Seattle Trip--Our Early Travels

When in the Pacific Northwest, one must make hay while the sun shines, so to speak, because the sun doesn't shine very often in winter!  Shari (my sister) and I arrived on a Monday.  As tired as we were, we would have liked a day to rest up, but Megan (my daughter) took one look at the weather forecast for the area and decided that we really needed to take advantage of the clear weather for Tuesday and Wednesday if we wanted to see anything.

A word about weather forecasts in the Seattle environs.  The geography and topography of the area, with ocean and two mountain ranges all around, Seattle has what I term micro-climates similar to Northern California.  (In CA, one can travel from sunny and mild, to cold and snowy mountains, then down into hot desert valley in less than a hundred miles.)  Considering Seattle's northern latitude and proximity to Canada and Alaska, the climate is quite mild in winter, controlled by ocean currents and mountains.  It doesn't get too cold in winter or too hot in summer, and snow is rarely ever much.  The winter days are a full hour shorter on daylight than in the Midwest because the sun never rises in the sky much above where it would be at 2:00 or 3:00 PM at home, and there always seems to be moisture in the air so that the streets never really seem dry.  (Black ice is a problem.)  I watched morning TV weather forecasts.  They talked about how things would be near Puget Sound and how things would be in the mountains...and again how things would be in the valley (where the Seattle suburbs are).  At the end, I would think, "That's okay, but what is the weather supposed to be here??"  Apparently, with so many geographical features driving the weather, getting an accurate forecast is a bit of a crap-shoot.

Thus, on Megan's recommendation, we went out touring on our first full day there.  (Tuesday.)  With clear skies, we hoped to get a good view of the Seattle sky-and-coastlines and maybe get a good view of Mount Rainier.  We drove to the ferry that would take us across the Sound to Bremerton, WA, where the Navy shipyards are.  (Our family had docked there when returning from Japan in 1958.)  Neither Shari nor I had been on a car-carrying ferry boat since we lived in Coronado, CA, many years before in our youth.  It brought back a lot of memories!

We got some skyline pictures with us as we pulled away.  Rainier was visible but not clearly.  (It's awesome to see!)  In Bremerton, we drove around a bit, stopped for a late lunch at a little Mexican cantina, then headed back to the ferry.  It wasn't a COLD cold day.  Let's just say it was crisp.  The inside of the ferry, the car, and the house felt pretty good!  Got home just after the grandchildren returned from school, ate dinner, and just died when we laid our heads down for the night!  Shari and I were pooped!

The next day (Wednesday) was also sunny and crisp.  It was December 7th--Pearl Harbor Day, and Shari's 75th birthday!  We spiffed up and were out the door by 10:00 AM for a long-planned 11:00 brunch reservation at a high-end restaurant at Snoqualmie Falls in the Cascade Mountains.  We drove up and up and up...from no snow to mountains totally covered with it.  The evergreen boughs were heavy with snow, and the drive was absolutely gorgeous!  Of course, as we got closer to the falls area, a cloud of fog settled over everything and we couldn't really see the falls!

I have to say, Shari looked like a million bucks!  (Denis, my son-in-law, took one of the best snapshots of her that I have ever seen!)  Our server sprinkled real rose petals on the table all around Shari's spot and the ordering began.  Meals in the PNW are specific to the PNW.  Home made honey; fish for breakfast; goat cheese and fresh eggs from free-range chickens, etc.  Not your common Midwestern fare.  Megan and Denis shared a HUGE breakfast for two with several courses.  Shari and I ordered separate meals, and we all had a mimosa toast for the Birthday Girl.  It was elegant...and expensive.  (Happy Birthday, dear sister!)

On our way back down the mountain, we stopped at Snoqualmie Pass at a little trading post in a ski area for a bathroom/souvenir stop.  A little farther down the road, the snow was gone, and we were back to normal.  Another big day for two ol' ladies whose bodies still hadn't adjusted to Pacific Standard Time.  We slept well!

The next day, Thursday, was the third performance of my granddaughter's play.  The final performance and cast party was to occur the next night, Friday...but Robin sprang the notion that she needed to go shopping for a Secret Santa gift for one of the cast members in between getting home from school and having to go back for makeup, etc.  Nobody was really ready for that.  Shari and I had prepared an early supper just to accommodate schedules.  Megan has an online business, and  the holidays are her busiest time, so she had to be doing other things.  We dropped Robin off at school then went to Target to find SOMETHING that would suit for a Secret Santa gift and so Shari could pick up some needed things.  Then back to school for the performance.

I'll never understand this, but Leota Junior High School has entrance to its rooms from the outside.  As in, REALLY...the outdoors.  Kids move from class to class outside, even in winter.  I don't get it.  Anyway, when we arrived, Ryan (my grandson) wanted to sit front-and-center, which put Shari and me close to the outside door.  Needless to say, we got cold because they left the door open for people to enter, etc.....  The play, The Election, was both funny and cute because, even though it was written before this year's presidential election, the parallels were obvious.  The audience was clapping and laughing at lines that would not normally be funny were it not for how well they went along with the 2016 election.  Robin did a great job.  I was so proud!  And when we left, it was snowing to beat the band...but we stopped at Menchie's for self-made frozen yogurt sundaes.  They were trying to close by bringing in outdoor furniture and left doors open.  Those of us who were cold got even colder...and then we discovered that Ryan had left his brand new $200 coat in the auditorium at school!  We went home anyway.

The next day, Friday, we awoke to a whopping one-and-a-half inches of snow on the ground.  And school was called off!!  Hard to believe for this ol' teacher from the Midwest.  The neighbor kids were out making snow angels and having snowball fights.  I guess it was the first measurable snow in two years.  Yay!  Friday's play performance had to be rescheduled.  I don't remember much about the rest of the day...only that it was the first real action break Thelma and Louise got!