I feel like I’m living out of my suitcase this month. Just five days after getting home from Idaho, we were boarding a plane and heading to Seattle to visit a friend that moved there this past summer. We had the trip to Seattle booked before we found out about Tim going to Idaho, so we ended up with back to back weekend trips. Fine by me!
As a first timer to Seattle, I left with a good impression of the city. We knew that we were risking nice weather by going in March, but it really only rained one full day while we were there. We quickly learned that only tourists use umbrellas in Seattle. So in an effort to blend in more, I left the umbrella in my suitcase and relied on my raincoat instead. Other than the one day of rain, it briefly misted a couple of days and wasn’t a big deal.
The vacation started with myself, my friend Katie (who lives in Seattle) and Melanie (who came on the trip as well) running in Kirkland’s Shamrock 5K. Kirkland (where our friends live), by the way, is a really cute part of town. We could literally walk to almost anything we needed—restaurants, bars, coffee shops, grocery store, boutiques, etc. Katie and Dan’s condo is across the street from Lake Washington, so we were able to enjoy the view throughout the trip. Anyway, the run…it was a fun way to start the vacation. We got to see the surrounding neighborhoods with gorgeous homes, and we also joked that we were pre-working off the drinks we’d be having later in the day.
That afternoon, we headed into downtown for the Sounders vs Toronto MLS game at the CenturyLink stadium. We stopped in Pioneer Square for a quick bite to eat and a beer before the game. Pioneer Square is also where local fans gather before home games and have a pre-match ritual (pep rally basically) with a band. All the fans gathered in the square then do what’s called March to the Match and walk to the game together and chant.
Though the game was fun to watch (my first MLS game!), the Sounders ended up losing 2-1. Before and during the game “scarves up!” would be said and everyone wearing a Sounders scarf would raise it in the air.
After the game we drove over to Kerry Park, which has a fantastic view of the downtown skyline, Puget Sound and the Space Needle. It was clearly on the list of several other tourists because we weren’t the only ones there. I couldn’t blame them for being there—even with the overcast sky, it was still an amazing view.
We headed back to the Bellevue part of town and had dim sum at Din Tai. I’ve never had dim sum before, but had been wanting to. It was delicious! It is a bit weird when you bite into your first dumpling with all of the juice and the filling, but after that first dumpling you’re good to go. The garlic green beans were probably my favorite, followed by the shrimp and pork shao mai dumplings. I also have to give Tim some praise here for actually trying new food. He’s not very good at that kind of thing 😉
—m.