The rainy and lovely Evergreen State

Before we arrived into Washington, we drove through Oregon. The fir trees and green mountains were breathtaking. Driving to a destination feels so much more real than flying. When you’re driving, you slowly feel yourself arrive there. I was particularly excited about Washington because I had the opportunity to see three old friends. The people who greeted us in Seattle were Allie, one of my sister’s high school friends, and her boyfriend Jonathan. They were wonderfully nice and we talked for a bit before heading to bed.

Our first task in the morning was returning the water bottle from the Grand Canyon. We were terribly excited to see the shocked look on her face, and quite disappointed when we had to leave it at her door because no one was at home. It did amuse me some to imagine her reaction upon arriving at home and seeing a water bottle she was sure she left at the Grand Canyon on her door. After that task, we met up with Andrea (my friend from Thailand) and her boyfriend Mike, which was a lot of fun. First, they took us to a Caribbean place in Fremont for lunch called Paseo’s, for what genuinely could have been the best sandwich I will ever eat. After lunch, we went back to their apartment and chatted for a while before Andrea, Bryan and I headed to Pike’s Place Market.

It took us forever to find parking, an occurrence that was quickly becoming a theme of our trip, but eventually we found a spot. The Market was eclectic and it was fun to watch the seafood stands throwing fish and the cloth booths weaving away. We also went to Beecher’s Cheese near the Market, and the cheese was delicious! By the Market, was also the first ever Starbucks. Next, we headed to Molly Moon’s for ice cream, which had the most bizarre flavors of ice cream from honey lavender (which tasted faintly of soap) to balsamic strawberry (which tasted like a tossed salad). I settled for a boring old chocolate strawberry flavor. After Molly Moon’s, we parted with promises to ourselves and each other that we will be better about keeping in touch.

The next morning, we started off at the Space Needle, which was surprisingly short, but alas, we were glad we went by. We went to Trader Joe’s to get food for a picnic then rented paddleboats to go on Green Lake at a park. It was a beautiful view and we had so much fun! Then, we drove to Bellingham.

There we were meeting Charlie, one of my good friends from studying abroad in Brussels. It was so exciting to see him because we hadn’t seen each other in over a year and a half! We went to a local restaurant called Boundary Bay where I had a delicious salmon sandwich. Later that night, we went to a pub called Up and Up, which was famous for four-dollar pitchers of Pabst Blue Ribbon. One can easily imagine the crowd that brings. Charlie, Charlie’s roommate Will, Bryan and I played foosball and had a lot of fun! We left Washington the next morning sadly, but excited for our journey into Canada.