there wasn't anything on the menu Alex could/would eat. So we shifted one pier over and went to Red Robin. It was still really nice out so we requested outdoor seating. We waited for probably 40 minutes but were seated right on the charter boat docks. The views were stunning--and the wind was whipping. The temperature had dropped about 10 degrees and the winds were howling. We ordered our food and waited a while, but it wasn't long before we realized we'd made a colossal mistake sitting outside. Our server was able to move us inside and it was a much better dining experience.
Leaving the piers, we headed for an interesting Seattle attraction. The kids didn't know where we were going but we told them they'd know it when they saw it. Fremont Troll needs little introduction.
Andy likes to see the headquarters of big businesses (remember the PIXAR incident in SF?) so next we went looking for Amazon. Their main offices are really nondescript and really can't be found. But The Spheres are easy to find, right in the middle of downtown Seattle. While there, Andy noticed an AmazonGo store--where you can shop with the app, grab what you want, and just walk out because the app does it all. It was weird walking out of a store without "checking out". They had a limited selection of foods and a few personal electronic things (earbuds, chargers, batteries, etc.). We received a lot of help from the staff, and it was a good experience. Prices weren't bad either. Yay, Amazon!
One cannot visit Seattle without a close-up look at the Space Needle. A trip for all 5 of us to go up into the Needle would set us back almost $200 so we decided against it at this stage in the journey. Sarah's terrified of heights and Andy can't walk so it didn't seem worth it. Instead, we did the poor man's version and just took pictures in a nearby parking lot. It's pretty much the same, right? Kids were happy, Andy's pinched nerve was happy, our bank account was happy--it's all good.
We headed back for home, filled up the car with gas, bought ice for the cooler, and had a great conversation with the Middle-Eastern Christian man at the gas station. He was blaring a Billy Graham sermon and reading a Bible written in Arabic (at least it sure looked like Arabic). He was so happy to share his Christian faith with us and it made my night. His joy was contagious and it blessed my night. So glad I popped in there to get a case of water and a bag of ice. Praise God for people like him. May he continue to share his faith so freely. I love our country!
Tomorrow the drive is 12 hours to Wyoming. The kids turned in and Andy and I stayed up working (him on actual paid work and I on the blog) because we don't know if we'll have any kind of signal for the next two days at Yellowstone). It'll be an early start tomorrow. One more week and we'll be back home. Time has flown, yet it seems so long ago we pulled out of our driveway.
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