There are only a few reasons for me to willingly get out of bed at 5:30 am. A vacation/trip is certainly one of them! I'm lucky that Carolyn Scott, one of my dear friends with whom I traveled to England in 2015, has a conference in Seattle and that she was willing for me to tag along. We left Conway bound for the Little Rock airport at 6:45 am and after a nice drive, easy parking, and breezing through security (thanks TSA-Precheck!), we found ourselves waiting to board our first flight at Gate 3.
After our plane landed at DFW, I learned that some passengers (Carolyn) need some extra guidance regarding their seat belts: "Lift the flap to release the buckle." Once Carolyn's seat belt was released, we made our way to the SkyTrain and Terminal C where we decided it was time to grab some food. Chick-Fil-A fit the bill and we were soon happily full and waiting for our larger plane bound for Seattle.
Our flight was routine, comfortable, and included newly graduated flight attendants that were extra perky. The flat topology of the Texas panhandle soon gave way to the beginnings of the Rockies and Pike's Peak. Unfortunately, clouds obscured the view for most of the rest of the flight. As we descended to about 5,000 feet, the cloud layer finally broke and we had some excellent views of downtown Seattle on our final approach.
Believe it or not, the sun greeted us as we grabbed the shuttle to the rental car facility. A short time later, I was behind the wheel of a brand new (26 miles on the odometer) Mercedes GLC300 and making our way north to our bed and breakfast. The variety of green flora and fauna is amazing. Conifers, aspens, moss, and ivy are plentiful, even near the interstate.
Our lodging is in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and upon checkin, our wonderful host took us to our rooms. Wow! What a very pleasant home away from home for a few days. After unpacking, we summoned an Uber and made our way down to the Pike Place Market where we stumbled upon an amazing French restaurant: Cafe Campagne. We fueled up on some after dinner coffee and then wandered around the market area and near the waterfront with the sun setting behind the Olympic Mountains and Mount Olympus to the west. We even stumbled upon the Market Theater Gum Wall!
We turned in early this evening as our bodies are still on Central time. A good night's sleep will help us adjust overnight. Looking forward to visiting Pike Place Market tomorrow when all the vendors are present. And, of course, rain is forecast to return tomorrow.
Cheers from the Emerald City!
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