You know those days and weeks that don’t go quite as planned? I feel like the past few weeks have been just like that for us. Between Ryan coming back briefly and then leaving for another TDY, the coronavirus playing a significant part in the chaos of my work in the travel industry, Mieke getting a double earn infection, and more, I feel like this Tuesday, I’m playing catch up – and I am, coming out with my Monday post on a Tuesday. Nevertheless, we’re doing our best to roll with all the chaos and changes and still have fun. So, essentially, that’s how we found ourselves walking City Hall to Pike’s Place in Seattle this past weekend.
We’ve visited Seattle a few times since moving to Washington in the summer of 2018, but both times thus far have been for races. The first was for my open water race when I swam Lake Washington. The second was for Ryan’s marathon back in December. Ryan’s never been to Pike’s Place Market, and we knew that with TDYs, birthdays, and a whole lot of business coming up between now and our PCS next year, time would be scarce. So, we bundled up, packed in the car, and made the hour drive to Seattle to walk, savor, and explore the city in our proverbial backyard.
I’ve been a few times, but I’ve never done too much walking beyond the necessary. I visited the Washington Trails app though and, funnily enough, they had a “hike” walking City Hall to Pike’s Place in Seattle. Just over two miles roundtrip, it takes you down past where the great Seattle fire started, along the building with 27 stone busts of walruses, along the busy city streets, and all the way to Pike’s Place market. The kids were troopers and walked the whole way, even running up the hills back towards our car at the end.
We got to explore a bit more, see a few sights, soak in some (chilly) fresh air, taste the delicious treats at Piroshky Piroshky down at Pike’s Place Market. Although, spoiler alert, Allison’s piroshky at Bombay Duck Pickle Cafe back at Fort Drum are actually better! Trust me. But, I digress. One of the highlights for both the boys and myself was visiting Post Alley and the famous “gum wall,” which is simultaneously seriously interesting and absolutely disgusting. Trying to keep my boys’ hands off those disgusting walls was a special form of torture, but it was fun answering their questions about why people stuck gum there when I always tell them how icky it is to do so.
It’s funny. The more we live and explore the cities around us, the more Ryan and I realize that, at heart, we’re small-town people. We love the proximity of a city and great amenities, but we’re grateful for the quiet of the country and suburbs, and we look forward to one day having that again for ourselves, wherever we may end up putting down roots. For now though, we’ll indulge ourselves in walking city streets. Exploring. Seeing things we wouldn’t otherwise see, and really just soak it all up because we know this station – this assignment – won’t last.
