A reflection as I wait to leave Seattle

 

Kirstie's masterpiece, her family which is our family

As we say farewell to the family here in Seattle I am recalling:

 

·      Arriving to the glorious fall colours

·      Sitting at the window watching Dark-eyed Junco’s and hummingbirds flitting about in the trees

·      Raking and picking up the fallen leaves filling a large compost bin a week

·      All the weather we have experienced, the deep snow drifts at Granby, watching snow fall in Oregon, light rain, heavy rain, big blue skies and temperatures that dropped into the -18 degrees in Colorado

·      Having to get used to the short daylight hours, dark just after 4.30 pm

·      Shopping at QFC, PCC Community and Metropolitan Markets, Whole Foods and Safeway for basics and for special treats

·      Experiencing a Cyber Truck 

·      Having toast and peanut butter with Kirstie in the mornings and sharing my lipstick

·      Being bemused by all the pumpkins decorating porches

·      Ambling around the neighbourhood taking part in the Halloween festivities

·      Listening to James and the ASB choirs sing carols

·      Pops making pancakes with James and Nan colouring in with Kirstie

·      Making my first chowder, corn and shrimp, for Christmas Eve with Jason and Elle who came down from Vancouver

·      Witnessing the Americans voting for their next president

·      Joining in all the special Seattle Christmas events: the Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, the Gingerbread Village at the Seattle Sheraton; the Fleur de Villes Noel at the Pacific Place; the Bellevue Snowflake Lane Parade; the WildLanterns at the Woodland Zoo; and just appreciating all the effort families put into their decorations

·      Feeling gratitude for being with family for Christmas and watching all the excitement and mayhem of Christmas morning

·      Marveling at the 400 drones creating the Mile High Drone Show in Denver

·      Movie nights with the little ones

·      Watching two series, Disclaimer and Landman 

·      Rewatching ‘Wild’ with Reese Witherspoon after driving over the Bridge of the Gods on the Columbia River

·      Being part of the weekly routine, James at karate and soccer, Kirstie at swimming, dancing, gymnastics and soccer

·      Strolling to fetch the little ones from their school, two blocks from home

·      Walking trails along the Puget Sound, walking the 5 kilometers around Green Lake, walking along Lakes Washington and Union, walking downtown Seattle, walking the Bryant and Ravenna neighbourhood, walking the trails in Arches National Park in Utah, walking the Deschutes River Trail at Eagles Crest in Oregon, walking the Crooked River trail in Smith Rock State Park; walking the Pilot Butte in Bend, and just loving the fresh crisp air

·      Visiting the Japanese Gardens to marvel at the maples in fall

·      Joining Birds Connect Seattle neighborhood bird events and outings

·      Reconnecting with the birds of the western USA and getting a few lifers like the Surfbirds and the Bewick’s Wren 

·      Learning about wolves at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Centre

·      Seeing salmon returning to their breeding ground in Piper Creek

·      Walking a Pacific Ocean beach from the Moolack Shores Inn 

·      Visiting the Ballard Locks

·      The Multnomah Falls exceeding our expectations and walking over 600 feet to the top of the falls, a mile ¼ of steep switchbacks

·      Enjoying seaplanes landing and taking off on Lake Union

·      Hopping on and off the 62 buses into Fremont and Downtown Seattle, riding the Monorail and taking the 1 Line either to downtown Seattle or to the airport

·      Investing in our new MacBook Airs

·      Spending many happy ‘retail therapy’ hours at U village shopping for winter clothing and Christmas gifts

·      Always being on the lookout for a perfect daily coffee

·      Going book shopping at the Elliot Bay Book Company for the new Louise Penny book

·      Pruning, weeding and mulching the garden

·      Fred doing what he does so well, DIY around the house and garden

·      Fred and his Amazon account, parcels arriving almost daily

·      Managing our disappointment at not getting to the summit of the Pike Peak Highway in Colorado to ride a 14ner, we got to do a 11er instead

·      Cooking with Shawni and family dinners around the dining room table

·      Pleasure of live sport, the Seattle Kraken vs the New York Islanders, my first Ice Hockey game and an NFL game, the Seahawks against the Vikings

·      Loving our ballet outing, the Pacific Northwest Ballet performance of The Nutcracker

·      Road tripping in Utah, Colorado and Oregon 

·      Spending blissful days in the Arches National Park from our cozy Airbnb in Moab

·      Taking the car across the Edmond-Kingston ferry for a night on the Olympic Peninsula

·      Riding the ferries to enjoy being on the Puget Sound

·      An unusual activity, dock fouling in Bremerton and crow watching around Seattle

·      Celebrating Shawni’s 40^th birthday with a memorable dinner at Purple 

·      Babysitting while the kids went to Las Vegas to celebrate the 40^th

·      Appreciating my first Thanksgiving with the Hadfield and Aitkin clans in Granby, Colorado and I have so much to be grateful for

·      Swimming in heated outdoor pools in frigid temperatures and then enjoying a hot spa

·      Exploring downtown Seattle: the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, the Chihuly Garden and Glass, Smith Tower, Seattle Waterfront

·      Time with the little ones at the fascinating Seattle Public Library

·      The deep satisfaction of family time and experiencing the daily rhythms

Sunsetting on our winter in Seattle

We say goodbye to the little family and goodbye to winter in Seattle.

And the sunset on the Puget Sound, if you fall in love with Seattle it is because of the Sound.

In the far distance, Mt Rainier from the ferry. Mostly in cloud but when clear it is a celebration in itself to see this magnificent snow-clad volcano that dominates the Seattle skyline.

Many facets of Downtown Seattle

Our last full day here in Seattle started with visit to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery to buy a signature roast to take home and of course to have an excellent cappuccino. We walked the streets taking in the many facets of this city, the soaring skyscrapers and old brown brick buildings. 

The concierge at the F5 Tower kindly showed us around the beautifully restored The Sanctuary. The original church is now a multifaceted venue for hire and connects directly with the modern glass tower. 

F5 Tower, preserving treasured pieces of the city's past, the 1910's First United Methodist Church in the photo above and The Rainier Club just visible in the photo below.

The skyline from the historic Smith Tower 35th floor open air observatory.

Taking the period piece elevator to the Observation Deck of the Smith Tower. 

In 1914 it became Seattle's first skyscraper and a useless bit of information, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.

The building is in the heart of Pioneer Square, an area rich in history but it has fallen on hard times post Covid. 

Homelessness and boarded up retail storefronts. A fabulous toy store still thrives though on Yesler Way and I bought a game, that Kirstie and James love playing, for the munchkins back home.

A final bus ride home. One more sleep and our winter in Seattle comes to an end.

 

The 1892 red brick, terra cotta and cast iron Pioneer Building and the bust of Chief Seattle, Suquamish Tribe, who died in 1866.
He is quoted as saying:
"The earth does not belong to us: we belong to the earth. One thing we know which the white man may one day discover, our god is the same god. You may think now that you own him as you wish to own our land: but you cannot."

Queen Mary Tea Room; Seattle

A family tradition of high tea and afternoon tea. Shawni reminded me of that her first high tea was for her 16th birthday. Since then we have enjoyed tea treats in South Africa, in the United Kingdom, in New Zealand and now at Queen Mary, a teahouse with a Victorian elegance.

A must do Seattle holiday season tradition, Shawni and I loved choosing our specialty teas and indulging in cheesecake.

A quote from our menu is that Afternoon Tea was created by the Duchess of Bedford in 1840 to fill the 'void' between lunch and dinner whereas High Tea started as a workman's supper in the 1600 and was served at high tables to not dirty the chairs and table linens. 

Not that we are experiencing a void, Chipotle for lunch and we are now huddled around a brazier with an almost full moon having a New Zealand sauvignon blanc and ribs! Oh well, it's our last weekend and we are celebrating our time together. 

From Wellington, New Zealand in 2016 to Seattle for afternoon tea.

 

We enjoyed the immersion in tea cups, teapots and teas

Dock Fouling; Bremerton, Seattle

On a calm clear day in Seattle there is nothing better than to hop on a ferry to take in the beauty of the Puget Sound and the snow peaks of the Olympic's. We choose the longest ride from the downtown ferry terminal which is an hour trip going across to Bremerton. 

Bremerton harbour in the winter sun.

With no plan other than being out on the Sound we wandered down to the small boat harbour and noticed a group of women kneeling or lying on the docks peering into the water. And then we were 'dock fouling' too, if I thought birders were rather quirky, this pastime is even more so! 

With a dock checklist in hand, kneelers, waterproof cameras the group were finding sea urchins, sea slugs, anemones, sea cucumbers (my favourites), crabs, jellyfish and looking for their own 'lifers'. Fred was soon doing the same. Another photographer was on the dock too, recording the event for Airbnb. If ever in Bremerton, Seattle - I highly recommend.

Fred and the 'dock foulers'

Underwater magic!

Fascinating Tube Worms, they retract into their tubes when lightly touched.

A world apart, just under the waterline and thriving on the wooden docks

Glorious old WW2 tugboat just waiting to it's new life.

A trip to The Centre of the Universe; Fremont, Seattle

Back in Seattle. The little ones have started their new school term, Shawni and Craig are into their working routine and we are riding the 62 bus which takes us into Downtown Seattle. 

Fremont has a signpost that says it's the Centre of the Universe. The story goes that two scientists in 1991 concluded that there was no evidence for a centre of the universe, so why not right here in Fremont. Good enough reason for us to hop off the bus and stroll around.

This Seattle neighbourhood is on Union Lake.  I had been wanting to watch seaplanes and Gas Works Park on the Lake is the perfect vantage point. The rest of our walk evolved and kept delighting us, especially the marina condos.

Gasworks Marina Condominium, sparkling in the winter sun.
A glimpse of an alternative lifestyle and a glimpse of a cold water swimmer. Both rather appealed to me in the moment.

Union Lake, Seattle

Watching the comings and goings of seaplanes on Union Lake from Gas Works Park.

On our way to our lunch venue we found this piece of the Berlin Wall in Fremont, commemorating the role of Seattle and Boeing's C-47 in the Berlin Airlift of 1948.

A day out in Fremont, easy, trendy, quirky, a perfect pretzel and yet another interesting perspective on this fabulous city.

If it's Monday it's Multnomah Fall, Columbia River Gorge

We were on the Oregon side of the Gorge and the geology of the gorge has created a number of spectacular waterfalls falling precipitously from the steep cliffs. 

We headed to the most visited scenic site in Oregon, the Multnomah Falls, apparently the second-highest year-round waterfall in the USA. So two million people visit each year and it will be two million and two this year as the Kersten's have been.

The upper falls recede faster than the lower falls and they plunge into a rock pool that seems to roar and rumble before flowing under the historic bridge over the lower falls.

The noise of the two sets of falls is quite something to experience.

A height of 620 feet!

Significance of the height of this plunge waterfall is that we hiked the 11 switchbacks to get right to the top of falls, a 1 1/4 mile path!
What an experience to stand on a platform that extends out over the lip of the falls!