Within the past month, Reese and I took our first out-of-state trip without Radha. We're very fortunate to have my parents close by, who never turn down an opportunity to watch their granddaughter. Reese has really wanted to take me to Seattle, Washington since she visited there over four years ago. Since I had never been there, I thought it sounded like the perfect place to make some new discoveries and recharge our relationship.
For one of the West Coast's major cities, Seattle sure was easy to navigate. The streets were plentiful, but never too crowded even during the weekend we visited. This made it much easier to see the sights we were looking forward to. Friday morning we awoke and quickly got ready for the spectacle that is Pike's Place Market. It was quite the bustling scene...fresh seafood, flowers and well made local goods and clothing nearly everywhere I looked. We shared a special breakfast there, a sweet cream cheese and Marionberry vatrushka with Starbucks coffee from the original location to wash it down. That afternoon, we walked to the Space Needle from our hotel. The structure's elevator took 44 seconds to shuttle us up to the observation deck 520 feet above the city. Waiting for us at the top were 360 degrees of amazing views. It really was a fantastic opportunity to see the entire city!
We spent Saturday on Whidbey Island, where Reese had attended a writers' colony back in 2005. She was able to show me several special locations she remembered such as the log covered beach at Double Bluff Bay and the quaint town of Langley. We even discovered a few new spots together including the pizzeria in Langley where we dined on a delicious pesto pizza.
Due to the fact that Radha wasn't going to be with us, we had agreed this would be a short getaway. We got up early on Sunday morning and made our way back to Sea-Tac airport, our last cups of Washington java in our hands. The trip back home was a long one, but we sure were happy to see our sleeping baby girl when we arrived at my parents' house to pick her up. It was nice to hear a series of high-pitched "You're back!" yelps from Spencer as well. I went to sleep that night knowing that there was something very special indeed about Seattle, Washington. I will definitely be returning, with Radha along, expecting to find even more to like.
