Travel Date: February 28, 2024


I went on this trip to the Pacific Northwest with my best friend, Sarah, a trusted travel companion. She actually grew up out here and her parents are still in the area. (Yay for a free place to stay, THANK YOU!)


Our plane landed at 10am. 3 hours from where we left, but 5 hour from when we took off. Time travel is fun! The first thing on our list was to head to Pike Place Market. So once our bags and bodies were in Sarah's parent's car off we went!


Once we got there I realized it was nothing like what I pictured in my mind... but still really neat. As I walked to the best vantage point of the infamous Public Market sign I was excited because Tom Hanks was once on the same sidewalk asking Rob Reiner, "Do I have a cute butt?" We saw lots of fish, took some crazy turns in the market, and I clicked the shutter whenever felt right. We even saw the Gum Wall - which was cool, but also horribly gross.

Of course, I had to go to the first Starbucks while we were there. If you don't know I have worked for Starbucks for 8 years (like a bad boyfriend: on & off, full-time & part-time 🤣).


As I walked up to the store front I found myself tearing up! How embarrassing!! But still it was a really cool experience to see where it all came from. In a weird way it felt like Mecca, a coming home experience where I would be imbued with the powers of the Siren. Still waiting on that last part tho...

Then we went up, up and away to the Space Needle. It featured an interior, rotating, glass-floored viewing area and a wet, rainy, outdoor viewing area with benches - not that you'd sit in the rain. But both made for an incredible view of the city and some of the Puget Sound. Behind the clouds, on a clear day, you'll recognize the Olympic Mountains, the Cascade's and probably Mt. Rainier (not that we saw any of that this day!)


Side note: The Space Needle and Chihuly (see below) had photographers on staff who would take your photo in different spots and it was FREE, with your ticket, and you could look them up and download them later. How cool!

Next, our two-for-one tickets saw us off the The Chihuly Gardens & Glass Museum. At first, I wasn't that excited for this, but immediately ate my words. It was like walking into The Chocolate Room from the 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - minus anything being edible.


This museum was magical.


... and I'll remind you that it was all, minus the blankets and plants, made of glass. From the swirly, twirly blues and oranges to the octopi and big beautiful bowls. My favorite was the way the light danced through the ceiling lined with all the wonderful colors - that was my favorite room. (See below for me sitting below the swirls of color.)

My trip didn't end here... it actually had quite literally just started in the Pacific Northwest. We stayed about 1 hour or so north of the city which gave us a great location from which to venture out. In the next post (coming soon!) we ventured to Deception Pass State Park - a great day with no rain (ok, a little rain, but really only at the end) and a really, really windy overlook, plus a seal or two! Stay tuned and for now...


Come with me, and you'll be, in a world of pure imagination...